A Bug's Life / Characters

Characters in A Bug's Life.

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The Ants

Flik

Voiced by: Dave Foley ^{Other voice actors}

An ambitious but awkward ant whose inventions alienate him from the rest of his colony.

Adaptational Badass: His video game counterpart actually fights other bugs, and boy is he good at it!
All of the Other Reindeer: He is regularly marginalized for wasting his time on creative thinking and inventing instead of gathering food for the Offering. What makes this more understandable than usual for this trope is that he is very much The Klutz and causes often more harm than good with his blunders. This is deconstructed because the others' criticism of his acts blind them to the facts that he is actually right about.
Amicable Ants: While he does inadvertently kick-start the film's plot by having his invention accidentally sink the colony's food supply into the river, he is the one who finds the Circus Bugs, having mistaken them for warriors, and leads the colony to fight back against Hopper and his gang of grasshoppers.
Artistic License – Biology: This comes from him being a male worker ant - in real life, all worker ants are females, and at the very least, he should have wings.
Badass Bookworm: Becomes this during his stand against Hopper.
Bamboo Technology: All of his inventions are made entirely of twigs, grass and any resource similar to that.
Batman Gambit: He uses this technique to defeat Hopper. It also doubles as a Kansas City Shuffle because he "looked left", while Hopper "fell right".
Beware the Nice Ones: Flik is about as nice and good-hearted an ant as you could ever meet. He's also the one who orchestrates Hopper's exceptionally gruesome death.
Big Brother Instinct: While he's not related to her, he's quite protective and caring toward Dot. He's the only one who steps in to stop Hopper from terrorizing Dot in the beginning, and he gives her a motivational speech about how she can do amazing things despite being so small.
Blue Is Heroic: A blue ant who's the main hero of the movie.
Bring Help Back: He wants to look for a way to make things better for the colony, so what does he do? Leave the island to look for bigger bugs who can help them stand up to the grasshoppers.
We can find bigger bugs to come here and fight, and forever rid us of Hopper and his gang!
Bungling Inventor: It's not really his inventions that don't work, but his clumsiness.
Character Development:
- Goes from being the misfit of the colony to the hero of the film.
- At the start of the film, he accidentally knocks over the offering, but is too scared to come forward to Hopper and lets Atta take the fall. At the end, when Hopper demands to know whose idea the bird was and is ready to once again blame Atta, Flik bravely comes forward.
Country Mouse: Flik is noticeably out of his element during his visit to the city, as he constantly bumps into other bugs and almost gets run over after walking onto a busy road.
Determinator: Wants to gain his colony's approval so darn badly.
Distressed Dude: This happens to him twice during the movie's climax - first when Hopper is about to squish him, and second when Hopper is kidnapping him. Princess Atta saves him in both instances.
Ditzy Genius: Flik is very smart and capable of building various inventions, but is also very clumsy and mistakes the goofy circus bugs for mighty warriors.
Dogged Nice Guy: His crush on Atta is quite clear from the very beginning, but to start off with, she rebuffs any of his attempts to be sweet towards her. As the movie progresses, however, she starts to warm up to him after getting to understand him better and professes her newfound admiration for him near the end.
Everyone Has Standards: He and Atta have to cover their eyes in horror before Hopper gets eaten by the bird's chicks.
Friend to All Children: This isn't surprising, seeing how strong his friendship with Dot is. Flik is the one who speaks up for her when Hopper tries to feed her to Thumper, and later on, he rallies up the Blueberries to all use the fake bird to drive out the grasshoppers.
Gadgeteer Genius: Builds various machines to help his colony work more efficently. Among his inventions include a harvesting machine, telescope, megaphone and a giant bird decoy.
Guile Hero: He comes up with the plan to scare the grasshoppers away with a fake bird. In the climax, he gets rid of Hopper by luring him to the nest of a real bird.
Heroic BSoD: After he gets exiled from the colony. He gets better with help from Dot and the circus bugs.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Flik never shies away from what's right.
Insect Gender-Bender: He's a male worker ant who comes from a colony of both male and female worker ants. In real life, he would most likely be a female, and if not, he should be a winged male.
Intergenerational Friendship: With Dot, mainly because she's the only ant in the colony who admires and looks up to Flik.
The Klutz: For most of the film, most of his good intentions just backfire constantly and few things go well for him.
Liar Revealed: Once he discovers the truth about the "warriors", complete with a hilarious Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises moment.
Love Epiphany: It can be assumed that Flik's crush on Atta has been lasting for a long time even before the events of the movie, but it's not until he and the circus bugs rescue Dot from the bird that Atta really starts to show genuine appreciation for him. She also becomes a lot nicer to him and the two realize through a private conversation that they aren't so different after all, both being individual ants with low self-confidence and self-esteem. They both get better thanks to Character Development.
Maybe Ever After: Flik gets kissed on the cheek by Atta at the end of the film before the latter gets crowned the new Queen. It's not certain that they are together at this point, but it can be assumed, looking at the way they hold hands while waving goodbye to the departing circus bugs.
The Millstone: The ant council had a hard time assigning him to a specific department both as punishment and as a way of getting him off their backs, as they were all part of the extensive list of his previous screw-ups. Averted throughout the film, as he becomes the centerpiece to the ants finally getting Hopper of their backs, and the end of the film shows that the other ants finally took his advice for grain harvesting.
Nice Guy: Flik may be awkward, clumsy and excitable, but he's an extremely good-hearted ant who only wants to make things better for the colony.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: There are three key moments in the film involving him where this happens:
- First, when he drops two of his harvested grain stalks onto Atta without realizing she is in the place where they land.
- Second, when his invention knocks all the food for the grasshoppers into the water surrounding Ant Island.
- Third, introducing the "warriors" to the colony before discovering what they really are.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Thumper gives him a brutal one after he stands up for Atta, who was being confronted by Hopper. He does suffer from injuries, but otherwise it doesn't affect him and is still able to give Hopper his classic "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
Noodle Incident: His "tunnel within a tunnel" project that gets brought up by Thorny after Atta sentences him to one month of digging.
Official Couple: He eventually begins a relationship with Atta.
Oh, Crap!: There are multiple moments when he reacts like that, but see Nice Job Breaking It, Hero above to get the idea.
Platonic Life-Partners: With Dot. The two are best friends and always support each other no matter what, with Dot wholeheartedly supporting Flik's inventions and Flik pointing out she can do great things despite her small size.
Rousing Speech: During the climax of the film, he gives one to Hopper in response to his statement that the ants are just lowly life forms who are meant to serve grasshoppers, having realized that Hopper keeps bullying the ants and trying to keep them under his thumb because he's actually afraid of them and is well aware of what they're capable of. The ants quickly realize how right Flik is and are galvanized into beating Hopper and his men back.
Flik: Ants are not meant to serve grasshoppers. I've seen these ants do great things... and year after year, they somehow manage to pick enough food for themselves and you. So who's the weaker species? Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's you who need us! We're a lot stronger than you say we are. And you know it… don't you?
Scarecrow Solution: His idea to drive out the grasshoppers with the fake bird.
Screams Like a Little Girl: Does this frequently, such as when the food goes over the side of the island into the water, a few times during the bird attack and when he accidentally crashes the fake bird into the circus wagons and leads P.T. Flea to set the bird on fire and expose it all to Hopper.
Shout-Out: In the Hilarious Outtakes, he shouts, "To infinity and beyond!". He says afterwards that he did that out of "not being able to resist".
Took a Level in Badass: Despite suffering a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown from Thumper under Hopper's orders, he gives Hopper a "The Reason You Suck" Speech and inspires the rest of the colony to stand up to the grasshoppers.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He accidentally collapses the offering stone holding all of the food meant for the grasshoppers, prompting Hopper to demand twice the amount intended which leaves the island facing starvation. Thankfully, Flik is not about to let them suffer that fate.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: Doesn't once stop thinking that the Ants can have a better life.
Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: His biggest Oh, Crap! moment in the movie is when he realizes that the "warriors" are actually circus bugs.

