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This is a list of the fictional characters that appear in the [[Pixar]] Studios animated film ''[[A Bug's Life]]''. |
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==Ants== |
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===Flik=== |
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The main protagonist of the film, Flik is a pavement ant with grand ideas on how to improve life, but he is constantly put down by other, more serious ants for his ideas and inventions that do not seem to work except his [[telescope]]. As well as his intentions for helping to life for the colony, he also has a crush on the heiress to the ant kingdom, Princess Atta. One day, however, Flik makes a mistake that put all of the others in his colony at a risk: one of his inventions backfires, causing the offering of food for the grasshoppers to fall into the water. The grasshoppers, angry at this gesture, demanded double the food that would normally be given by winter. When Flik is made to stand trial for his crime, he puts forth the idea that he could go and get help from other, bigger insects. Although they find his idea ridiculous, the jurors cannot resist the idea of getting rid of Flik, and agree to let him go. |
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Flik is thus sent off, somehow failing to realise that he has only being sent away to get rid of him as he is not supposed to come back. At that point, Flik happens to find a troupe of recently fired performing circus bugs which he had believed to be warriors due to their unintentional part in a barfight. The bugs have just been fired by their manager, P.T. Flea, for their incompetence. Flik returns to the colony with the bugs, where everyone is glad to see the bugs, except Atta, who is suspicious. However, shortly after, Flik discovers that it was all a case of mistaken identity: the "warriors" were all nothing but circus performers. Flik follows them as they leave, begging them to stay and get his wish until the circus bugs face a deadly encounter with a bird and, with Flik's help, save Atta's little sister, Princess Dot, who is the only admirer of Flik's work. After that, Princess Atta asks Flik for a talk and she apologizes for treating him badly (he kisses her briefly during this meeting, and she is touched: there is implication that she likes him as well deep down). For the time being, the animus between the circus bugs and Flik seems to die down. Learning from Atta that "Hopper is afraid of birds," he formulates a plan to create a working model of a big bird, which will act as a ruse to ward off the grasshoppers forever. For the next weeks, the entire colony, the circus bugs, and Flik himself were hard at work on the bird, but Flik keeps the fact that the bird was his idea a secret, clearly afraid that if they think it is his idea, the colony will refuse to implement it. The circus bugs take the credit for it. |
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But one night, as the colony hold a party to celebrate the completion of the bird, the former leader of the circus bugs comes to the anthill, looking for his performers—it turns out that his last attempt to save the show was a huge hit, and he wants them back. It is revealed that Flik had lied and that none of the "warriors" were not what they claimed to be. As a result, Flik's lies are made public to the colony and Atta banishes Flik from the colony, this time for good. As a downhearted Flik goes off with the circus bugs, Dot flies to him, telling him that the grasshopper swarm have come back and that Flik and the circus bugs are all needed to go back and make some form of defense against the invaders. Flik initially does not want to return, but when Dot flies back with a rock in her hand and uses Flik's words from the beginning of the film, he gradually warms up. After the circus bugs capture P.T. Flea and lock him in a circus wagon, Flik heads back and with this, they all come up with an elaborate ruse: the circus bugs would act as a decoy to distract the grasshoppers, pretending that Atta had brought them for the grasshopper's entertainment. While the grasshoppers enjoy the circus act, Flik, Dot, and the Blueberries climb up the tree where Flik's bird is hidden. |
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When the bird is launched, the Blueberries control the wings under Dot's instructions while Flik keeps watch of the bird's direction. However the bird crashes into the circus wagon, freeing P.T., who also sees the bird. He sets fire to the bird, prompting Flik to disentangle the bird from the suspension wire and crash-land the bird. After evacuating Dot and the Blueberries from the burning bird, Flik reveals to Hopper, who has discovered the ruse, about the bird being his idea, and Hopper orders Thumper to beat Flik savagely. Despite the injuries Flik has suffered, he is still able to stand up and retaliate, declaring that "Ants do not serve grasshoppers". Atta, her council members, the Queen, and the other ants listen to Flik's speech and they all become astonished. When Hopper knocks Flik down and is about to squish him, Atta immediately rushes in to protect Flik and declares the grasshoppers to leave. Flik, the circus bugs, and the colony, fight against Hopper and soon have him trapped and ready to be shot from a cannon in retribution for his wickedness. But Hopper is accidentally freed during a rainstorm, and takes Flik along to kill him. Some of the circus bugs attempt to catch Hopper, but even though they fail, Atta succeeds in saving Flik, who instructs her to carry him to the other side of the river (where he previously encountered a bird's nest). After a raindrop knocks both ants onto a leaf, Flik drags them both off the leaf, causing the raindrop to splash when they hit the ground. He then takes Atta to a rock and orders her to stay down, out of sight. Flik is then cornered by Hopper and about to be strangled to death, but then a real bird presents itself. Hopper believes it to be a trick and does not run until it is too late. The bird catches Hopper and Flik and Atta hide in the weeds as Hopper is fed to the bird's chicks. |
