Pixar's "A Bug's Life" Has Been Sadly Misaligned

Of all the Pixar films A Bug's Life feels a bit like the redheaded stepchild of the film studio. At least, that's the way everyone treats it; with disinterested apathy. Even more than the two Cars movies, people tend to treat it as a weird outlier by Pixar.

And for me, this perception never seemed to fit the film, which is just as exquisitely crafted as Toy Story (which was released three years earlier) or any of the films that came after it. But how we perceive the film is largely due to placement in Pixar's film canon. It's the second film produced by what was up to that point a scrappy little studio with only one hit on their hands. Toy Story had been a massive success both critically and commercially and this put a lot of pressure on Pixar to perform well again. If they put out something mediocre, well, we would just accept their first effort as a fluke.

Much of the discussion about A Bug's Life upon its release centered upon comparisons of it to Toy Story. The discourse inevitably shifted to saying, "Yea, it's good but not nearly as good as Toy Story". Agreed, A Bug's Life isn't as good as Toy Story but that's not entirely a fair or useful comparison. Taken on its own merits, A Bug's Life does what it's trying to achieve exceptionally well.

The animation is every bit as good as Toy Story. The characters are richly drawn and the story is told with such assurance and purpose. Pixar is as beloved as it is for these two reasons: its animation is excellent (and frequently boundary pushing) and its storytelling is thoughtful, engaging, and imaginative.

The opening sequence is brief but it quickly, entertainingly and confidently establishes everything we need to know. The character dynamics are laid out with an ease, complexity and breadth that would put many other films to shame. There's Flick, who's a bit of an oddball, misunderstood by the other ants. The queen ant is giving over duties to Princess Anna, who is nervous, and whom Flick has a crush on. Her little sis Dot looks up to Flick despite everyone else scoffing at her affection. The grasshoppers force the ants to collect a harvest for them, which goes awry when Flick's invention accidentally sabotages the collection. Flick decides to go out to find warriors to fight back the grasshoppers after they make the ants do the harvest all over again. The film drags a bit as it has to do another stretch of establishment for a group of circus performers who Flick will later mistake for fighters and ask to aid him. But once it gets past this, the film hums along and doesn't have to explain anything to us because we know who everyone is and where they stand.

Beyond its storytelling, the film is thematically rich. There's a great message in there about not judging people and the need for understanding people. This is a film that's often about misfits and wants us to root for them, whether it be Flick, the circus performers or Dot. Pixar films are frequently about outcasts, misfits and people who don't belong, and the films tend to argue about the need to be true to yourself.  

Of course, the animation is every bit as inventive and well-crafted as we might now expect from a Pixar film. Take the use of water droplets as drinks and the head of a telescope; it's a little detail but its one that provides texture to the environment and demonstrates a certain level of affection for this universe. There's a very good sense of the anatomy and movement of insects and the way in which they interact with the world around them. There's a realism underlying the antics that shows time, effort and a concern for attention to detail put into the film production.

Mostly why I think we overlook and misjudge A Bug's Life is that its subject matter about anthropomorphic insects doesn't seem as crafty or original as some of the other concepts Pixar has cooked up. Toys comes to life when you're not around. The monsters living in your closet are real. A man straps balloons to his house and floats off like a hot air balloon. It's nothing nearly as overwrought as these concepts, but what makes A Bug's Life more than its simple, cute story is the specificity that Pixar lends the film; this isn't a film about insects but a film about a quirky, misunderstood ant named Flick and his journey. That may sound obvious but so many films fail to give us characters that we feel for and identify with. Pixar does it in every movie and makes it feel easy.

Give A Bug's Life a second chance. It's a sophomore effort that's not nearly as sophomoric as we've led ourselves to believe.

Theme of the Week: The 2000's and On

This is shaping up to be a week where I explore films released in the 2000's and onward (2000 - 2013 that is). This was always a sort of a plan in my mind but I intend to stick with it (and hopefully by officially stating it, it will force me to actually toe the line). I've been so intent upon schooling myself on some film history that I neglected the film present (Which is very, very rich despite what you may have heard).

