A Bug's Life

(Note: This review refers to the Blu-ray version of the DVD.)

Ladies, gentlemen and larvae of all stages, the second digitally animated feature from John Lasseter and Pixar (after "Toy Story") gets the Blu-ray treatment. It's the underbrush version of "The Seven Samurai," the tale of a plucky little ant (voiced by Dave Foley) who goes searching for insect warriors to help defend his hill from invading grasshoppers. What he winds up with is a caravan of circus bugs who put their showbiz razzle-dazzle to work for the cause. Kevin Spacey is particularly menacing as the bandit king of the grasshopper gang, but all the characters are wonderfully realized from image to voice performance.

The Blu-ray debut is produced at the usual high standard of Disney home-video mastering and comes with two new supplements: "A Bug's Life: The First Draft" with storyboards and narration by Foley, and a 21-minute "Filmmaker's Round Table" reunion discussion with directors Lasseter and Andrew Stanton and producers Darla Anderson and Kevin Reher. Also includes commentary by Lasseter and others, the Oscar winning animated short "Geri's Game," all of the mock outtakes featured in its theatrical showings, featurettes and more. Also includes a bonus digital copy of the film for portable media players.