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Some time later, Flik, with the circus bugs, is finally more appreciated among the colony (as are his inventions), and is together with Atta, who is crowned queen, as the two (along with Dot) are seen on top of the tree root shaped like an arch, holding hands and waving goodbye to the departing circus troupe. In an outtake during the credits of the film, Flik, as he takes a dandelion puff and is about to take flight, impersonates [[Buzz Lightyear]] by quoting his catch-phrase: "To infinity and beyond!" Another outtake shows Flik trying very hard to extricate his antennae from Atta's, inadvertently hurting Atta, after they become entangled. Additionally, he and [[#Heimlich|Heimlich]] appear in an outtake of ''[[Toy Story 2]]'', where they express their excitement about the making of ''A Bug's Life 2'', but Flik becomes confused when he learns from Heimlich that the film they are in is a sequel, but not for ''A Bug's Life''. Then Flik asks Heimlich what sequel theyare actually in, but before his question can be answered, Buzz Lightyear cuts down the branches, including the one they are standing on. Flik also makes an appearance in the credits of the 2006 film ''[[Cars]]'' as a tiny car with antennae. |
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The voice of Flik is provided by [[Dave Foley]], while [[Nicholas Tse]] voiced the character in the Cantonese prints. |
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Flik appears as a host at the attraction [[It's Tough to be a Bug!]] inside [[A bug's land]] at [[Disney's California Adventure Park]] in [[Anaheim, California|Anaheim]], [[California]], and inside [[The Tree of Life (Disney)|The Tree of Life]] at [[Disney's Animal Kingdom]] in the [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] area of [[Florida]]. [[Dave Foley]] has also provided the voice for Flik in the Disney theme-park attractions. Flik also appears as a host in ''[[Disney Sing Along Songs#Flik's Musical Adventure at Disney's Animal Kingdom (June 8, 1999)|Disney Sing Along Songs: Flik's Musical Adventure at Disney's Animal Kingdom]]'', where he is voiced by [[Wally Wingert]]. |
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===Princess Atta=== |
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Worrisome heir to the throne of Ant Island, Atta has a long way to go to claim the throne. Easily frightened, strict and mostly a nervous and geleaus wreck, Atta is trained by her laidback mother to be a good leader. Hopper does not see any potential in her. Atta is a kind person and cares deeply for her fellow ants, although she finds worker ant Flik annoying, due to his absent-minded personality. After Flik puts the entire colony at stake after accidentally ruining the first food offering for the grasshoppers, Atta initially sentences Flik to dig in the tunnels for one month. When Flik mentioned his plan of leaving the colony to find bigger bugs to protect the island, Atta accepts the idea, hoping that Flik will no longer be around to cause trouble. However, Flik actually succeeds in completing the mission. She is at first suspicious of the bugs Flik has recruited and brought back to Ant Island, but warms up toward them after they rescue her younger sister Dot from a deadly encounter with the bird. She asks Flik for a talk, during which she apologizes for mistreating him. During the talk, Flik kisses her as he darts away and she is touched. During the construction of the giant fake bird, Atta begins to develop feelings for Flik. However, on one night, when P.T. Flea shows up and blurts out the truth about the bugs, Atta sees Flik through his lies and regrettably has him banished from the island. Later, Atta listens to Flik as he exposes the truth behind Hopper's need for the colony and how great and strong the ants are; she and the other ants become astonished at what Flik is saying. Witnessing Flik about to get squished by Hopper, Atta rushes in to his defense, declares the grasshoppers to leave, and commends Flik for his outspokenness as the ants rebel against the grasshoppers. When Flik is kidnapped by Hopper, the circus bugs attempt to give chase, but it is Atta who rescues Flik from Hopper. Under Flik's instruction, she takes him across the river where the bird's nest is located and watches worriedly as Flik deals with Hopper. When the bird catches Hopper, Atta and Flik hide as the bird lowers Hopper into its chicks' beaks. At the end of the film, when the circus bugs ask Flik to join them on the road, Flik tells them that his home is Ant Island and Atta comes to his side holding his hand and replies "Good Answer" with a suggestive smile (possibly implying that she wants them to be a couple). When the colony lauds Flik for his heroism, Atta finally returns her love for Flik and kisses him, and the Queen crowns her as the new Queen of Ant Island. She tosses her princess tiara to Dot. Finally, Queen Atta and Flik (along with Dot) are seen standing on top of an arch-shaped tree root as they hold hands and wave goodbye to the departing circus troupe. |
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In the film outtakes during the credits of the film, Princess Atta takes fifteen takes with Hopper, laughing at Hopper all the way through, even going as far to call him stupid just to break down in fits of laughter, ending with "I need a break." There is another outtake where Atta's antennae gets hopelessly entangled with Flik's, getting hurt at Flik's attempt to extricate his antennae from hers. There is yet another outtake where she trips and falls in the scene where she is about to read Flik's verdict. |
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The voice of Princess Atta is performed by [[Julia Louis-Dreyfus]]. |
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===Princess Dot=== |
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The young princess of Ant Island, Dot is a sensible, confident and mature girl despite her age and dislikes being tiny. However, she still maintains the personality traits of a young girl. Whenever Flik sees Hopper holding Dot hostage, he immediately comes to her rescue. She wishes to fly, but her wings have not fully developed, and is once reprimanded by her mother (the Queen) for that attempt. Dot is best friends with Flik and likes his inventions. She is Flik's biggest supporter during his quest to find help to fight Hopper and is overjoyed when he returns with help. While Flik follows the circus bugs, begging them to stay and help, Dot follows them and climbs onto a dandelion stalk for a better look. When she attempts to fly again, she accidentally causes one dandelion puff to become loose and she becomes helpless in the air. As she flees over the riverbend, Flik and the circus bugs are fleeing away from the bird, who then goes after Dot, prompting her to let go of the dandelion puff. Francis spots Dot falling and catches her, but the impact knocks them both into the trench of a dry riverbed, where they end up trapped by the bird, but they are saved by Flik and the circus bugs. Dot and her fellow Blueberries make Francis their honorary "Den Mother" and develop a bond with him. Much later, when Hopper invades the colony, Dot, two ant boys, and the Blueberries hide in the Blueberries' clubhouse, which