Atta

Voiced by: Julia Louis-Dreyfus ^{Other voice actors}

The colony's princess, and the queen's oldest daughter. The pressure felt by inheriting her mother's title makes her approach to life rather neurotic.

Actor Allusion: In one of the Hilarious Outtakes, she continuously cracks up during the takes for the scene when Hopper asks her "Are you saying I'm stupid?". Cracking up on every take is something Julia Louis-Dreyfus has been known to do in real life.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg: After Hopper comes back, with the ants having spent time on the bird and not gathering grain, she begs for her colony's safety.
Hopper: Have you been playing all summer?! You think this is a GAME?!
Atta: No, no, no, please!
Big Sister Instinct: Like Flik, she's very protective of Dot. She became concerned for her sister once she discovered the bird was going after Dot and was asking the troop girls where her sister was after they evacuated the burning bird.
- When Hopper begins approaching her and the Blueberry Scouts threateningly, she pushes all the girls behind her, acting as a shield.
Atta: (fearfully as Hopper stalks towards them) Get behind me girls, it's gonna be okay!
Birds of a Feather: She and Flik both lack confidence and feel like the colony is always watching them, "waiting for them to screw up."
Character Development: Goes from a Nervous Wreck to a confident leader.
- Another minor case: At the start of the film she's terrified of Hopper, and when he demands to know what happened to the food she tries to pass the buck to Flik (though in her defense it was true). At the end of the film, when Hopper is furious with the false bird and demands to know who did it, Atta is calmly willing to take the blame to protect Flik and the Blueberries, and stands up for Flik when Hopper is prepared to kill him over it.
Commonality Connection: After the "warriors" save Dot, Atta and Flik bond over how they feel the colony is always watching them, waiting for them to screw up.
Defrosting Ice Queen: She is rather dismissive towards Flik and his ideas on improving the harvest in the beginning of the film. But warms up to him in the middle.
Deuteragonist: Flik may be The Hero, but the story is as much about Atta's Character Development from a Nervous Wreck to The Good Queen (also her defrosting toward Flik, and learning to stand up Hopper). Her actions also drive the plot as much as Flik's antics: she sends him on the search to find "warrior bugs" (though under false pretenses), is the reason the colony witnesses their "rescue" of Princess Dot, inadvertently gives Flik the "bird" idea, banishes them during the Liar Revealed part leaving the colony in the Darkest Hour, and saves Flik's life twice in the climax, ensuring the movie's Happy Ending.
Disappeared Dad: Her and Dot's birth father was never seen.
- Based on science, after mating, the supposed "King Ant" dies.
Jerkass Realization: After Flik reveals he understands how she feels when she says the colony is all watching her, waiting for her to screw up, she realizes she was just as guilty, apologizes, makes it up to him and is nicer to him from then on.
Nervous Wreck: Starts off as this before her Character Development. (To be fair, inheriting a colony enslaved to a gang of grasshoppers led by an Ax-Crazy Sadist who won't hesitate to kill her sister or worse if she doesn't deliver would put everyone on edge.)
Dot: It's not my fault [Atta]'s always stressed out!
Atta: Oh, I know, I know! I'm always acting like the sky is falling^note.
Non-Mammal Mammaries: Atta is drawn with a slight bump on her chest, to suggest this.
Not Afraid of You Anymore: After cowering in terror of Hopper every time they see each other all movie, she doesn't hesitate to stare him down when he tries to squish Flik and delivers a short but sweet Ironic Echo.
Atta: You see, Hopper, nature has a certain order. The ants pick the food, the ants keep the food, and the grasshoppers … leave!
Official Couple: With Flik.
Right for the Wrong Reasons: When Flik first brought the "warrior bugs," she was right that he "hired a bunch of clowns," but it was more because she didn't believe in him than that he made an honest mistake.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: Once Flik has the idea to get rid of Hopper, she's all the way on board. And after that she finally stands up to Hopper.
Single Woman Seeks Good Man: While Atta was at first dismissive towards Flik she wasn't as brutal as the rest, and it was somewhat justified given their colony's current predicament and that his inventions did cause problems. After he and the Circus Bugs saved her sister from death, Atta started to develop an instant liking towards Flik, even showing her own dorkiness when with him. It was only after she and the colony found out about his lies did she exile him. She changes her attitude again when Flik and the other ants drive the grasshoppers out.
So Proud of You: Said word-for-word after Flik inspires the ant colony to Zerg Rush the grasshoppers.
Took a Level in Badass: Atta starts off feeling incredibly pressured by her new responsibilities, almost constantly worrying that something could go wrong under her rule, on top of being just as terrified of the grasshoppers as most of the colony. As the story progresses, she becomes much more confident and self-assured, and eventually overcomes her fear of the grasshoppers along with the other ants as they all drive them away from Ant Island.
Took a Level in Kindness: Alongside that, her attitude changes quite significantly too, particularly in regards to how she treats Flik. Thanks to his influence, she gradually goes from being a somewhat strict and withdrawn individual who is a tad disdainful towards him into a much more laid-back and warm-hearted character who starts to fall in love with him and likely chooses him as her mate at the end.
Tough Leader Façade: She may be neurotic, but does in fact care for her colony.

