PIXAR WINS ROUND ONE IN DIGITAL ANIMATION
Just when you thought that Antz would blow Disney out of the water, with animation that kills Pixar's "Toy Story", comes Pixar's latest, A Bug's Life. And what a great film this is. If Antz wasn't pushed ahead of A Bug's Life, people wouldn't have seen it after A Bug's Life. A Bug's Life is more colourful, adventurous and smarter - using the visual medium and ever improving technology to produce some fine humour as well as parody to entertain the adults. Its appeal is more universal than Antz, because it caters to people from the smallest of children to the old intellectuals. There's so much going on in some of the frames that the pace is almost frenetic at times, and this is because the technology has improved so much, that it can deliver so much more for the audience. I suspect that this film wasn't 100% animated (I would think that they used real leaves sometimes), but I still enjoyed the brighter colours of this film. The ants too were very expressive, and the eyes must have had many different contols because that's how the expression came through. The story line is simple enough, and has been done before in other films (there's touches of the 'three amigos' and 'the magnificent seven' to bits of the story line). However, the delivery of the story line and the characters will make this film one of the biggest merchandising hits since Toy Story. The voices too were cast brilliantly. With Antz, the brilliance comes through on the delivery of Woody Allen himself (and of course, the script was very good) and the supporting all star cast, which we can pick up very easily (many may find this a good feature because it adds to the perceived expression of the animated character). However, in A Bug's Life we have great stars who will not overshadow the magic of the film. There's Julia Louis Dreyfus as the female second in charge, and David Foley (from News Radio) as Flick, the ant with all the ideas who is dismissed as very strange for his 'stupid' ideas (coming from Pixar, I suspect that those computer animators identified with Flick as a nerd type - and again, the nerd bagging the chick is becoming so common place thanks to the influence of the computer revolution). Kevin Spacey, who I didn't even recognise as the voice of Hopper, does his job with the appropriate flair - I'm surprised that it's Mr Spacey. David Hyde Pierce is excellent as the stick (slim), whose character gets some of the best visual gags. The other great character is the slug - Heimlich. While he seems like a self obsessed and greedy character, the audience from the very beginning warms up to Heimlich's antics... and as they say, inside the slug lies a beautiful butterfly. Ian also told me that there are references to the original lost in space series with the 'drama' type ant of the flea circus being the voice of Dr Smith. By the end of its run, A Bug's Life will be one of the hits of 1998. The future of animation is looking brighter and brighter with each new picture that comes along. Hopefully the amazing animation in the trailer for Prince of Egypt will make that film a success. After Antz and a Bug's Life people might not say "but it's a cartoon" whenever someone suggests an animated film.
87/100
BOX OFFICE FOR A BUG'S LIFE SET TO BREAK THANKSGIVING RECORD
COMPARING THE TWO ANT FILMS
ANIMATION
A Bug's Life animation is brighter - making greater use of primary colours. Antz, on the other hand keeps more to the actual dimensions of an ant - six legs. The eyes in both ant films are done quite successfully, and expression has moved up to a new level in digital animation. My own preferences lead towards A Bug's Life, but bits of Antz are also just outstanding. For example, the opening shots of Antz are really unique - with camera panning to a level I don't recall a Bug's Life matching.
A BUG'S LIFE: A, ANTZ: A-
NARRATIVE
Antz is perhaps far more original for an animated film. Firstly, Antz contains an amazingly well crafted and sophisticated script. But because I've watched so many Woody Allen films, much of the material seemed like already covered territory. Nevertheless I enjoyed the narrative that unfolded. A Bug's Life had a similar narrative, but it achieves much of its laughs through visual jokes. Animation being such a "showy" medium therefore makes A Bug's Life more interesting in this sense. And while it does stick to the Disney tradition, it incorporates enough parody to be quite original. As for humour: both were funny, and depending on personal preference, one can go either way. I probably laughed more in A Bug's Life, but that's because I was very familiar with the type of humour in Antz. The end credits of A Bug's Life tips the balance in its favour. I suspect most people will come out feeling A Bug's Life is better.
A BUG'S LIFE: A-, ANTZ, A-
SCORE MUSIC and SOUND DESIGN
The score to Antz is most definitely superior in my mind. The music composed here was quite extraordinary for an animated film - incorporating a jazz/rock/funk (and evven techno style instruments and beats used in the magnifying glass scene) style and mixing it in with some popular tunes and classical cinema score techniques. I'm sure there's a Danny Elfman influence, a bit of a Hanz Zimmer (in "As Good as it Gets" mode), a touch of Woody Allen film jazz, and classical hollywood mixed in (perhaps John Williams). The rhythms are so perfect in the score. This is contrasted to the above average effort of A Bug's Life. A Bug's Life follows the traditional Disney formula of grand and sweeping orchestration. As far as I'm concerned, this is the best animated score of the year - if it is not nominated for an Oscar, then there is something severely wrong. As far as sound design goes, I couldn't really discern much of a difference - I await to hear a bug's life in a DTS theatre.
A BUG'S LIFE: B+, ANTZ: A+
OVERALL
I really think that it will come down to personal preference. I am sure that most people will think A Bug's Life is far better, hence Pixar wins the Box office battle. However, it turns out to be not much of a battle, since Antz will come close to 90 million in the USA (and the same overseas), which in this year is quite an achievement and will cover its costs. However, A Bug's Life will reach Antz's total in three weeks, and make close to 400-500 million world wide, because quite simply its appeal would have to be broader, and its visual narrative stronger (hence more accessable in international markets). I preferred A Bug's Life, which I thought was better in almost all respects except score music.
A BUG'S LIFE: A/A+, ANTZ: A