A Bug's Life

An underworld film in the truest sense, Disney/Pixar's animated story takes elements from the gangster and adventure genres and shrinks them down to a microscopic grass-root level. Flik is like any other worker ant gathering harvest before the onset of winter; he's a bit clumsy and not terribly bright. At least he means well, though his actions get the colony into trouble with extortionist Hopper and his band of gangly grasshoppers. The gist is simple: supply double the annual food quota to Hopper and his mates, or the colony gets it. Since Flik feels responsible for this mess, he volunteers to fetch help, and returns some time later with - an inept circus act! As expected, from the makers of Toy Story, the computer-generated imagery in this Magnificent Seven-style critterfest is exceptional throughout. Most of the (four-legged) cast, too, are imaginatively rendered, their predominantly jokey dialogue keeping the motor running whenever the film threatens to stall. Add a cluster of hilarious incidentals and the funniest post-closing-credits sequence in years, and the final result is pixel perfect.