Dot

Voiced by: Hayden Panettiere ^{Other voice actors}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dot01_9547.jpg

The queen's youngest daughter. She's the only ant that looks up to Flik, and in her spare time, attempts to learn how to fly properly.

The Cutie: She's a young, innocent, and adorable little ant girl.
Die or Fly: Her subplot involves her trying to get her wings to work, but Atta and the Queen forbid her from attempting to fly because her wings are still too small. She finally succeeds after being chased off a cliff by Thumper.
Disappeared Dad: Her and Atta's birth father was never seen or mentioned.
- As mentioned above, based on science, after mating, the supposed "King Ant" dies.
11th-Hour Superpower: "Come on, wings. Fly, fly!"
Fan of Underdog: She is the only one who has faith in Flik's quest to find warriors to fight off Hopper's gang and consistently remains his friend throughout the movie, even after everyone else has given up on him.
Intergenerational Friendship: She's just a child, but is Flik's only real friend initially.
Kid-Appeal Character: The only child aged main character.
Literal-Minded: She can't make sense of Flik's seed story that's meant to encourage her as he uses a rock to represent the "seed" in question. She finally comes to appreciate what he meant and uses this to convince Flik to return home.
Not Afraid of You Anymore: After the colony revolts against the grasshoppers, when Thumper tries to scare her into submission she's momentarily startled, only to slap him on the cheek and admonish, "No! Bad grasshopper! Bad grasshopper! Go home!"
Plucky Girl: Shown to be incredibly determined, which allows her to fly.
Ridiculously Cute Critter: She looks as adorable as a cartoon ant can.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: See her Spanner in the Works section.
Spanner in the Works: She overheard the grasshoppers' plan to squish the queen and flew back to the circus wagon to get Flik and company to return to save the colony.
Tritagonist: To Flik's Protagonist and Atta's Deuteragonist. Dot is still a major character whose character development (learning to fly and overcome her fear of Thumper) and friendship with Flik is significant, and whose actions greatly impact the plot. She inadvertently causes Atta and the colony to accept the "warriors unconditionally, and the "warriors" to stay, when she accidentally puts herself in danger in the gorge, and later she gets Flik and the banished bugs to return to save the queen from getting squished by the grasshoppers.
Undying Loyalty: One of the only members of the ant colony who respects Flik, despite his accident-prone nature, even when he is exiled.
Youthful Freckles: The only ant to have this that also showcases her youthfulness.

The Queen

Voiced by: Phyllis Diller ^{Other voice actors}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/queenbugslife.png

The leader of the ant colony, and the mother of Princesses Dot and Atta.

Cool Old Lady: She's been leading the colony for quite a while by the time the film starts, and with her cool, collected attitude and sharp wit, she definitely qualifies.
Disappointed in You: She is the first to admonish Flik for deceiving the colony about the circus bugs' identity, and for not disclosing that the makeshift bird was his idea.
"I never thought I'd see the day when an ant would put himself before the rest of his colony."
Mellow Fellow: While Atta, as Princess Regent-in-training, is always worrying about how her actions will impact the colony, her mother is much calmer under pressure, and is even willing to make light of stressful situations.
- Consider this pep talk the Queen gives her daughter at the start of the film:
Queen: OK, Atta, now what do we do?
Atta: Uh — oh, don't tell me! I know it, I know it! What is it?!
Queen: We relax!
Atta: {sheepish chuckle} Right.
Queen: Oh, it'll be fine. It's the same year after year — they come, they eat, they leave. That's our lot in life; it's not a lot, but it's our life.
Reasonable Authority Figure: By and large, the Queen is a fair leader, diplomatically pointing out the unfairness of Hopper's demands to harvest double the food ("Since it's almost the rainy season, we need this time to gather food for ourselves."), and acknowledging Flik's merits where such credit is due (she notes that he has "a lot of spunk" when he first volunteers to leave the island to find help, and admits that she's impressed by the "warriors" he brought back). She also does her best to boost her nervous daughter Atta's confidence during her training as regent.

