MovieChat Forums > A Bug's Life (1998) Discussion > Can someone please explain exactly what ...

Can someone please explain exactly what Flick did that was wrong?

posted 15 years ago by data_girl_3
13 replies | jump to latest

Towards the end, when the colony first learns the bird was Flick's idea, everyone immediately turns on him, accusing him of putting himself first. But how exactly did they reach that conclusion. It seemed to me that the only reason he had the circus bugs take the credit for the idea was because he knew that no one would listen if they knew the bird was his idea. So he got the circus bugs to present the idea as their own to ensure that it would become a reality- because he wanted the colony to survive.

So...how exactly was he putting himself first?

http://dragcave.net/user/Data_Girl

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] chiibiprincess 14 years ago

The colony was against using the bird because they thought circus bugs couldn't concoct a decent battle strategy . Flik argues that it will work. If you're talking about what the queen said to him, I think she meant that she was shocked that Flik would go against the idea of the entire colony to not use the bird.

Hey, it's the "mori no otomodachi!!

[–] Eels25 14 years ago

But it worked. I mean, if they had gone ahead with the plan and not forced them to leave the fake bird would have worked and the entire final battle/ants coming to the "brilliant" conclusion that they massively outnumber the grasshoppers would have been unnecessary.

Not to mention that these ants are supposed to be so smart and yet they never realize how few grasshoppers there are and how many of them there are. I loved this movie when I was a kid but that sort of suspension of disbelief really irritates me.

And what's the deal with hating on Flik for having generally good ideas? Not one thing he invented over the course of the movie didn't work. The machine he built in the beginning worked but they *beep* on it (and by the end they're all using it). The telescope worked. It's like the rest of the ants are stifling Flik's ingenuity and creativity for no particular reason other than the plot says so.

These strange things happen all the time...

[–] MetFanMac 13 years ago

It's because they're so rigid in their conformity that they have extreme difficulty in adapting to any sort of change whatsoever. Remember how in the beginning an entire line of ants gets cut off because a leaf falls on the path? That's the colony in a microcosm. Flik, and possibly children like Dot, are the only genuinely creative souls in the whole place.

Supermodels...spoiled stupid little stick figures mit poofy lips who sink only about zemselves.

[–] brushfyr 13 years ago

Huh, hard to tell when someone is being a troll or just doesn't get the movie.

Eels, the other ants didn't KNOW the plan would work because they didnt read the script so they don't know how the movie ends. They felt Flick was a screw up because he was different. The ants were shown to not be able to accept change on simple levels, like when the ants paniced when a leaf blocked the path and an older ant had to lead him around it.

The ants weren't smart. What gave you that idea? They're ants, tiny tiny tiny heads with tiny brains. Flick was the only smart one, that's why they didn't think about ganging up on the grasshoppers before.

[–] CooperKid 13 years ago

They were getting at him for pretending he'd found warriors when they were actually just circus performers, then trying to cover up his mistake.

__________________
You're only supposed to blow the doors off!

[–] Black_Dumbledore 13 years ago

He lied to cover his ass and put everyone else at risk to do so. If he had just admitted that he messed up and got circus bugs they would have just gathered food like they had planned and been fine(this is before they knew Hopper was going to kill the Queen). But by Flick putting himself first (by lying to save reputation) everyone was put in danger by concocting some crazy scheme(Which never really worked in the end).

Also it (saying it was Flick's idea) confirmed to the rest of the colony that Flick knew that they were circus bugs (another dangerous lie). Prior to that Flick could have been finding out for the first time too, for all they knew.

________________________
And You Thought White Dumbledore Had Style

[–] tdaugherty2005 13 years ago

Flick didn't do anything wrong. The other ants are spiteful jerks who know nothing. He was trying to help the colony but that stupid Atta (voiced by the idiot from that offensive movie, North) threw him out of town. I wouldn't have came back.

[–] MetFanMac 13 years ago

You are aware that Julia Louis-Dreyfus has done a lot more besides North, yes?

Supermodels...spoiled stupid little stick figures mit poofy lips who sink only about zemselves.

[–] tdaugherty2005 13 years ago

Yeah, she was also in (gulp) Father's day. Oh, the horror...

[–] dogsoldier_spoon-1 13 years ago

Flik's inventions might've worked in the movie, but a lot happened before that. He was known as this guy who tries to improve everything by inventing but ends up screwing it up. When they're deciding on his punishment Atta says something about making him part of the dig crew and the ant in charge of that argued that last time he tried to make a difference and they ended up having to dig him out (for 2 days). So it seems normal that the ants aren't very trustworthy of his inventions.

[–] RParmly-3 13 years ago

Not to mention that these ants are supposed to be so smart and yet they never realize how few grasshoppers there are and how many of them there are. I loved this movie when I was a kid but that sort of suspension of disbelief really irritates me.

Dude, try every class-based society in human history. No suspension of disbelief needed. The ants were acting exactly like human beings, who're supposed to be smarter, have all through history.

There's a plan in everything, kid. And I love it when a plan comes together!

[–] mrdjx 12 years ago

It wasnt that Flik was putting himself first or being a bad Ant. He just had a terrible reputation for his history of ideas that backfired.

The ants got pissed at Flik because he led them to believe that they could actually stand a chance at fending off the grasshoppers. The Ants always thought Flik was hopeless, and used his idea of "finding warrior bugs" to get him out of the way, thinking he wouldnt find such help and would eventually get lost. When Flik returned having apparently made good on his promise, the Ants suddenly realised he was serious and the warrior bugs could threaten the dominance of the grasshoppers, and began preparing their own defence system.

Flik soon discovered he had accidently hired circus bugs, he tried to cover up his mistake, and to avoid exile he let the Ants continue with building their rebellion. When the cover for the circus bugs was blown, the colony turned on Flik, realising he had put them in grave danger as the circus bugs -who were the lynch pin of the stategy- were not capable of fighting. Naturally, the cover up came off as extremely reckless to the Ants, who also took Fliks history of disasterous ideas into consideration and threw him into exile.