is entered through a hole in a stalk. After overhearing Hopper's plot through another grasshopper, Dot tells the others to stay in the clubhouse and leaves to go find Flik, but runs into Thumper, who viciously chases her off. During the chase, her wings begin to tke flight and she again attempts to fly but Thumper arrives and knock her off the cliff. However, after Thumper leaves, her wings finally function, and she is now able to fly. She then flies to Flik and convinces him to help by handing him a rock, asking him to pretend it is a seed (something he told her earlier). Dot and Flik return to the clubhouse where they rally the Blueberries into Flik's bird model. When the model takes flight, Dot instructs the Blueberries to control its wings until P.T. Flea sets the bird on fire, believing it to be a real bird. When the ants charge at the grasshoppers, Dot seems to have overcome her fear of Thumper as she slaps him and shouts at him to go home and Dim the rhinoceros beetle appears behind her and scares Thumper away with his monstrous roar. At the conclusion of the film, Dot and her Blueberries are seen crying as they hug Francis a tearful farewell. When Atta is crowned the new queen of Ant Island, Dot catches Atta's princess tiara tossed at her. Finally, she is seen standing on an arch-shaped tree root with Flik and Atta, who have become a couple, as they wave goodbye to the departing circus troupe. In one additional outtake, Dot forgets her "It's a rock" line after Flik hands her the rock, telling her to pretend that it is a seed, much to the annoyance of the film crew. |
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The voice of Dot is performed by the young [[Hayden Panettiere]]. |
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===The Queen=== |
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The aged queen of Ant Island and mother of Atta and Dot. The Queen may be old, but she is laidback and has a positive attitude most of the time. She appears interested with Flick's inventions at the start of the film. With a whistleblow, she is able to direct orders to her panicking colony during the arrival of the Grasshoppers. The Queen has a pet [[aphid]] named Aphie. The Queen is held hostage by Hopper, who intends to kill her to remind the colony who is in charge. Flik and the circus bugs intervene and save the Queen. In the end, she retires from the throne and gives her crown to Atta. In an outtake during the credits of the film, the Queen requests a towel after Aphie urinates on her. |
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The voice of the Queen is provided by the elderly [[Phyllis Diller]]. |
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===Thorny=== |
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Thorny is an intelligent ant who is a member of the Ant Council. Thorny has a deep dislike for Flik's inventions and harshly orders him to get back in line in the opening scene. Thorny is one of those deeply shocked by the revelation that the visiting circus bugs are really not warriors. By the end of the film, Thorny seems to have realised that he has misjudged Flik's invention, as seen in the final scene when all the ants have one of Flik's grain-harvesting inventions during the harvest. |
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Thorny is played by [[Alex Rocco]]. |
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===Dr. Flora=== |
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The colony's local medic and pharmacist, and the only female member of the ant council apart from Atta. Intelligent and one to worry for the health of others, Doctor Flora does her best to keep the colony's large numbers fit and healthy. She carries a large flower with her that contains healing water. Flora also appears to help the Blueberries- the young ant nursery, of which Dot is a member. She is seen caring for an ant who collapses with exhaustion while gathering food for the grasshoppers, and she also doctors Francis after his encounter with the bird. In an outtake during the credits of the film, Flora falls for an ant who turns out to be a cardboard cutout. In one additional outtake, she gets her lines wrong by misprouncing Atta's name as [[ABBA]], referring to the Swedish band because of Dr. Flora exclaiming about disco ("Oh yes, Princess Abba. Abba? Where are my platforms? Let's go disco."). It is during this outtake when [[Sheriff Woody|Woody]] from ''[[Toy Story]]'' enters the frame and marks the end of the scene gone wrong. |
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The voice of Dr. Flora is performed by [[Edie McClurg]]. |
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===Mr. Soil=== |
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Mr. Soil is a head ant in the colony. He is a thespian- the Queen tells us that he has played lead roles in colony productions. He is also good at rescuing ants from difficult situations. He helps a group of ants circling a fallen leaf, claiming it is nothing compared to a fallen twig in 1993. He leads the celebrations upon the arrival of the circus bugs, demonstrating his ability to play a banjo and leads the play portraying the future battle between the bugs and the grasshoppers. |
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The voice of Mr. Soil is provided by [[Roddy McDowall]], in his final role before his death. |
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===Cornelius=== |
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An elderly, doddering ant with a walking stick. He is seen often with Thorny, agreeing with him continuously and repeating what he says. He dislikes Flik's harvesting ideas like Thorny, claiming the colony has always been harvesting the same way since he was a pupa. With the positive changes brought by Flik and the circus bugs, he becomes more abled, like doing push-ups with one hand and walking around without his walking stick. Cornelius seems to be in a romantic relationship with the Queen by the end of the film. |
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Cornelius is played by [[David Ossman]]. |
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===The Blueberry Troop=== |
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The Blueberry Troop is a group of young ants who are somewhat similar to a scouting group. Dot is a member of the group. There are about six to eight members, including her. Francis becomes the group's honorary "Den Mother" due to helping save Dot and they even change their bandanas to match Francis' pattern. As Hopper and his gang wreak havoc, Dot hides this group into their clubhouse so they cannot be found. They help Flik pilot the fake bird to frighten away Hopper. When the circus troupe is about to leave, some members can be seen under Dim's wings, and others, including Dot, are seen crying as they hug Francis a tearful farewell. |