The Circus Bugs

P.T. Flea

Voiced by: John Ratzenberger ^{Other voice actors}

The ringmaster of a traveling circus. Bombastic and greedy, he is obsessed with his circus' success.

Comically Missing the Point: Subverted. The reason why he decides to track down the circus bugs that he fired is due to the Flaming Death stunt being a huge hit with the flies after a string of failed performances. And he seems to realize that the reason it was a success was because of how horribly wrong it went, as he states his new plan for the show is for the gang to burn him twice a night.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: A goofy, greedy Bad Boss he may be, but he has no compunctions about attacking (what he believes to be) a bird with fire just to save his circus act.
Determinator: You've gotta admire his dedication: he spends all summer going from ant hill to ant hill looking for the circus bugs he fired, and is willing to do an act that involves burning himself twice a night every other night indefinitely just to get rich. He also doesn't hesitate to leap into battle to set fire to (what he thinks is) a bird to save what's left of his circus act.
Greed: Pretty much his prime motivation. He's willing to be burned twice a night for an act that has become a huge hit and Francis is able to distract him simply by pointing behind him and yelling, "Money!". When trying to negotiate with his workers to be released, he merely offers them the promise that he will consider paying them.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Doesn't take much to get him shouting mad.
Hot-Blooded: John Ratzenberger even describes him as the kind of character who always goes into a rage for no explicable reason; he's always on edge, and his blood pressure is always high.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his general nature, he does come around to help the ants rid themselves of Hopper, even offering Flik a place in his circus when they've reclaimed their home. When he sees Atta and Dot newly crowned, he is on the verge of tears before he shakes the sentiment off.
Kill It with Fire: "FLAMING DEATH!" Which he uses on a "bird" that he sees.
Large Ham: It comes with being a showman and putting on "FLAMING DEATH!" in "LESS THAN FIFTEEN SECONDS!"
Let's Get Dangerous!: There's no denying that's he's greedy, demanding and even a bit callous sometimes, but he shows his courage by heroically attacking what he thought was a real bird to save everyone.
Made of Iron: Survives being lit on fire with nothing but slight burn marks. He was even willing to do it twice a night just to attract audiences to his show.
Mean Boss: Aside from regularly berating his employees, a throwaway line suggests that he doesn't actually pay them either.
Meaningful Name: "P.T." most likely came from P.T. Barnum, founder of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, and a known trickster who often duped people into viewing false exhibits.
The Millstone: He manages to inadvertently ruin Flik's plan twice over, first by exposing the Circus Bugs' real identity and pivoting the Liar Revealed conflict, and then by unknowingly setting Flik's fake bird on fire, exposing the dupe to the Grasshoppers.
Papa Wolf: He instantly springs into action when he sees his circus performers being attacked by a "bird".
Repulsive Ringmaster: He is the ringmaster of the circus bugs, and while not outright evil, he is the least heroic and most unpleasant of them.
Skewed Priorities: When he sees Manny "bleeding" to death during the fake bird attack.
P.T.: There goes my magic act!
Spanner in the Works: P.T.'s presence unwittingly sabotages Flik's fake bird plan twice, simply because he didn't know what was going on.
Stealth Pun: It seems that P.T. runs a flea circus.
The Napoleon: As a flea, he's tiny and mean.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom:
- He's responsible for the ants finding out the circus bugs aren't warriors, due to showing up out of nowhere looking for them. This in turn causes the ants to give up on rebelling against Hopper and costs Flik his newly earned good name, almost resulting in the villain's victory.
- He also ruins the ants' original plan of scaring the grasshoppers off with a fake bird by setting said bird on fire, thinking it to be the real deal, which nearly gets Flik killed by Hopper out of revenge. Even worse, he nearly kills Flik himself along with the girls that were inside the bird.

Heimlich

Voiced by: Joe Ranft ^{Other voice actors}

A fat green caterpillar with a German accent, and a clown in P.T. Flea's troupe. He spends his free time eating and thinking about becoming a beautiful butterfly.

The Bait: His role while dealing with the bird. He's very unhappy when he gets stuck and performs the role longer than he wanted.
Big Eater: How he mainly copes with not getting to be a beautiful butterfly.
Fat Comic Relief: He's the fattest member of the circus troupe, and certainly isn't short on humorous moments.
Fat Idiot: A very fat and not very bright caterpillar.
Funny Foreigner: He has a thick German accent.
Gratuitous German: Him being German, this is to be expected. He will on occasions throw a few German words into his lines of dialogue. For example:
- He uses the word "schnell" (quickly) in two instances, one in the scene where he, Slim and Francis try to fend off the flies with their Robin Hood act, and the other when he gets stuck in the crack during the bird attack.
- He is frequently heard saying "ja" instead of "yes" whenever he gets asked a question, or if he agrees with someone else's opinion.
- He has a chance to admire "mein wings!" after he emerges from his cocoon at the end of the film, and says "Auf wiedersehen!" to the ants as he leaves with the other circus bugs.
Large Ham: Going in line with his plump appearance, Heimlich also tends to be rather larger-than-life and over-the-top in plenty of his scenes.
Let's Get Dangerous!: In the climax, he joins the pursuit to save Flik from Hopper, and is urging his comrades to stop the leader of the grasshoppers at all costs.
Nice Guy: His wits definitely aren't the sharpest, but he's still a very friendly and sweet-natured individual.
Ridiculously Small Wings: At the end of the movie, Heimlich the caterpillar emerges from his cocoon with a pair of tiny butterfly wings. He cries, "Mein wings! Oh, they're beautiful!"
Stating the Simple Solution: After Flik and the circus troupe realize their mistakes, Flik begs for them to not leave and give him time to come up with a solution. To this, Heimlich points out that an easy thing to do would be to simply tell the colony the truth about the "warriors".

