Behind the Scenes of A Bug's Life

Pixar's movies are not only appealing because of the characters they incorporate, but they also are known for their visual dynamism and graphic design in their scenes. While working on A Bug's Life, Bill Cone conducted a pastel study of underground light to help him create the world where the bugs reside.  The team was obsessed with creating a sense of hyper realism.  They made sure that each frame was designed to direct our attention to the key information, no matter hectic or detailed the rest of the scene is.  The goal was to make the movie very visually interesting but to not have it take away from the story.

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As with all of Pixar's feature films, the voice actors of the movie were famous names that would be familiar to audiences.  The film's main star was Kevin Spacey, who played the villian, Hopper.  Audiences had just seen him in The Usual Suspects, where he played a cold personality.  The film's hero named Flick was voiced by Dave Foley with his high pitched happy tone.  The two voices' tones here contrast very clearly, so it is clear who the audience is supposed to like and not like.

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Similar to Toy Story, A Bug's Life has a very energetic and upbeat rhythm, where they create a very smooth tone of emotions.  Moments of humor flow easily into moments of terror or fear to combinations of both, where no scene ever seems forced or out of place.  The characters in the movie cover all types of personalities or good and bad that can easily be related back to humans, which makes the movie so lovable.  The good bugs are all young people who sometimes look to help or guidance from their elders.  Dot is cute and determined to fly.  Princess Atta is a perfectionist. Flik is the young hero.

Something else to note is the contrast between good and evil and how the animators chose to portray these two stereotypes visually.  Because Flik is the good guy and the hero, his body is rounded,  his eyes are huge, he is a pastel color and his look is very unthreatening.  This can then be compared to Hopper, the villian, whose body is scarred and it looks like he has exoskeleton armor.  His eyes are very small and his skin is rough looking.  Pixar tends to exaggerate "cute" qualities when trying to sway the audience to root for a character or believe they are a good guy.

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Works Cited:
Clarke, James. The Films of Pixar Animation Studio. Kamera Books, 2013.