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===The Colony=== |
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The [[ant colony]] is made up of at least three hundred ants. While most of the colony is blue in colour, the royal family is purple, likely due to inheriting the skin colour. The Queen, Princess Atta and Princess Dot are the most important people in the colony. Princess Atta forms the Royal Council with Mr. Soil, Thorny, Dr. Flora and Cornelius, although the Queen is also present at the meetings. The Blueberries are a kindergarten-like club for the young ants including Dot. Other notable members in the colony are Flik, an inventine but disliked worker ant, two unidentified ant boys who often poke fun at Dot, and the Queen's servants who use large leaves to shade her and Atta. There is also a light blue female ant who seems to work with Dr. Flora. |
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The Colony is built on Ant Island, a relatively small patch of land (but huge in the eyes of the ants) on the side of a river which is dried out. A large tree stands on top of the island, the ant hill built underneath it in a hollow chamber. The Offering Stone, a column of rocks with a leaf on top, is used to give food to the bullying grasshoppers who visit every two seasons. Across the riverbed is "The City", where bigger bugs live. The City is actually under a [[trailer (vehicle)|trailer]]. Birds live on the other side of the river, the ants (and just about every other insect) fearing them. |
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The Colony is at the mercy of the grasshoppers, led by Hopper. The colony prepares food for the grasshoppers who in return, "protect" the colony from harm. Flik goes out to find bigger bugs to help the colony defend themselves against Hopper. He returns with a group of circus bugs who are mistook for warriors. The circus bugs go along with it after saving Dot from a bird. The Colony constructs a fake bird for battle, but the circus bugs are found out and are banished from the island along with Flik. The Colony are invaded by the grasshoppers. Dot, the only escapee, finds Flik and brings him back with the circus bugs. The grasshoppers are briefly fooled by the fake bird, but Hopper catches on and brutally has Flik beaten. Flik comments on the truth behind Hopper's need for the Colony, prompting the entire Colony to chase the grasshoppers away and live their own lives. In the end, the entire colony lauds Flik as a hero and rejoice at Atta's coronation. |
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==Grasshoppers== |
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===Hopper=== |
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Leader of the Grasshoppers, Hopper is a cruel and intimidating tyrant who can make even the toughest of bugs cower, serving as the main antagonist of the film. He and his gang extort the Ant Colony, forcing them to raise food for them every season while "guaranteeing" their protection. Living with his gang of idiotic grasshoppers, including his moronic brother Molt and his vicious dog-like sidekick Thumper, Hopper likes to bully other insects into becoming his servants. He has done this to the Ant Colony on Ant Island, by forcing them to give the grasshoppers food every two seasons. Hopper likes to get away from it all—he is seen enjoying a relaxing massage in the scene set on the grasshoppers' hideout. He lectures to the grasshoppers that if they let one ant stand up to them, then the other ants, outnumbering them 100 to 1, will all stand up to them; therefore, he orders the grasshoppers to keep the ants in line to prevent this from happening as they return to Ant Island. Upon arrival, Hopper finds out that the ants have collected fewer than what he has expected and he takes over the island. Despite his cruelty, Hopper has a sense of humour, and enjoys the circus on ant island. During the move in which the circus bugs give a warning signal for Flik to put his bird model into action, Hopper gains closer to Manny and Gypsy, demanding them to tell where the Queen has disappeared, refusing to take taking "no" for an answer. He is then cut short when the bird model flies past; however P.T. Flea sets the model on fire and Hopper discovers that he has been tricked. After Flik blurts out to Hopper about the bird being his idea, Hopper signals Thumper to savagely beat up Flik until signaling him to stop. However, despite the injuries he has suffered, Flik is able to stand up to Hopper as he exposes the truth behind Hopper's need for the colony and how great and strong ants can be. Hopper beats Flik again and attemps to squish him to death, but is stopped by Princess Atta, who tells the grasshoppers to leave. The other ants in the colony charge toward the grasshoppers, scaring them away without any fear, but only Hopper is left behind. Under Flik's instruction, Hopper is pushed into the circus cannon and is about to be shot out cannon by Dim when it begins to rain. Hopper, wanting to get his revenge on Flik for embarrassing him, frees himself from the cannon, captures Flik, and flies off. The circus bugs manage to catch grip of Hopper in an attempt to save Flik, but Hopper pulls them into a closed space of twigs and branches, where they are trapped and forced to lose grip on him. Flik is eventually saved by Atta, and Hopper chases after the two across the river to the other side, where he corners Flik to a bird's nest. While Hopper strangles Flik, he states that after finishing Flik off, he will be back next season bringing more grasshoppers to take over Ant Island again. At that time, the real bird presents itself, but Hopper thinks it is a trick and does not flee until it shrieks at him. Hopper, frightened that it is a real bird, attempts to run off, but the bird picks up Hopper into her beak and lowers him into her chicks, where the villain finally meets his death. |
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The voice of Hopper is performed by [[Kevin Spacey]]. Hopper also appears at the [[It's Tough to be a Bug!]] attraction, where he is voiced by [[Andrew Stanton]], the screenplay writer of the film. |
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===Molt=== |