Francis

Voiced by: Denis Leary ^{Other voice actors}

A ladybug whose facial features and species' name make other bugs mistake (both unintentionally and mockingly) him for a female, much to his frustration. He's also one of the circus' clowns.

Berserk Button: He hates that others assume he is a girl just for being a ladybug and tends to get into heated arguments whenever it happens.
Brooklyn Rage: He gets angry whenever he has to clear up that he is a male and this along with his tough-guy accent makes the reveal even more shocking when he is shouting into the offending bug's face.
Dude Looks Like a Lady: Has a feminine appearance that routinely makes him a target for male bugs.
Establishing Character Moment: During his routine with Slim, he appears very elegant and feminine. Then a fly calls out on him in a not-very-family-friendly-way^note"You wanna pollinate with a real bug?!" and he flies up to him in the audience...and threatens him with a fight in Denis Leary's deep, raspy voice.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's easy to anger whenever you call him a lady, and he's pretty short-tempered, but he's truly a helpful and talented ladybug and cares for his fellow circus bugs. Oh, and he loves children, too.
Real Men Wear Pink: He has a tough personality and a deep, manly voice, but also a very feminine face.
Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Parodied. He has long eyelashes, full lips and a beauty mark.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Tends to get in several arguments with Slim, and is not over hitting him, but they still care and help each other whenever they need it.
Vocal Dissonance: He's a lady bug with Denis Leary's raspy voice.

Slim

Voiced by: David Hyde Pierce ^{Other voice actors}

A sarcastic walking stick who is both a clown and a prop in the circus' acts, disillusioning him from his occupation.

Butt-Monkey: He's always used in his acts as a prop, much to his annoyance.
Classically-Trained Extra: Invokes this trope, as Slim is an intelligent and witty performer desperate for meatier roles, but is always relegated to being a prop.
Deadpan Snarker: Throughout the film, but especially when Francis uses him as a "sword".
(completely deadpan) "Swish swish. Clang clang."
Equippable Ally: He is often used as a circus prop, such as a sword.
Grievous Harm with a Body: He is sometimes used as a weapon by the other bugs.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Francis.
Meaningful Name: He's slender as a stick.
Playing a Tree: He is usually just used as a prop in his circus acts.
Vitriolic Best Buds: With Francis.
Ye Olde Butchered English: Briefly, as the Robin Hood act starts to unravel...
"Me thinketh it-it's not working!"

Rosie

Voiced by: Bonnie Hunt ^{Other voice actors}

A black widow spider with twelve late husbands who acts as a "lion tamer". Despite her species' reputation, she is friendly and motherly.

Apologetic Attacker: She whips Dim on his left front foot during her beast-taming performance with him, but is shocked when she sees him begin to cry after doing it, and apologises for hurting him.
Dark Is Not Evil: Rosie has a dark-coloured body, as is typical of black widow spiders, but is a very benevolent character who is nothing but affable and good-humoured with the residents of Ant Island and acts as the reasonable Team Mom of the circus bugs.
Establishing Character Moment: We first see her performing a beast-taming act with Dim, and at first it goes just as you'd expect it to, but when Dim starts crying after she whacks one of his front feet, she immediately starts apologising for hitting such a sensitive spot and comforting him, and is later shown to be preparing to put a plaster on the foot when P.T. calls her on again. The scene ultimately establishes her as a kind, motherly figure who doesn't like getting violent or getting into conflict unless it's absolutely necessary, in spite of what she has to do as part of her act.
Friendly Neighborhood Spider: Despite being a black widow spider, she's perfectly friendly and helps Flik and the circus bugs in their quest to save the colony from the grasshoppers.
Humanoid Female Animal: Compared to the male circus bugs, she has an almost human face, which makes her surprisingly beautiful for a spider.
Non-Mammalian Hair: It looks like a curl of hair, or a small ponytail, in addition to...
Non-Mammal Mammaries: She has a slightly pronounced chest.
Perky Goth: Has the aesthetics, being a black widow spider, and is very friendly and chipper.
Platonic Life-Partners: With Dim whom she seems to view as a surrogate son.
Seductive Spider: Rosie is a G-rated version; she wears eyeshadow and bright red lipstick and looks more humanoid than the other bugs, her act presents her as alluring and mysterious, and she's been married twelve times.
Stealth Pun: She's a black widow spider who appears to have a widow's peak in her "hair".
Team Mom: She is a gentle creature who helps the rest of the circus bugs, and is quick to tend to Dim's wounds (with her web likely) when he is hurt.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to Gypsy's girly girl, though she's still rather feminine herself in a punkish sort of way.
Two Girls to a Team: She and Gypsy are the only two females of the circus bugs.

Dim

Voiced by: Brad Garrett ^{Other voice actors}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dim01_4874.jpg

A blue rhinoceros beetle and the troupe's "wild beast". He is childish but well-meaning, and is also several of his friends' method of transportation.

