Bug's Life And Estes

Although an animated comedy, the Disney film A Bug's Life contains many characters that embody the archetypes described in Clarissa Pinkola Estes' book Women Who Run With the Wolves. For example, the aging Queen ant is the insect version of the archetypal Queen Mother or crone. She is wise, old, and commanding of respect. She is looking forward to abandoning her position of power to devote more time to her inner self, away from public service to more closely resemble the Baba Yaga. The queen's daughter is the maiden, who in her youth acts as a warrior. Often the maiden seems headstrong, willful, and aggravated. For example, in the tale of the red shoes, the young maiden wears the shoes in spite of the consequences and against the will of her benefactor. It seems she might be doing the right thing but she is acting purely out of instinct. In the film, Princess Atta exhibits exactly these signs. She is headstrong and determined and often aggravates those around her. Luckily, she doesn't meet as tragic an end as the girl in the story of the red shoes.

However, the story most central to the film A Bug's Life is that of the Ugly Duckling. The theme of belonging and exile are central to both the movie and to the tale. Flik's character closely resembles that of the Ugly Duckling. He is seen by his peers and his entire community as not belonging. He is harassed and often miserable; his own mother even casts him out. In his exile, he transforms from an ugly duckling into a powerful adult. Flik's questioning of tradition causes him to be exiled from his community. However, he remains true to his cause and succeeds in the end. He is eventually accepted as one of the crowd, indeed as a hero.

In some ways, Flik's encounter with Hopper, the mean head of the grasshoppers, is similar to the tale of Bluebeard. Incurring the wrath of one who is more powerful and physically stronger than he also exposes the weaknesses of that character. At the end, the ants triumph, as do the sisters in the Bluebeard tale. Hopper isn't as evil as Bluebeard; he doesn't have a storehouse of ant skulls. However, the two tales can be compared for their arc hypes and underlying meanings.