The manner in which I choose the films I watch is a mercurial process (I tend to have a couple films in mind but it's not a dead to rights thing. There are lots of films I was sure I was going to watch on a given day/week and still have yet to get around to) so I can't outright say what I'll be watching (or if they will remain in this previously mentioned era). But I'm open to suggestions (Spirited Away was chosen at someone's recommendation) and might consider making more "themed weeks" in the future.

A running tally of films so far:

Spirited Away (2001) 

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... And Spring (2003)

Pacific Rim (2013) - Currently in theaters

25th Hour (2002) 

Despicable Me 2 (2013) - I previously reviewed the film but revisited writing about it after a second viewing.

A Bug's Life (1998) - I bend the rules a bit in order to try to change your opinion on this second, consistently misjudged effort by Pixar.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2012) -  Because it's only fair that at least one documentary get thrown into the mix.

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) 

The Shield's Seventh Season (2008) - The 2000's were a great time for television as well as exemplified by the great final season of this fantastic antihero police drama.

Life of Pi (2012) 

Final Thoughts on This Week's Films

Odds 'n' Ends on "Despicable Me 2"

Re-watching Despicable Me 2, I found myself regretting my earlier opinions of it. No, it is not nearly as strong as the original Despicable Me, but it's also far more intelligent and deep than I initially gave it credit.

Amid a summer blockbuster landscape that has proven to be a bit of a wasteland, Despicable Me 2, even upon my first viewing of it, was refreshing for how colorful and uncynical it was. Now having seen a fair share of the summer movies (discluding indies and still having yet seen a handful of tentpole films), Despicable Me 2 ranks towards the top of the list. Too many films this summer have been abysmally bad (Man of Steel, Hangover 3, Grownups 2) that its a sight for sore eyes to see a film with a solid story that's often inventive and clever.

There's a consistently heartwarming story at the center of the second Despicable Me 2. While Gru is a more toothless character without his former villainy and one seemingly with little story left to explore, the parenting crash course that Gru is presented during the film is surprisingly earnest. Sub-plots I was previously dismissive of this time around I really took a shine to. Gru fretting over his teen daughter fawning over boys is not only very funny but spot-on in its accuracy. 

There are elements here that don't work. The villain "El Macho" borders perilously close to offensive. He's also a much less compelling and nuanced villain than the original's Vector. And the film simply doesn't spend enough time with him (It also does a poor job with the middle child Edith). The mall setting likewise never gets developed or built up satisfactorily. I would have liked to have met more shop owners; instead we're limited to two, one a not-so-red herring.

The minions remain the best part of the film. They're scene stealers, but the film thankfully never overuses them and they never overstay their welcome. Their adorableness is matched only by Agnes, the youngest daughter, who is an animation feat in her own right for her considerable cuteness. The cuteness though is part of the film's aesthetic which is bursting with dazzling color and memorable visuals. Take the journey of a spy car turned submarine plunging into the depths of the ocean. It is an astounding, gorgeous piece of animation. The animation is matched by an equally great voice cast. The cast has some wonderful comedic timing and it's only fitting we find great comedians such as Steve Coogan and Kristen Wigg added to the roster this time around.   

Despicable Me 2 is up there with Monsters University and Pacific Rim as the films of the summer that I've enjoyed the most. Monster University is another film I wish to revisit; I didn't give it enough credit the first time I saw it as well. It is another film brimming with a boisterous color palette and tons of fun ideas. Pacific Rim is also a film that's free of darkness. Perhaps what we need right now are films that don't try to be so serious or brooding or dark. We just need a fun time where we can laugh for an hour and a half, forgetting our worries. Despicable Me 2 does that without sacrificing creativity.

"25th Hour" Thoughtfully Takes on the Burden of Sin and Post-9/11 New York

The way a film carries itself is important. 25th Hour carries itself like a person whose seen and done too much and is simply weary of it all. Edward Norton's Monty Brogan looks like a dead man walking even before we learn what is weighing upon him. He gives off the appearance of man who wants to slouch and sag but has too much pride to let life completely crush him. We quickly discover that this is his last day before he has to go to prison for a drug charge.