Always a Bigger Fish: As tough and ferocious as Thumper is, one roar from the monstrous Dim was enough to terrify the grasshopper into fleeing.
Beware the Nice Ones: As seen in the final battle, his ferocity doesn't always have to be an act (as Thumper found put the hard way).
The Big Guy: The biggest and strongest of the Circus Bugs.
Cowardly Lion: He's much stronger and more imposing than any other bug in the film, but he's got a cowardly personality and a calm demeanor that doesn't let his true strength show until the final battle where he proves fearsome enough to make Thumper run away without a doubt.
Friend to All Children: Dim even tried to sneak some ant children away to the circus.
Gentle Giant: He's The Big Guy and is nice to kids.
Manchild: The most childish of the group.
Mean Character, Nice Actor: He plays the ferocious "lion" in the circus's lion-tamer act, but is actually quite timid and gentle. In his first scene he is roaring and bellowing at Rosie as they perform, but starts crying when she accidentally strikes him with the whip.
Platonic Life-Partners: With Rosie. The two are often seen paired, but only in the sense that they perform their acts together.
Stout Strength: Dim is extremely strong. He's able to effortlessly carry five other bugs while flying, effortlessly push the giant fake bird into a hole in the tree, and at the end he effortlessly carries the entire circus wagon and all that were on board (four of his fellow bugs, P. T. Flee, two millipedes larger than Dim himself, Molt, several ants, the spider and fireflies, and presumably all of the circus equiptment).
Third-Person Person: What little lines he has has him referring to himself in third-person.
Tough Beetles: Dim is a rhinoceros beetle and he's the biggest and the strongest member of the circus bugs, as well as one of the kindest.
You No Take Candle: He doesn't seem capable of articulate speech.

Manny and Gypsy

Manny voiced by: Jonathan Harris ^{Other voice actors}

Gypsy voiced by: Madeline Kahn ^{Other voice actors}

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mannygypsy01_5832.jpg

An elderly, English-accented praying mantis and a gypsy moth. They are both married and a pair of stage magicians, Manny himself being the magic mantis and Gypsy being the subject of his tricks.

Cool Old Guy: Manny gives the appearance of being an older bug, but he's very confident and composed.
Four-Star Badass: When the circus bus were thought to be warriors he signed his name as "Major Manny" and told the young ants that he outranks the others, militarily speaking.
Happily Married: Even outside of their acts, the two seem very happy with one another.
Interspecies Romance: A male praying mantis is married to a female moth.
The Klutz: He has this knowing, thoughtful gaze but not looking where you're going tends to end in tripping and crushing into things...
Large Ham: What do you expect? It's Dr. Smith! Manny does try to appear all-mystical but he ends up described as a bit of a hack.
A Lizard Named "Liz": Manny the mantis and Gypsy the gypsy moth.
Lovely Assistant: Gypsy's job in the circus is playing the beautiful assistant to her magician husband.
Non-Action Guy: Manny does not get involved with fighting nearly as much as his companions. Ironically he would realistically be one of the more formidable bugs, especially against the grasshoppers which Mantises have been known to prey on.
Stage Magician: Manny's main contribution to the troupe is being a magician, albeit he seems to honestly believe that he's capable of magic.
Team Mom: Gypsy seems to share this role with Rosie, and is very encouraging to her friends and to the folks of Ant Island.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: Gypsy acts as the girly girl to Rosie's tomboy.
Two Girls to a Team: Gypsy and Rosie are the only two females of the circus bugs.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: A beautiful gypsy moth married to an elderly praying mantis.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Gypsy seemed much more interested in her appearance than her husband walking into the walls, implying that the latter is quite normal for Manny to the point where it doesn't faze Gypsy at all.

Tuck and Roll

Voiced by: Mike McShane ^{Other voice actors}

A pair of turquoise pill bugs who speak in gibberish and act as cannonballs in the troupe's acts. They don't take anything seriously as long as their lives aren't on the line, much to Rosie's dismay.

Character Catchphrase: "You fired!" becomes theirs after their boss actually does fire them. Also "Up!"
Does Not Speak Common: They speak their allegedly-Hungarian gibberish exclusively and don't seem to understand a word of English, remaining blissfully unaware to what the story is even about.
Funny Foreigner: Both are the comic relief characters and talk in a gibberish that is supposed to sound like Hungarian.
Keep It Foreign: They never learn a word of English, except... "You fired!" The creators state they're Hungarian, even though their gibberish sounds nothing like the actual language.
Shipper on Deck: They’re the first bugs to notice Flik’s crush on Atta, and as such, when they were building the fake bird, they tease him about it in front of Atta.
Those Two Guys: The only twins of the group which immediately makes them closer to each other than anyone else.
The Unintelligible: Especially when they slip into Hungarian. You can still totally guess what they mean from context, tone, and body language though.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: They end up being the reason that the "Flaming Death" act goes horribly wrong and costs them and their friends their jobs; specifically, they get into another one of their infamous fights, and in doing so, set off a chain reaction that ends up derailing the act, causing P.T. to get burned almost to a crisp, and the entire troupe to get fired on the spot afterwards.

The Grasshoppers

Hopper

Voiced by: Kevin Spacey ^{Other voice actors}

The leader of a gang of grasshoppers who take food from the ants every winter.