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Molt is Hopper's younger brother. Fat, a little dumb, gullible, laidback, but forever honest, Molt got his name due to the fact his skin molts off in flakes. Molt often tries to be scary, but he is not taken seriously. Hopper is irritated by his brother's incompetence, and only puts up with him because he promised their mother on her deathbed that he would not kill him (something which Molt appreciates more than anyone). Molt is convinced by Axel and Loco that he should be vice president of the colony, being Hopper's brother. He often talks excessively and when an insect, usually Hopper, threatens him to be quiet, he says "shutting up." When the ants charge at the grasshoppers, Molt finally completely sheds his peeling skin in fright at the mass of ants charging at his fellow grasshoppers, and it seems that he is a good guy deep down. He survives the ants' rebellion and in the end joins P.T. Flea's circus as a strongman with a new nickname of "Tiny." When he climbs into the circus wagon, Molt expresses his thankfulness toward P.T. for giving him a chance to work out with "giants" like him until Manny and Gypsy closes the wagon (Molt says "shutting up" one last time). |
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In an outtake during the credits of the film, when Hopper gains closer on him, Molt accidentally backs into the camera and screws up the crew's equipment. Additional outtakes show Molt acting foolishly when Hopper shakes him. In the third attempt, Molt breaks into hysterics. |
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The voice of Molt is provided by [[Richard Kind]]. |
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===Thumper=== |
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Thumper is Hopper's "pet", so to speak. Feral, vicious, almost doglike and perhaps [[insanity|insane]], Thumper is Hopper's bouncer, brutally attacking and beating any bug who stands up to or disobeys Hopper. In the beginning of the film, Hopper holds Dot hostage and threatens to feed Dot to Thumper, prompting Flik to defend her. Many months later, Thumper attacks Dot and chases her until she falls off a cliff. Later, Flik reveals to Hopper about the bird being his idea and is punished by being brutally beaten by Thumper. Despite being badly injured, Flik struggles to his feet and continues his stand-off, prompting the rest of the ant colony to chase off the grasshoppers. Thumper tries to scare Dot yet again, but she seems to have overcome her fear of Thumper as she smacks him and tells him to go home. This doesn't stop Thumper, and he roars at her again, intending to kill her, but luckily, Dim appears behind Dot and roars even more monstrously at Thumper, causing Thumper to flee the island with other grasshoppers squealing and yelping in [[panic]]. |
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In an outtake during the credits of the film, it is revealed that Thumper can talk and is intelligent, stopping a take to think over how to look more terrifying. |
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===Axel=== |
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One of the grasshoppers in the gang, Axel believes it is pointless to return to Ant Island and convinces Molt to give this idea to Hopper as his own, believing that he will get beaten for such an idea. Molt actually tells Hopper that Axel told him the idea, Hopper then, removes the cork from a bottle of grain and the rest of it drowns him, Loco and the other grasshopper, and also sending them to meet their brutal death. |
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===Loco=== |
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Loco is another grasshopper in the gang. Like Axel, he believes it is pointless to return to Ant Island and convinces Molt to give the idea to Hopper as his own. But things go wrong when Molt tells Hopper it was Loco and Axel that gave him the idea. Hopper gets mad and removes the cork of the bottle of grain and the rest of it drowns him, Axel and the other grasshopper. He meets his brutal death with his pals. |
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===The Grasshoppers=== |
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The grasshoppers gang is made of about thirty members. They are all (relatively) large and rather brutish, particularly Hopper, who acts as their leader. The gang visits the Ant Island every two seasons for food, and in return they "protect" the ants from bigger bugs. The gang live somewhere in a desert, possibly in [[Mexico]], due to living underneath a [[sombrero]] against a cactus. The grasshoppers have mosquitos as servants, a musical band and also use them during darts games. Hopper has his own chamber where we see him getting a back massage. The grasshoppers invade Ant Island when the ants do not collect enough food, but are scared away by a giant fake bird and later the rebelling colony. It is unknown what happens to the grasshopper gang after the events of the film. |
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==The Circus Bugs== |
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===P.T. Flea=== |
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Ringmaster and owner of the Bug Circus, P.T. Flea is a greedy short [[flea]] who is bossy and [[Greed|obsessed with money]]. His show is rather poor, due to the minimal amount of freedom given to the performers. P.T. Flea is named after the American showman [[P. T. Barnum]]. On one particular night, P.T. Flea is suffering from his audience of flies who are either heckling the performances, walking out or asking for their money back. As the last of his audience leaves, P.T. Flea seizes a [[match]] and announces the show's finale "Flaming Death" in which Tuck and Roll will be fired towards some [[flypaper]] covered in [[lighter fluid]], but must be saved by Rosie before a [[flame]] lights the paper. However, because of Tuck and Roll's constant fighting, the act goes wrong, resulting in P.T. becoming stuck to the flypaper, but he frees himself. Unfortunately, the flypaper falls, lands on him, and bursts into flames, but he survives and angrily fires the circus bugs. |
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However, shortly after he fired the bugs, the flies at the performance said that the fiery stunt was fantastic. This prompts P.T. to head out with his circus wagon to locate the fired circus bugs, finding them on Ant Island where they are pretending to be warriors. He blurts out the truth about the circus bugs, indirectly serving as a catalyst for Flik's banishment from the colony, and Flik leaves the island with P.T. Flea's circus troupe. Later on, when Flik decides to go back to the island, the circus bugs tie up P.T. and lock him in the back of the circus wagon. He is accidentally freed when Flik's bird model crashes into the wagon. Believing the large fake bird being used to [[Terrorism|terrorize]] the grasshoppers is real, P.T. Flea uses the "Flaming Death" act again and destroys the model with [[oil]] and [[fire]]. Eventually, he realises what is going on and helps the ants defeat the grasshoppers. In the spring, he prepares to go on tour with the circus bugs (including Molt and several ants who decided to join them) and offers Flik a place in the tour, but the ant declines. P.T. starts getting mushy with the applaud for Flik and the coronation of Atta, and makes a quick escape before he gets too consumed with sadness. |
