bug’s life, a (film) A hungry hoard of grasshoppers, led by Hopper, annually extort food from a timid ant colony. A klutzy but inventive worker ant, Flik, tries to increase production with a harvesting contraption, but his plans go awry, and he finds himself instead sent out of the colony to find a way to stop the grasshoppers. Flik recruits a bunch of inept flea-circus performers to rally against Hopper’s raid. Working together, they plan for a climactic confrontation with the grasshoppers. Directed by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton. Released in Los Angeles on November 20, 1998 and nationwide on November 25. Voices include Dave Foley (Flik), Kevin Spacey (Hopper), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Princess Atta), Hayden Panettiere (Princess Dot), Phyllis Diller (The Queen), Richard Kind (Molt), David Hyde Pierce (Slim), Joe Ranft (Heimlich), Denis Leary (Francis), Jonathan Harris (Manny), Madeline Kahn (Gypsy), Bonnie Hunt (Rosie), Michael McShane (Tuck & Roll), John Ratzenberger (P.T. Flea), Brad Garrett (Dim), Roddy McDowall (Mr. Soil). 95 min. Cinemascope. The second fully computer-animated film using Toy Story’s 3-D animation style to tell a story about the world of insects. Loosely based on Aesop’s fable, “The Ants and the Grasshopper,” the film was a collaboration of Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. Released on video in 1999 with consumers getting a choice of five package covers (featuring Flik, Francis, Heimlich, Dot, or Hopper).