Actually Pretty Funny: Despite ordering his gang to kill the circus bugs, when Tuck and Roll devolve into a petty slap fight, Hopper hardly changes his expression... and admits “now that’s funny”, and allows the troupe to stay and perform.
All Bikers are Hells Angels: He and his whole gang, minus Molt, are the insect version of a chopper gang. Their wings even sound like motorcycle motors.
Ax-Crazy: It's unbearably obvious that he's a incredibly violent tyrant who compartmentalizes it by making a point in using violence as a means to get his way, which means that he is not safe to be around as saying the wrong thing can result in the speaker's death no matter the species. It's during his Villainous Breakdown that he totally loses control of the situation and as a result goes rampantly homicidal.
Bad Boss: To quote Molt: "You don't want to make him mad. Believe me!" He takes out his frustration at his brother by punching out another member of his gang because of a promise to his late mother. Later, he matter-of-factly kills three of his fellow grasshoppers just to demonstrate a point in an argument.
Badass Fingersnap: Thumper's subtle cue to attack.
Barbaric Bully: He pushes the ants around and keeps them in a constant state of fear.
Big Bad: The main antagonist of the film, Hopper is the leader of the grasshoppers.
Big Brother Bully: Threatened to kill Molt when he got interrupted and made clear that is was only their mother's memory that keeps Molt alive.
Black Comedy Burst: Hopper indulges in this whenever he is remotely Played for Laughs, such as squashing some of his own men with a completely bored look on his face.
The Bully: Behind all the grandiose speeches and masks of eloquence, Hopper is really just a bully who picks on smaller insects to make himself feel bigger than he really is.
Bullying a Dragon: A Reconstructed variation. He understands the weakness of his position against the numerically superior ants, and engages in a campaign of terror specifically to keep the ants from wising up and fighting back. He tried to keep a small balance of just the right amount of terror but Flik upset that balance and it backfired as it only meant the ants snapped after too much abuse, much to his confusion:
Hopper: *as his men retreat* Where are you going? They're just ants!!!
Cain and Abel: The Cain to Molt's Abel. Molt is far nicer and personable than Hopper, who thrives on picking on weaker species and treating everyone around him like dirt. At one point, Hopper flat-out tells Molt to his face that the only reason he hasn't played this trope straight and killed him is because he promised their mother on her deathbed that he wouldn't.
Control Freak: Of the most extreme variety. Hopper can't tolerate the idea of ants standing up to him or of him not being in charge and will do anything to keep his authority.
Deadpan Snarker: He is voiced by Kevin Spacey, after all. Throughout the film, he makes dry remarks about anything that annoys him.
Death by Disfigurement: Loses an antenna shortly before being eaten.
Devoured by the Horde: He is served as a meal for the bird's three chicks.
The Dreaded: Even his own grasshopper gang are scared of him, including the Ax-Crazy Thumper. The room tends to go quiet every time he enters it, with everyone apprehensive of his every word and gesture. This is gradually deconstructed as Hopper makes the crucial error of being hated rather than just feared and pushes the ant's to fight back out of desperation.
Eaten Alive: At the end of A Bug's Life, Hopper gets eaten by the bird's chicks.
Enraged by Idiocy: He has very little patience for stupidity, being easily enraged by Molt's, to the point of nearly killing his own brother several times, and makes it very clear that if not for his promise to their late mother he would have killed Molt a long time ago, punching another one of his subordinates to take out his frustration.
Establishing Character Moment: Hopper's introductory scene says all you need to know about him. His first appearance is framed from a low perspective, showing exactly how the ants view him and how imposing he is. He quietly strolls throughout the colony cavern, the ants parting as he passes to demonstrate his intimidating aura and commanding presence. All of this is communicated before he speaks a single line of dialogue.
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: While Hopper is very vile, he does seem to love (or at least respect) his late mother. He even cites her memory at one point, remarking he hasn't killed Molt because he promised her on her deathbed that he wouldn't.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Looks like he genuinely loved his late mother, as he refuses (despite coming very close) to kill Molt due a promise he did to her on her deathbed.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: His philosophy of kicking the ants while they're down backfires spectacularly as he never realized they would be inspired to fight back when their very lifestyle (and leader) is threatened.
Evil Is Petty: When his big elaborate plan to kill the Queen and keep the ants in line fails, he settles for mercilessly beating up Flik and trying to kill him. In fact, the only reason that he doubled the offering was to browbeat them because of one ant who was no apparent threat and only hurt his pride.
Evil Sounds Deep: His voice is deep and imposing which naturally fits his already unsettling presence. Given who is his voice actor this is a given. Imagine Frank Underwood in a grasshopper's body.
Face Death with Despair: His last moments in the film are him screaming in horror as he's lowered into a nest of baby birds to be Eaten Alive.
Fantastic Racism: Hopper looks down on the ants and sees them as little more than slaves, even going as far as to deem them as "lower than dirt". What's more is that he has worked tirelessly to instill this sense of inferiority into those he has terrorized into submission. Heck, he seems to hold this view against all other bugs he meets, as he will not hesitate to order his men to squish them if he deems them a nuisance to himself.
Fatal Flaw: His need to keep the ants in line through force and intimidation. Right from the start, he pushes them too far by demanding they double the usual food rations (rations the grasshoppers don't even need to begin with) so they eventually become desperate enough to fight back and even the other grasshoppers can see how foolish Hopper's plans are as they already have more than enough food to last through winter and Hopper's demands will not only endanger the ants but the grasshoppers as well by forcing them to travel so close to winter. Eventually, the ants fully revolt and Hopper ends up dying as a result, all because he couldn't resist asserting his authority over the colony.
Faux Affably Evil: In contrast to his typical intimidating persona, he becomes chillingly courteous when about to do something like slaughtering his own henchmen or feeding Dot to Thumper.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: An "evil" variant with Molt, who is clearly less competent at being outwardly evil than he is.
