Hi everyone,

Some of you may know that I'm a HUGE Disney and Pixar fan. The fact that KF is doing a complete Pixar In Review is crazy still! There's a ton of movies, and I can't wait to hear them talk about each one throughout the year. To help this series really succeed, I thought about writing with all the easter eggs, hidden gems, history, and even how each Pixar series plays into the overall Pixar Theory. (If you're not aware, there is a whole fan theory that each Pixar movie is connected in some way and that it's just one big Pixar Universe. This is helped because they tend to add an easter egg in each movie hinting at the next release.) Check out my "fact sheet" below and let me know if I forgot anything!

Fun Facts:

- This movie is based on the 1800s Aesop fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper

-The project's title changed names several times, from the originally pitched Army Ants in 1988 and Bugs.

- This actually was a struggle to make with 1990s computers, and the Pixar pipeline prioritized scenes that were less likely to change. One of the first scenes they rendered was the Circus scene

-They had a lego cam labeled the "Bug cam" so the animators and designers could get a better idea of what everything looked like from a bug's perspective. This little lego cam rolled through different terrains to give everyone a bug's perspective.

- In 1994, there was a death of Disney's #2 man, Frank Wells due to a helicopter engine failure. This created a power vacuum at Disney and Hollywood which led then Disney CEO and Chairman Michael Eisner to fire the studio chief, Jeffrey Katzenberg. Katzenberg is the person who is mostly responsible for the giant Disney stock boom in the 90s and basically saving the company. Out of this fallout, Katzenberg partnered with David Geffen and Steven Spielberg to found DreamWorks (along with Katzenberg winning over $200 million from Disney thanks to Eisner's pettiness and reliance on Michael Ovitz. Dreamworks then acquired Pacific Data Images (PDI) to help rival Disney while they were making The Prince of Egypt. Thus the rivalry between the two companies formed. Antz was made from the same pitch as well as through good faith discussions between Lasseter and Katzenberg in the early to mid-1990s that led to the divide even further after DreamWorks PDI announced Antz as a competitor to the not so well kept secret, A Bugs Life. The feud was so heated that Katzenberg even moved the release date of Antz up by several months from early 1999 to October 1998 to compete with A Bugs Life and paid incentives to people to get Antz ready before A Bugs Life even with the years head start Pixar had.

-Every Pixar movie tries to push the envelope of animation further. This time, it was the complex nature of bugs, as mentioned above, that was the thing. The multiple parts of every bug, who they all moved, etc. was a struggle for the computers at the time to animate but they did it!

Hidden Details:

-When the head ant talks about the "Twig of 93", it was in reference to the giant LA earthquake in 1993, even though many people believe it was in reference to The Nightmare Before Christmas.

-Thumper the Grasshopper was named Thumper after the bunny in Bambi. Why? Well, Thumper was John Lassetter's favorite Disney character.

-The tree that is seen a lot is eerily similar to the tree that Jessie was left by in Toy Story 2, as well as the tree that Carl and Ellie hang out by a lot during the intro in UP, but this could be coincidental.

-The Chinese takeout box shown during the circus segment also makes a lot of appearances throughout Pixar movies but that will be touched on later.

-That circus box they were all in? Casey Jr? That's a reference to Dumbo, where the train that takes that circus around every was called Casey Junior. (it's also a ride at Disneyland too). In addition to this, the cookie box says it's from J. Grant Bakery. J. Grant is Joe Grant, who was a co-writer on Dumbo.

- Abit of a stretch, but next to the A113 easter egg is the number 1195. Many, including myself, believe this is a nod to Toy Story as that was the 1st 1 released in 1995.

-In the city, as the Daddy Long Legs is walking around, there is a box for the Apple computer, a nod for then head of Pixar Steve Jobs, and that Pixar used Apple computers at the time.

-There is a box named Darla. This is not a reference to the young kid in Finding Nemo, but a nice gift to one of the animators daughters.

-Hidden behind that box is a nod to Broadway with the Lion King's broadway poster, where at that time the Lion King poster was in the exact same spot in NYC.

-On top of the bar is a Pizza Planet soda cup.

-When Flik and Anna get their antennae tangled up and Anna leaves, the Pillbugs own antennae make a heart shape.

Recurring easter eggs:

- The Pizza Planet delivery truck! What quickly has become a staple easter egg in all Pixar movies. This car makes an appearance parked right by the trailer house. John lassetter even admitted that Pixar thinks that the trailer house shown is the home of that Pizza Planet Delivery driver.

-A113, the room most animators have their first class at California Institute of the Arts appears on the box as Flik is walking into the "big city".

-John Ratzenberg. This awesome guy has made an appearance in just about every Pixar movie because he is "Pixar's good luck charm". In this movie he is P.T. Flea

-Luxo ball. The famed ball first shown in the Luxo Jr. short actually doesn't make an appearance in this film. It's one of the few times they don't add it to the movie.

-Hidden Mickey. A staple to nearly EVERY Disney movie is the hidden mickey.things that just so happen to look like the head of the Disney's mouse. This one appears during the painting sequence as the scouts pamper and paint Francis. On the left side, the middle scout holds what looks like actual Mickey Ears that you'd wear in the parks!

The Pixar Theory:

As mentioned above, there is a recurring theory that every single pixar movie is connected in some way. A Bugs Life was hard to pin down but eventually, it was revealed when Wall-E came out. Instead of being during modern time in a desert, it's actually way in the future! How so? I mentioned the tree above was the same tree in Up and Toy Story, well I said that they were very similar but not the same. Same for the Pizza Planet Delivery Truck and mobile home. Those were just left there as they appear very decrepit. Theres several lines that allude to these ants being very genetically evolved. First, they say say that they've been around for quite some time as well as one ant saying he "feels 90 again!". Ants live only 3 months. But living a whole summer and for YEARS means that they have survived a long time and evolved to live much longer than normal ants. Plus those rocks they stack to build a platform for the Grasshoppers food would've taken much more strength than what current ants can lift. Also, there is no mention of humans beyond the trash left behind and that one bug whose wings got plucked. What if there were very few humans around because they were just returning to earth (like at the end of Wall-E?). Also that plant we see planted in Wall-E? Many believe it to be the tree that grows to be the home in A Bugs Life. Finally, eating these super intelligent bugs leads animals to become hyper intelligent and the dominant species that leads into a later movie...

That's all that I have for the upcoming A Bug's Life episode of Pixar In Review! Let me know if y'all want more of these for each Pixar In Review, and again, let me know what I may have missed!

The Nano Biologist

Edit: thank you so much for the award!!