It's Tough to Be a Bug! is a 9-minute long 3D film based on the Disney-Pixar film, A Bug's Life. Flik, from A Bug's Life, hosts the show and educates the viewer on why bugs shouldn't be seen as pests, but more as friends. Wonder what it's like to be a bug? To have humans hunt you down at every turn with sprays and magnifying glasses? Flik the ant invites you to view the world through "bug eyes" to get a little perspective. We'd all be in big trouble without bugs - and now you know why!
Flik the ant from Disney-Pixar's A Bug's Life has decided to make you an honorary bug to show you his world, so you can see how vital bugs are to human beings. Enter the ants' underground performance theater and wind into the earthy tunnels. Check out theater posters for previous shows the bugs have produced, such as My Fair Ladybug and Beauty and the Bees. Once inside the cavernous theater, have a seat on the benches and please don't mind any "bug juice" that might dampen your seat. Flik gives you a pair of "bug eyes" - a groovy pair of 3D glasses - so that you can see the world from his point of view.
The Bug's Life theater is located in a bug's land. There, the queue passes through a replica of Ant Island before heading underground, where the queue appears the same as the one at Disney's Animal Kingdom. After a dazzling introduction, Flik introduces you to his hive of friends. In the 9-minute show, learn lots of insect trivia and find out what the buzz is about when it comes to our interspecies relations. Not everyone welcomes humans into their world, especially the angry Hopper who declares war on humanity!
The Show
In Disney's Animal Kingdom, a female bug voice says "Ten minutes till showtime." before the song "One" plays. After the song, "Tomorrow", the voice says, "Five minutes till showtime.". When "Tonight" is playing, the voice says "One minute till showtime." After the song, the doors open. But in California Adventure, the voice is a male bug and has "Flight of the Bumblebee". The doors close, and the announcer tells the audience to never buzz, sting, pollinate and chirp. Flik pops up upside-down behind the butterfly curtains. Then, Flik talks and the butterflies fly away. The leaf is the title card and says "IT'S TOUGH TO BE A BUG!". Then, the little blue butterfly flies away and a millipede bites the leaf. Then, jungle music is heard, and a Mexican redknee tarantula (called Chilean Tarantula) named Chili walks to see Flik. Flik screams and Chili laughs. A pair of Acorn Weevils place a trident like item on the stage with a web. Chili shoots the acorn with a quill. Then, the acorn weevils get an acorn with Weevil Kneevil and Chili didn't shoot him. He misses the acorn and Weevil escapes and Chili chases him. The next guest is a soldier termite who defends his mound by spraying intruders with acid. A piece of the set (wood) falls and makes a loud rumble. The termite shoots at the flea and shoots at the audience. He ran out of acid and went away. A Stink Bug named Claire de Room walks to the stage and is silent. The acorn weevils place a flower and Weevil enters the flower; Claire passes gas and then walks away. An explosion is heard when Hopper jumps into stage. Hopper is mad at Flik. A Rhinoceros beetle chases Flik and four Acorn Weevils hold a poster of the movie, "Knock em Dead". The acorn weevils turn over the poster and show clips from old monster movies such as; a live-action boy screaming and a tarantula about to destroy his house, two soldiers shooting at a grasshopper in the park, a pair of Fireflies climbing up a building and two ants walking to the boat and a man hits the ant on the boat, and fly is hit by the fly swatter three times: The screen goes black and a hand appears with a bug spray. Wasps poke the audience. Several Black widow spiders go up and down trying to capture the audience and go up and went up and are gone. Hopper says that nothing can stop him, but a chameleon eats Hopper and spits out Hopper and Hopper flies away. Some bug audience members talk at once while Flik said that he forgot to mention about reptiles. On the song, several bees start to sing, along with several Dung beetles, The Dung Brothers, several dragonflies and several ladybugs in the song. In addition, it frightens adolecenes to the point of tears. Weevil returns holding a cupcake and the bugs chase him. The butterflies come back to form as curtains and Flik says that a magnifying glass is for looking at little things, not for burning. He lets the little butterfly fly into the butterfly curtains and the show ends. The announcer says that audience members should be seated, so the beetles, maggots and cockroaches can leave the show safely. The bugs start to talk at once and the announcer says to pick up the grubby things before they exit. In the Animal Kingdom show, the female voice says to exit through the doors to the left, while the male voice says to exit through the doors to the right. The guests put their bugs eyes in the bins outside the theater and exit.
Soundtrack
The queue features parodies or renditions of songs from famous Broadway shows using bug sounds.
- "One" (A Cockroach Line from A Chorus Line)
- "Beauty and the Bees" (Beauty and the Bees from Beauty and the Beast)
- "Tomorrow" (Antie from Annie)
- "I Feel Pretty" (Web Side Story from West Side Story)
- "Hello Dung Lovers" (The Sting and I from The King and I)
- "Tonight" (Web Side Story from West Side Story)
Cast
- Dave Foley - Flik, a blue ant and the main protagonist in the show.
- Andrew Stanton - Hopper, a grasshopper and the main antagonist in the show. (Kevin Spacey- the voice of Hopper in the film- had a clause written into his contract stating that he would not be required to reprise his role for any A Bug's Life toys or theme park rides.)
- Cheech Marin - Chili, a Mexican redknee tarantula.
- French Stewart - The Termite-ator, a termite.
- Tom Kenny - The Dung Beetle Brothers, two dung beetles who only had singing roles during the show.
- Jason Alexander - unnamed bug.
Touring Tips
- This show might frighten your littlest grubs, as it features billowing fog, strange smells and sensations, brief bouts of darkness and some unhappy insects. If so, "a bug's land" offers some great alternatives!
- You will receive a special pair of 3D "bug" glasses to wear while you view the show.
- There are scenes that may frighten children. If you have small children who might be scared, sit in the back of the theater. When the show grows intense, the special effects are less harsh in the back.
- This 3D movie has warning signs outside. HOWEVER, please use caution when bringing your children (and perhaps yourself) to see this movie. There are hairy bugs, spiders, and it is loud and dark with some intense scenes.
- Cast Members will park your strollers for you, so be prepared to take all your belongings with you. (Remember, they just park them, they don't watch them.)
- Each pair of 3D glasses is the same, so there's no need to switch them. Cast Members immediately remove those that you've put back and take them to be cleaned.
Facts
- he film, created by Rhythm and Hues Studios, is the main component of a theme park attraction at several Walt Disney theme parks. Using theater lighting, 3-D filming techniques, audio-animatronics and various special effects, the show gives the audience an idea of what it would be like to be an insect.
- The attraction opened in Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort on April 22, 1998, a full seven months before the actual feature debuted in theaters.
- The theme song, "It's Tough to be a Bug," was written by George Wilkins with lyrics by Kevin Rafferty, and is available on Music from Disney's California Adventure.
- As the curtain closes, an announcer reminds the audience that ". . . honorary bugs remain seated while all the lice, bed bugs, maggots and cockroaches exit first."
Hidden Mickeys
- Hidden on the wall as you enter the Bug's Life Theater, 3 flower pods placed close together, make a Classic Hidden Mickey. It can be found on the left side wall, facing the theater's stage. The flowers are about 5 rows up from the stage.