25th Hour heavily carries itself like a film attempting to sort out some of the weight of living in New York after September 11th. There's a great monologue delivered by Norton early in the film where Monty stares into a bathroom mirror with "Fuck you!" scribbled in sharpy on the bottom left hand corner. He starts railing on everyone and everything: Fuck you he yells at various ethnic groups and demographics (show in a montage) that make New York City the rich and diverse place it is.

Eventually he lands on one final person to blame: himself. All he has to blame for the fate he's received is himself. He could have gotten out of selling drugs, gone into a more honest line of work like his childhood friends (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper - though they're not entirely as straight and narrow as they seem or would like to believe), who he asks to send him off. He's grown apart from his two old friends, Jacob and Francis, having fallen into a less reputable crowd. Monty is a man sorting through some picadilos, confronting where life has led him and how culpable he is.

The one good act Monty believes he ever committed we witness pre-title sequence. Monty and his criminal partner Kostya (Tony Siragusa) stumble upon a severely wounded bulldog. Monty initially feels it deserves to be mercifully put down before changing his mind and rescuing the dog. The film cuts ahead five years later; the dog, Doyle, is all better but seems to be the only thing to have improved during the interval of time. There are a handful of flashbacks throughout the film, but the film primarily takes place over the course of the last day that remains for Monty and how he comes to terms with what he's done and the prison sentence that awaits him (There's only three options we learn: he runs, he kills himself or he accepts the seven year sentence. No matter how you slice it, it's not good).

There are subplots here but they're not nearly as interesting as the languorous dread that hangs over Monty's last day. Jacob, a teacher, has a crush on a seventeen year old student (Anna Paquin) who he runs into during the course of the farewell evening (It's very entertaining story played well by Hoffman and Paquin and provides a breath of air between the weightier material elsewhere).

Monty spends the day saying goodbye to his girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson), whom he fears ratted him out, his father (Brian Cox), who hopes to see him run away, Jacob, and Francis, who holds a grudge against Monty for getting into a criminal life. The discussion of issues that arose in the wake of September 11th never feel completely in synch with the rest of the film, but they also make sense for the first film that shot on location in New York after the attack. They also feel appropriate coming from director Spike Lee who has never shied away from such controversial subject matter and finds interesting ways for the weight of 9/11 to meld with the weight of Monty's incarceration.

Grade: A- 

"Pacific Rim" Is As Cool As It Is Entertaining

Pacific Rim is a film of exceptions amongst the big tentpole blockblusters released this summer. Where so many films featured big, dumb action that wasn't all that interesting or fun, Pacific Rim has plenty of action that is exciting and fun. Where so many films are dark and brooding, Pacific Rim is lighthearted.

Pacific Rim is a film that has a primary objective of giving us all the cool, awesome giant robots fighting giant monsters that our ten year old selves are clamoring for. And boy does it ever succeed! This action is sleek, cleanly shot and tremendously pleasing. It's easy to follow, brightly lit, clamoring with bright, eye popping colors. The monsters and robots are lovingly crafted and the action shines with great deal of affection.

The storytelling of the film harkens back to a simpler form of narrative. At times the story is archetypical; the characters largely fill certain roles: the rebellious hero, the vengeful romantic interest, the stern commander, the scatterbrained scientist. This is a simple tale of good versus evil. The alien monsters (called "kaiju" -- a reference to the genre of films that in part inspired the film) appear through a rift in the tectonic plates, a portal between worlds. A prologue quickly informs us of what's happened in the years since their arrival, and the film ensues almost entirely in the middle of a war where the appearance of the monsters is a matter-of-fact occurrence. The world has joined together to fund a program for giant robots (called "jaegers") to combat them, but the program is soon to be shut down. The commander (Idris Elba being stoically badass like few people can) attempts one last kamikazi run with the last four remaining jaegers to try to shut the portal for good.

