Hello dudesndivorce.com readers!
While I enjoy many types of movies I do reserve a special place in my heart for a well done animated story and that is what we certainly have here in “A Bug’s Life” from Pixar and Disney. Released in 1998 it was one of the early ventures into computer animated movies and, while the animation does stand out, what makes this movie timeless is the same thing that makes any movie timeless—a really good story.
The story centers around a community of ants who are under the “thumb”, as it were, of a group of thug-like grasshoppers who provide them “protection” from supposed threats much like the mafia provides protection to businesses for a price. The grasshoppers price? An annual contribution from the harvest. Naturally this can only occur as long as the ants believe they need the grasshoppers so-called services. This environment is maintained by two factors; 1) the ants live on an island and are afraid to venture beyond it so they do not come into contact with others and 2) the grasshoppers, particularly their leader Hopper constantly tell the ants how weak and unimportant they are and that it is only “natural” for them to serve the grasshoppers. Despite the fact that the ants outnumber the grasshoppers by a factor so large it would knock your socks off and the fact that the ants are the only ones willing to do ANY work (the grasshoppers are classic bullies and spend all the time they aren’t shaking down victims by eating, drinking, and carousing!).
Into this distorted situation steps our unappreciated hero, Flik. Flik is the anti ant. Unlike the rest of the ant community he lives in, Flik is non traditional, willing to think and act outside the box, he is an innovator, an inventor. And in the classic movie tradition, a bumbling, fumbling, yet kind hearted with the best of intentions inventor. So, naturally despite his best intentions he completely destroys the annual offering to the grasshoppers and brings down punishment on the ant community and enmity on himself in the process! In an effort to redeem himself he concocts a plan to leave the island (What? Leave the island? No one leaves the island!) and find some mercenaries to fight and finally once and for all extinguish the grasshopper threat. The rest of the ant community is more than willing to let him go just to get him out of their way!
So off Flik goes into the wild wild world! Eventually he wanders into the “city”. Where he meets up with a those that will help him in his quest, a band of recently unemployed circus performers. Yeah, not just any circus performers they are bad ones. Probably why they’re unemployed, right? Yep! A perfect choice to take on a group of mean spirited, tough, rugged thugs? Yeah, sure, why not? You’ve got your fat effeminate caterpillar who thinks of nothing but his next meal, you’ve got your twin gymnastic pill bugs that don’t understand a word anybody else says to them, a stick bug that is always worrying about his next “role”, a male ladybug with gender and anger control issues, and a has been magician that never was! Not to mention the co-dependent spider. A perfect team to take on the mafia like grasshoppers! Nonetheless through a great deal of miscommunication and false assumptions that is the situation we have. Naturally when all comes to light plans, ideas, and faiths are shattered.
But this is where the story gets good (especially for us divorced guys) the characters realize they really have no other choice, turning back is not an option any longer. They, despite their fears and doubts, must believe in themselves, in each other, and in their plans. There is no going back now. They must move forward.
Isn’t that so true with our situation as divorce men and as divorced families? The divorce has happened, we can’t change that. If we have children our families have been broken up, you can not deny that. But it is not the end. We need to have faith in our selves that we can come through this, but that is hard to do sometimes. It helps to have others around you, it helps if your family can understand they also need to pull together to help themselves both as individuals and as a family come through this very difficult period of their lives. I think this movie illustrates this principle well.
It is a heart warming movie with a lot of humor for all ages. The animation is first class. The characterization and voice acting is superb. I think it is one of the best, if not THE best of the computer animated movies I have seen (with the possible exceptions of “The Incredibles” and “Kung Fu Panda”). Don’t wait for the kids to be around to watch this, pop it in the DVD player and watch it yourself. Go ahead, I won’t tell anybody. You never know, you just might find yourself enjoying it too!
See ya later,
Russ
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