A Hero's Journey Essay

A bug’s life

In today’s rapidly advancing society, there are only a few forms of entertainment that have truly withstood the test of time. Of these, the film industry is arguably the most immortal, continuing to be the dominating force in entertainment with global box office revenue expected to increase from 36 billion in 2016 to 50 billion in 2020. In today’s world, film matters for the same reason that art does, that being it embodies and highlights the state of affairs within the world at time, specifically those values, attitudes and beliefs of the culture within which and for which the film is made. Arguably the most iconic plot structure of a film is that of a hero’s journey. A hero’s journey encompasses an individual or group that set out on an epic quest to achieve a seemingly impossible objective whilst facing extreme difficulty and turmoil at every step along the way. In this presentation, John Lasseter’s 1998 blockbuster A Bug’s Life, will be analysed with respect to its context and receival by audiences, the values, attitudes and beliefs it conveys as well as it’s hero’s journey.

Flick (Dave Foley) is a creative ant, who is continually wreaking

havoc in his colony. His latest catastrophe was washing away the food stores that were demanded by the villain Hopper and the other grasshoppers, who are now demanding twice the original amount whilst threatening complete ant annihilation. Now Flik must embark on an epic hero’s journey to recruit fighters to defend the colony. Across this journey, audiences watch as Flik embarks upon the transformation from an anti-hero to a hero whilst battling the powerful villain, Hopper.
The film raked in a massive 480 million dollars and received high rating levels by 92% of surveyed viewers. Peter Stack, a member of Chronicle Staff Critics, described the film as “one of the great movies -- a triumph of storytelling and character development, and a whole new ballgame for computer animation. Pixar Animation Studios has raised the genre to an astonishing new level.” One of the reasons the film was so successful has to be linked back to the values, attitudes and beliefs conveyed to audiences to which they can directly relate.
The values, attitudes and beliefs shown in the film highlight, in a spectacular fashion, the notions of bravery, courage, resilience and leadership. Whilst these values certainly exist in our reality, the merger of them all into one screen makes for an exciting and encapsulating film that leaves audiences in continual suspense. Arguably the most foregrounded of these values is that of bravery. This notion climaxes in the scene where a battered Flick can be seen chest out and standing up against Hopper. This sense of bravery is assisted by the use of dramatic background music and the incorporation of high angle shots that show Hopper towering over Flick. The use of all of these values, attitudes and beliefs not only makes for an exciting film but also greatly assists in the development of the hero’s journey throughout the film by supporting Flicks transformation from the anti-hero archetype to that of the hero.

The Hero’s Journey is an archetypal plot structure that forms the basis of almost every world-renowned movie ever made.

A hero’s journey is developed through the use of twelve steps which culminate in the hero achieving his goal, these steps can be seen on the screen beside me. Perhaps the two largest of these twelve steps is that of the call to adventure and resurrection. The call to adventure is extremely prominent in the film and is seen after Flik washes away the food supplies for the grasshoppers. Upon being sentenced to see counsel for his crimes, Flik is told to leave the colony whilst he searches for ‘warrior bugs’ to help defend his home. Flik’s departure from the colony is not only the first indication of his characters development towards a hero but also the perfect example of a call to

adventure.
Furthermore, the resurrection step is displayed perfectly in a scene during the climax. During this scene Flik demonstrates that he has all the necessary heroic attributes to stand up to the much larger and stronger Hopper. In the scene, Hopper corners Flik and with the help of a low angle shot to give audiences and appreciation of the power of the villain, all hope seems lost as he tightens his grip on Flik’s neck. However, Flik had one last trick up his sleeve, he traps Hopper, leading him to a predator, ultimately leading to his demise in the beak of a bird.
In conclusion, a bug’s life is a movie that changed the face of computer animated movies through it’s exciting portrayal of the hero’s journey. Through the use of carefully selected values, attitudes and beliefs, cinematic devices as well as the incorporation of the twelve steps of a hero’s journey audiences watch as the protagonist develops from a mischief maker who lacks heroic attributes to a brave, courageous and resilient leader that removes the ultimately breaks his colony free from the shackles placed on them by the villain and his disciples. A bug’s life is a stirring depiction of a hero’s journey that encapsulates audiences from the beginning and leaves a lasting impression.