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In an outtake during the credits of the film, P.T. Flea bumps into a camera screen while giving a speech about his upcoming act. P.T. Flea makes an appearance in the credits of the 2006 film ''[[Cars]]'' as a tiny car with a hat. |
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The voice of P.T. Flea is provided by [[John Ratzenberger]], who has a voice part in every other Pixar film. |
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===Francis=== |
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Francis takes on the role of "tough guy" among the circus bugs. He is a [[ladybug]] with a mean and tough attitude, and is particularly infuriated when someone mistakes him for a woman. This occurs when the Fly Brothers mistake him for a woman and start flirting with him. Francis flies over rather daintily then lands, throws his flower hat (from the clown act) at them and begins insulting the flies, annoyed that being a ladybug automatically makes him a female. Francis is a clown in the circus and good friends with Slim and Heimlich, Slim acting as the foil to his anger. Francis actually does have a big heart and cares a lot for others. He wishes deeply to have a great audience and an even greater audience. During the bird encounter, Francis saves Dot from falling to his death, breaking his leg in the process when a rock lands on it. He becomes the Honorary "Den Mother" of the Blueberry Scouts, becoming good friends with them. He spends a large amount of the film with a cast on her leg but it heals in time. In the end, the blueberries hug him, crying, and he keeps repeating "I'm not gonna cry". before He leaves the island with the rest of the circus troupe. He could be a reference to [[Eric Carle]]'s [[The Grouchy Ladybug]]. |
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The voice of Francis is provided by [[Denis Leary]], famous for playing Diego, the tough guy [[Smilodon]] from [[Ice Age (film series)|Ice Age]], there is a character called [[Wooly Mammoth|Man]][[Preying Mantis|ny]] in Ice Age as well. |
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===Slim=== |
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Slim is a clown [[stick insect]] in the bug circus. Very intelligent but dramatic, Slim is a good actor but cannot show his talents properly due to his position in the circus as a clown. He complains to P.T. Flea about being only laughed at and always being cast as a prop, as he puts it - "the broom, the pole, the stick...a splinter" - although P.T. Flea believes he is funny as a 'walking stick'. Slim acts rather dull in the clown performances, due to the unfunny plots. He feels humiliated when he is fired by P.T. Flea, but is immediately excited when Flik offers to help them. Slim has a close relationship with Francis, acting as the foil to the ladybug's temper. Slim participates in the decoy circus act for the grasshoppers, acting as a temporary ringmaster and putting his acting skills to great use, juggling, telling good jokes and doing other such performances. During the panic on the island, Slim pretends to have had his eyes popped out, terrifying Hopper (although in one of the outtakes during the film's credits, the berries on his eyes sting them). He personally thanks Princess Atta for her kindness when the circus bugs leave Ant Island. An additional outtake shows Slim blowing his line by mentioning Francis having a "boyfriend," thus mistaking the male ladybug for a female, then pokes fun at something stuck in Francis's nose. Another extra outtake shows Slim choking after accidentally swallowing a tiny bug during his flight with Francis. |
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Slim is voiced by [[David Hyde Pierce]]. |
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===Heimlich=== |
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An overweight green [[caterpillar]] who acts as a clown. He eats a lot and dislikes performing on an empty stomach. He seems to love eating food and even offers to help an audience member finish eating his [[candy corn]]. He may be a reference to [[Eric Carle]]'s ''[[The Very Hungry Caterpillar]]''. He is one of Flik's best friends. Heimlich seems to originate from Germany due to his accent. He wishes to become a beautiful butterfly someday to have a better life. He eventually achieves his dream at the end of the movie, spending the Autumn in a cocoon. He hatches free and lands on the ground in his new butterfly form. However, he has not changed at all, only turned blue and growing small wings, which he finds beautiful. It takes the efforts of Flik, Francis, Manny and several ants to lift him off the ground and into the air. |
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One outtake shows Heimlich getting his face too close to the camera as Dim lowers him to the ground. In another outtake, Heimlich pokes fun at the bird, which turns out to be a machine, after it "malfunctions." There is yet another outtake where Heimlich, after eating a leaf, fall off from Dim's grasp due to his weight. |
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In ''[[Toy Story 2]]'', if closely seen during the scene where [[Buzz Lightyear]] and the other toys are in the bushes, Heimlich is on a branch only to get whacked off by Buzz. In an outtake of ''Toy Story 2'', Heimlich appears alongside [[#Flik|Flik]] as they express their excitement about the making of ''A Bug's Life 2''; however, Heimlich notes that the sequel they are in is not for ''A Bug's Life'', which confuses Flik. As Flik asks him what sequel they are actually in, Buzz chops down the branches, including the one they are standing on, and screams can be heard as they fall. |
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The voice of Heimlich was provided by the late [[Joe Ranft]], who also wrote the story for the film. |
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===Dim=== |
