- Title: USA: WALT DISNEY PREMIERES IT'S LATEST COMPUTERE GENERATED FILM "A BUG'S LIFE"
- Date: 24th October 1998
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 24, 1998) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) DIRECTOR JOHN LASSETER SAYING OF THE TECHNICIANS AT PIXAR (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) "They came up with a little miniature video camera called a bug cam, and put it on a long stick with these wheels, and we would wheel it through the grass and we would, you know, look at, and it helped us look at
- Embargoed: 8th November 1998 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
- Reuters ID: LVA31TKKEB6WEVJJUEMM8LRXIJLX
- Story Text: A month after DreamWorks unveiled its computer-animated talking insect-character film "Antz," rival studio Walt Disney held a World Premiere on Saturday (November 14) to celebrate the release of "A Bug's Life," the follow-up to the hugely-successful "Toy Story."
By now, the rivalry between Walt Disney and DreamWorks in the field of animation is well-known.
Long seen as the stronghold of Disney, DreamWorks made its foray into the new genre of computer animation with "Antz,"
which opened in mid-October and has earned more than 80 million dollars so far.
With similarly-themed projects released so close to each other, some are wondering whether two studios telling animated stories from the point of view of a bunch of insects was entirely coincidental.In fact, Disney has accused Jeffrey Katzenberg, who left the company to form DreamWorks, of stealing the idea when he left.Of course, Katzenberg denies the accusations.
"A Bug's Life" is actually the follow-up film to the box office hit "Toy Story," which was the first fully computer animated movie.It also is the second collaboration of Disney and Pixar, the software and animation company headed by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
The director of both films, John Lasseter, and Pixar broke new technical and aesthetic ground in the animation field with "Toy Story," which raked in $360 million.But while the new film surpasses its predecessor in both scope and complexity of movement, it mirrors its deadly competitor "Antz" in numerous ways.
Both films centre on an ineffectual misfit character who's out of step with the uniformity of ant society; both involve an above-ground odyssey by this character into unknown territory, as well a a struggle with large hostile insects as part of an effort to save the colony.
In "A Bug's Life," the misfit is Flik (voiced by Dave Foley of television's "NewsRadio" as well as a founding member of the comedy troupe "Kids in the Hall"), who in the opening scene endangers his fellow ants by knocking over their culinary offering to their constant terrorisers, a gang of grasshoppers.The hapless Flik's blunder forces his brethren to double their tithe to their tormenters in return for their safety.
Both obliged to, and disenfranchised from, his community, Flik exiles himself in a search for anyone who might help his community.Instead of a vigilante posse, however, all he can find are the eccentric members of a rag-tag flea circus, individuals who are much more inclined to put on a show at the drop of a hat than to take on a bunch of giant flying bugs.
P.T.Flea's circus counts among its numbers a male ladybug obsessed with asserting his virility (voiced by Denis Leary), a somewhat bashful rhino beetle, a generous moth named Gypsy (Madeline Kahn), a walking stick with highbrow airs, a humorous German caterpillar, an unusually friendly black widow spider and twin Hungarian pillbugs who are always "on."
Safely transported back to the ants' compound without a clue as to how his new friends will help defend againsst the marauders, Flik is inspired by a scary encounter with an aggressive orange bird to construct a mechanical bird that will scare off the grasshoppers.A final confrontation occurs with "Hopper," the king of the grasshoppers, who wants to make sure that the ants are kept in their rightful place in the insect world.
"A Bug's Life" is the latest film which relies on recognisable voices to partially sell its concept; Jonathan Harris (fussy Dr.Smith from the original "Lost in Space"
television series) is Manny, the vain and ageing praying mantis from the old school who, while droll, is overly devoted to recalling the greatness of the good old days.
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, fresh from television's "Seinfeld", provides the expressive voice of Princess Atta, the future Queen of the anthill.Trailblazing comedienne Phyllis Diller gives a regal reading in essaying her part as the retiring Queen of the colony.
John Ratzenberger, the hapless mailman Norm from "Cheers,"
is the voice of the sleazy circus owner, P.T.Flea.Supplying the voice of Slim, the intellectual walking stick who laments being cast as a clown is "Frasier's" David Hyde Pierce.
Comedienne Bonnie Hunt lends her voice to Rosie, the big-hearted black widow spider.
Disney and Pixar are heavily promoting the new standards of excellence for the art of computer animation they believe "A Bug's Life" represents.
Much of the film takes place in an outdoor environment where uneven surfaces, extreme close-ups and vast panoramas added to the enormity of thier task.New approaches to lighting and shaders (the surfaces and textures applied to the three-dimensional exterior of the characters and background) were created to add to the richness of the film.
Crowd shots involving nearly 800 ants, special effects such as the climactic thunderstorm and the director's desire to have background elements moving in a believable manner posed additional challenges for the film's technical directors who won an Oscar for their work on "Toy Story."
According to director Lassiter, "they came up with a little miniature video camera called a bug cam", which, when wheeled through the grass "helped us look at the world from a bug's point of view. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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