The pleasure of the film stems mostly from how it finds so much nifty, merry, imaginative visual entertainment. While this feels like it ought not be an intelligent film, it's so lovingly and intelligently crafted that it rises above its cliches and its shortcomings. This is a film that revels in being fun and cool, and does it with such pride that you can't help but have a good time.

Grade: B+

"Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... And Spring" Is As Profound As It Is Visually Stunning

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... And Spring is about a monk and his apprentice. They live on a floating Buddhist temple out on the middle of a lake. The film plays out like a series of vignettes connotating not just a change in season but significant passages of time; the titles represent the literal seasons we watch the story take place during but also the figurative time in the life of the protagonist, the apprentice. We watch him as a petulant child, a reckless teenager, an angry young man, a sobered middle aged man, and finally as the very master he had such a complicated and contentious relationship with.

The film is one of accumulation. The story gains heft and resonance the further it passes along. It asks us to witness the life of a person (At times the film is marking time; letting us really sense the passage of time). He's not always a good person but his master sees something in him. There's also a sense of aging and maturity that most people have as they grow up, forced to own up to the things they've done.

There's a sereneness to the film that often contrasts with its frequently painful and sad subject matter. The film takes advantage of its gorgeous scenery. The monastery is surrounded by beautiful, pristine landscapes. There's a lovely sense of the finiteness of man in the vastness of nature. The temple is a speck, and the people on it are less than a speck.

The film, as its title suggests, is concerned with the cyclicality of life, ending on a beautiful, poignant, and appropriately melancholy note. The film is a generally melancholy one; the master keeps trying to instill wisdom upon his tutelage and keeps failing. But he keeps persevering and the boy, later a man, eventually starts to embrace the teachings. But it's a slow process. The film's first segment finds the boy tying rocks to animals, torturing them. The master ties a rock to the boy while he's sleeping and has him untie the rocks while the large stone clings to his back. He tells the boy that if any of them are dead by the time he finds them he will have a stone forever weighing on his heart. This weight is continually felt throughout and it only gets heavier as the story progresses.

Quietly contemplative and repeatedly profound Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... And Spring is an elegant, elegiac film.

Grade: A

The Beautiful Child-Like Whimsy of "Spirited Away"

Children are the protagonists in the films of Hayao Miyazaki. We see the world through their eyes. There's a a sense of wonder that pervades his films; it's a child-like wonder about the possibilities the world holds.

The films often start similarly. A family heads to a remote location, a new, unfamiliar place. They're moving into a new home. The distant place reveals itself to hold mysterious and fantastical things. It's the possibility of anything hiding, something awesome, just around the corner, just inside that forest or beyond that wall.

Kids are the heroes in these stories. It's childhood that is the unstated theme of the films. In Spirited Away, Chihiro is a ten year old girl; fearful of abandonment, worried no one will listen to her, that no one will understand her, that she'll lose those she cares most deeply about.

The animation of Studio Ghibli is unique. It's hand-drawn, lush, and soft. Simply drawn but filled with rich detail. The animation is infatuated with nature but also with spiritual, surreal and otherwordly things.

Chihiro and her parents stumble upon a fantastical other world filled with spirits and creatures. Her parents begin eating food randomly laid out, while Chihiro hesitates (Another Miyazaki trademark: children seeing the truth where adults cannot or will not). Her parents, eating like pigs, soon turn into giant pigs and mysterious, strange things start coming of the woodwork. 

Much of Spirited Away is storybook. Miyazaki is not really concerned with plot but with mood and atmosphere. The film is whimsical. The visions that the story comes up with are fanciful and splendid. The whimsy is also present in the story; Chihiro is befriended by a boy with magical powers, Haku, and turned into a work-slave by an evil witch. She's made to work at a bathhouse inhabited by anthromorphic animals, walking-talking vegetables, and other incredible sights (unlike those of any other film). Her love for her parents and Haku, and her faith in the goodness of those around her save the day.

Spirited Away is often considered to be Miyazaki's best film, his most representative (It's certainly one of his two or three best). It's a film with a lot of imagination and inventiveness. This is a film that's just a pleasure to spend time in its world; we enter following the tale of a child and leave feeling giddy like a kid again.

Grade: A