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Dim is a large and extremely strong blue [[rhinoceros beetle]]. Somewhat dim-witted as his name implies, but with a heart of gold, Dim hardly ever shows his beastly side. It is shown in the circus when he and Rosie share a rather mother child relationship and do a beast tamer act, but Dim is accidentally hit by Rosie and he breaks down in tears. Like the other circus bugs, Dim is fired and later brought to Ant Island by Flik to help defeat the grasshoppers. Dim gets along well with the colony, particularly the young ants who walk underneath his shell, tickling him and causing him to laugh and stomp the ground. When travelling in flight, Dim carries most of the other bugs who cannot fly (he carries Hemlich in his legs, Tuck and Roll on his back and Rosie where his wing case goes). He helps construct the fake bird, and when on the road again with the other bugs, he reminds Flik that he helped them with their lives. During the circus act that the troupe presents to the grasshoppers, the circus bugs place the Queen under Dim's shell. When the ants rebel against the grasshoppers, Dim helps Dot get rid of Hopper's henchman Thumper by roaring in his face when he tries to kill Dot. When the ants lodge Hopper into a circus cannon, Dim is the one who plans to launch Hopper into the sky by jumping onto a cannon, but this changes when it begins to rain. In the conclusion, some of the Blueberries try to join the circus hidden in Dim's wing case, but Rosie spots them. When the circus troupe leaves, Dim lifts the wagon into the air. |
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The voice of Dim is provided by [[Brad Garrett]]. |
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''See also: [[Dim Effect]]'' |
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===Gypsy=== |
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Gypsy is a [[gypsy moth]] and the wife of Manny. She is shown to be patient, carefree, and somewhat aloof, calmly taking problems as they come along and not once ever breaking a sweat over harsh situations. A part of P.T.'s circus, she is a performer in Manny's metamorphosis act, in which she switches places inside a Chinese takeaway box with a hand-picked volunteer from the audience, fooling the audience into believing that the volunteer has transformed into ''her''. She helps save the Queen from Hopper using this same trick. She, in the box, switches places with the Queen while Dim transports the Queen to safety. She also gives the warning signal to Flik, who is attempting to operate a giant mechanical bird in which to scare Hopper, by fluttering and dipping her wings. Her most memorable act in the film is saving Heimlich from the bird by shocking the bird with the side of her wings with the eye-patterns. |
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The voice of Gypsy is performed by [[Madeline Kahn]]. |
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===Manny=== |
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An aged and wise [[praying mantis]], Manny is the circus' magician. He is known as Manton the Magnificent, with his wife, Gypsy, as his assistant. In the circus, he performs a transformation act called "The Chinese Cabinet of Metamorphosis", in which Gypsy flies into a Chinese takeaway box and is supposed to transform into something else. However, this act is mocked by the fly audience, prompting Manny to walk off-stage, leaving Gypsy trapped in the box. Manny is at first aggressive towards Flik when he first meets him, but overtime, he grows to like him. Manny uses his metamorphosis act to amaze the grasshoppers, sneaking the Queen out of the process. Possibly as a way to keep him easy to animate and work with, Manny has normal hands instead of the traditional mantis fore-claws. However, Hopper, suspicious of where the Queen has disappeared, tries to strangle Manny after he refuses to give the Queen's location. Manny is saved just in time by the false bird and later helps Flik and the others scare away the grasshopers by using berry juice as fake [[blood]] and pretends to die, terrifying a grasshoper. At the end, he gives the ants a rock as a present. |
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The voice of Manny is provided by [[Jonathan Harris]]. |
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===Rosie=== |
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Rosie is a two-eyed [[black widow spider]] and sort of a mother figure to Dim. She acts as a beast tamer and also an acrobat in the circus, but is fired like the others. Rosie is a rather positive bug who has had a large number of husbands, seen explaining to an ant how her twelfth husband died, and now how she is a "black widow widow". Rosie ties up P.T. Flea during the saving of Ant Island, and participates in the decoy circus show so Flik and the Blueberries can save the colony. At the end of the film, she thanks Flik for "goofing up." In an outtake during the credits of the film, Rosie gets interrupted by hammering sounds while talking with Flik. |
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The voice of Rosie is provided by [[Bonnie Hunt]]. |
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===Tuck and Roll=== |
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Tuck and Roll are [[twin]] [[pill bug]]s who act as acrobats and human cannonballs. They speak a garbled language, often believed to be [[Russian language|Russian]]. They are rather oblivious to what is happening around them, particularly when P.T. Flea fires them, both of them continuously saying "You're fired!". They fight at times, usually resulting in disaster. They are very acrobatic, doing rather outlandish stunts to try and impress others. They develop a close friendship with Dr. Flora. At the end of the film, Roll rips off one of Hopper's antennas and he and Tuck using it in their act. In one additional outtake, they both have a burping contest, in which Roll wins by accidentally farting. There are also several shots during the extra outtakes where the pill bugs mess up on their act. They try three times. Tuck falls off of Roll the first time, misses the next time and during the third try, Tuck jumps up, but does not come down, confusing Roll. Roll has a deep voice, while Tuck has a slightly higher tone. |
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The voices of Tuck and Roll are performed by [[Michael McShane]]. |
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===The Fireflies=== |
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The [[firefly|fireflies]] are background characters who work in P.T. Flea's circus. They act as [[spotlight]]s for the circus tent and in one case as [[searchlight]]s. They never speak but are known to communicate with each other, one of them awakening the other just in time for a circus performance to begin. They are not fired with the other circus bugs. When the plan to save the ant colony from the grasshoppers begins, the fireflies become involved, locking a bound P.T. in the back of the circus trucks. The two act as searchlights during the fake bird scare. |
