Tags: Andrew Stanton | David Foley | Denis Leary | Hayden | John Lasseter | Julia Louis-Dreyfus | Kevin Spacey

A Bug's Life, the story is at heart similar to the Aesop fable about the ant and the grasshopper, only with a 90s twist. The ants do all the work and the grasshoppers bust up the hill and take most of it.

As the story begins, Flik (David Foley) accidentally alters the status quo and the bigger bugs up the ante. Hopper (Kevin Spacey) demands a double quota of food in half the time - or else.

Flik is sent into exile to search out other big bugs to come and defend his poor defenseless ant family. What Flik discovers in the big city is, literally, a circus (masterminded by John Ratzenberger as P.T. Flea who, not knowing a good thing, has rred his flock). Thinking this merry band of bugs are warriors, Flik returns in triumph to the colony.

When he discovers his mistake, it's far too late to do it again. That, of course, means the animators kick in the big bug effects and the audience gets to sit back and wait to go "ooooh..."

Under the guidance of Toy Story director John Lasseter and co-director, Toy Story's co-writer Andrew Stanton, A Bug's Life (check out the Collector's Edition) teems with spectacular visual effects. As far as the animation goes, while A Bug's Life hits it's climax with a Trojan Horse-type flying bird and a rainstorm, the CG animation high bar is still held by the ants in a drop of water scene in Antz.