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===The Drum Tarantula=== |
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This silent [[tarantula]] acts as the musician for the circus, using his many legs to play the makeshift orchestra. He likes playing the drums the most, performing drumrolls at a lot of dramatic moments. He is not fired like the rest of the circus bugs, but participates in rescuing the ant colony, locking a bound P.T. Flea in the circus carriages. He is last seen performing a drum roll when Hopper is to be shot out of the circus cannon. |
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==Other Characters== |
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===The Fly Brothers and Thud=== |
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The Fly Brothers are bullying thug-like bugs who heckle the entire circus performance. Francis snaps when they call him a woman and he angrily confronts them, responding with "''Yikes! She's a guy!''". They are, however, impressed by P.T. Flea's Flaming Death act, particularly when it goes wrong and P.T. is set alight, even shouting "Burn him again!". They later reappear in the bar where the fired circus bugs are at, bringing an overlarged [[horse-fly]] with them named Thud. Thud never talks and only growls and roars, acting like a rather monstrous creature. The Fly Brothers taunt Francis ("Say why don't you tell our pal Thud what you said to us at the circus today? Yeah, something about buzzing around a dung heap.") but he, Slim and Heimlich perform a circus act to scare them. The circus bugs then attempt to flee when they realise the performance while working on the two fly brothers is not scaring Thud at all. They upturn the bar and destroy it, however the flies survive. In order to escape an inevitable beating, the circus bugs go with Flik to safety. Both the Fly Brothers and Thud serve as minor antagonists in the film. |
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===The Bird=== |
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Birds are natural enemies of all insects, looking like giants to them. A relatively small, orange bird – which appears to be of a fictional species of [[finch]] – lives across the river from Ant Island and is feared by all insects, including the ant colony, the Mafia-like grasshoppers, and the circus bugs and serves as one of the minor antagonists of the film. She first appears pursuing Flik, Dot, and the circus bugs in search of food. They manage to escape the bird without being harmed, except Francis who breaks his leg in the process (although it would be later healed). Upon learning Hopper is immensely afraid of birds, Flik and the circus bugs form a plan to create a fake bird to terrorise the grasshoppers. It does succeed until P.T. Flea sets the fake bird on fire and grounds it. The real bird appears again during Flik and Hopper's final confrontation, and Hopper, shocked by this, attempts to escape, but the bird catches him in her beak and feeds him to her chicks which seems to be a take-off on [[The Lost World (Crichton novel)|The Lost World]] novel where the villain in that book was fed to the baby tyrannosaurs by the adult parent T-rex. An additional outtake shows a bird, threatening [[#Heimlich|Heimlich]] turning out to be a robot. |
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===Aphie=== |
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Aphie is a small green [[aphid]] who acts as a pet to the Ant Queen, with the traits of a spoiled [[dog]]. Aphie seems to like Flik and his inventions, as do the Queen and Dot. He is shown upset when Flik is banished from the colony. In an outtake during the credits of the film, Aphie urinates on the Queen who notices this and asks for a towel, sending Flik into hysterics. |
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===City Dwellers=== |
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The [[City]] is a large "metropolis" based on [[New York City]]. It is actually situated under the floorboards of a [[trailer (vehicle)|trailer]] in the middle of a swamp. Various insects live in the city, including the circus bugs. Flik visits the city and meets several insects. Among these are a huge [[daddy long legs]] which towers over Flik when he enters the city, an aged homeless [[cricket]] whose wings were previously pulled off by a human and he plays an out-of-tune melody on his legs like a violinist, and an annoying [[millipede]] who acts like a [[street mime]]. There is also a large insect seen briefly who is acting like a tour bus, describing such sites in the city as "empty bean can and dead rat". |
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The can-based bar where Flik meets the circus bugs has a variety of customers. The bar seems to be run by [[beetle]]s or [[cockroach]]es. In the "shot" of the front of the bar, the tough [[hornet]] bouncer is seen kicking another bug out of the establishment. Flies are a common sight in the bar, eating a meal called the Poopoo Platter right out of a waitress' hand. A [[slug]] named Slick seems to be a regular customer due to a waitress addressing him by his name, but he learns that there is salt in his meal. Flik briefly speaks to a drunk [[mosquito]] while in search of warriors, but the mosquito ignores him, drinking a drop of [[O+]] blood and he falls [[unconsciousness|unconscious]]. Two flies live out on the city outskirts, one named Harry is enchanted by the trailer's porchlight and is electrocuted. |
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===Slick=== |
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Slick is is a Snail who orders a plate at the bar. He asks for no salt but due to poor quality, he gets salt causing him an allergic reaction that bubbles appear in his mouth. |
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===Woody=== |
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[[Sheriff Woody|Woody]], the [[List of Toy Story characters|lead character]] from the film's predecessor ''[[Toy Story]]'', makes a [[cameo appearance]] in one of the additional outtakes as a crewman. He appears on screen and snaps a clapper-board upside-down, ending the filming of a scene gone wrong. |
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[[Category:Pixar characters|A Bug's Life]] |
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[[Category:Lists of fictional animals|Bug's Life]] |
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[[Category:Lists of film characters|Bug's Life]] |
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[[Category:Lists of Disney characters|A Bug's Life]] |
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Revision as of 03:56, 19 March 2011
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