For the Evulz: Unlike most other Pixar villains, Hopper's cruel acts are not just the means to an end but the end on themselves. He claims that it is a necessity to extort the ants to keep the leash tight in order to ensure a future of slaves (which may be true) but he clearly fully embraces it as a lifestyle to force all other bugs to grovel at his feet. Also, he tried to feed Dot to Thumper with no apparent reason. Apparently, he just did for kicks.
Genius Bruiser: He can easily beat down most anybody else in the film, and he's hardly dumb; he knows that if all the ants stood up to the grasshoppers, since they're far more numerous, the ants would easily push them away. And indeed it does happen, they just needed a push; a push he himself provides.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a prominent scar on his right eye, which is whited out. This was probably caused by a bird attack.
Hair-Trigger Temper: It is NOT a wise idea to make him angry if one is not ready to deal with him, since his first instinct is to punch, kick and squish whoever even slightly annoys him. He barely manages to control himself in order to maintain some needed organising and discipline.
Hoist by His Own Petard: His attempt at giving a "Reason You Suck" Speech upon learning of the fake bird plot ends up being so cruel and derogatory that the more he attempts to assert how worthless the ants are, the less they take him seriously. Had he stayed more vague in his lowly opinion of them, they may not have caught on to how much he was fronting.
Horrifying the Horror: He's seen as The Dreaded for most of the movie until the end where he gets scared when confronted by a bird aiming to feed her hungry chicks.
Insult to Rocks: His prejudice towards ants is so great that he has the courage to call Flik "lower than dirt" towards the end of the film.
It's All About Me: Everything is about him being in control of everyone else and they all have to live in fear of him.
It's Personal: The obvious reason he orders the ants to double the food rations is due to his injured pride (and even fear) from Flik standing up to him.
Jerkass Has a Point: Although he kills three other grasshoppers in the process, he points out to his followers that letting one ant stand up might lead to them all standing up and gaining the upper hand.
Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: He gives the impression of being more than a bully when he announces to his men that they're going to spend the rest of the winter partying instead of returning to the ants' island. Then he kills some of his men to make a point. He also gives the ants another chance to give him food even calling himself "compassionate"...by doubling the rations.
Just Desserts: His ultimate fate is to be fed by a bird to her younglings, screaming in terror all the while.
Kick the Dog:
- One verbal example is him belittling Atta after "the grasshoppers" meal is gone.
- He also casually murders three grasshoppers to prove a point about the ants' numerical superiority.
Knight of Cerebus: Hopper's presence alone is enough to darken the mood of the movie each time he's present and his actions are devoid of any comedy. The story takes a particularly dark tone when he returns with him killing three of his own grasshoppers just to make a point, him taking direct control of and oppressing the ant colony and planning to kill the queen.
Large Ham: A dramatic voice and emphasizing gestures are helpful for a skilled orator.
NOT ONE ANT SLEEPS UNTIL WE GET EVERY SCRAP OF FOOD ON THIS ISLAND!!
A Lizard Named "Liz": He's a grasshopper named Hopper.
Machiavelli Was Wrong: A perfect example. He rules through intimidation, even to his own men, and nothing else and largely does it for no other reason than to assert his authority and satisfy his own sadism which eventually just pushes the ants against him when they have nothing to lose and makes the other Grasshoppers abandon him when things go sideways. He misses the crucial lesson of Machiavelli to be feared but not hated and to not push your enemies until they have nothing to lose and even his own men end up abandoning him in the end.
Mean Character, Nice Actor: In the Hilarious Outtakes, he's a fairly sensitive guy that puts up with a lot of goof ups and teasing from the rest of the cast.
Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: The ants are so terrified of Hopper that they probably would have gone on serving him forever... if he didn't order them to give up so much food that they themselves risked starving in the winter, or find out that he intended to squish the queen. His men, even his own brother, also abandon him due to a combination of pragmatism and being sick of Hopper's mistreatment.
Narcissist: Hopper meets all the hallmarks of a malignant narcissist: he's controlling, impulsive, selfish, can't take criticism, lacks empathy, obsessed with his image and power and exploits others for sheer personal gratification.
Nice to the Waiter: The only time he's nice to anyone is when he compliments his masseuse.
No-Nonsense Nemesis: Never underestimates the ants, unlike literally every other grasshopper in his entourage, and is fully aware his way of life precariously hangs on the ants' tolerance for abuse. When his henchmen get indolent, Hopper kills them on the spot to remind the others they can never give the ants lenience. His authoritarianism is as much out of brutal pragmatism as it is for his own gratification.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's put on a show of telling the ants that they need to hold up their end of the bargain by providing the grasshoppers with grain for food, or else they won't be able to protect the ants from other insects who might take advantage of them. However, it becomes clear extremely quickly that the whole thing is just an excuse to bully the ants for his own pleasure; the grasshoppers already have more than enough food, he doesn't even like grain, and there's no evidence that the insects he's supposedly protecting the ants against even exist, and even if they did, the ants never actually required the grasshoppers' protection to begin with.
Obviously Evil: Domineering presence, strongest of his group, enjoys making people suffer, voiced by an actor known for playing villains. Yeah, there's no ambiguity to Hopper's allegiance.
Paper Tiger: Discussed. Hopper is well aware that the ants outnumber the grasshoppers "a hundred to one", and that preventing them from realizing that is the key to the grasshoppers' survival. He's not one to underestimate the ants, which is why he never lets them even get close to figuring this out. Until they do, and Hopper is out of options.
Perpetual Frowner: There is rarely a scene where he cracks a smile.
Pet the Dog:
- Despite disliking Molt and coming very close to killing him, he ultimately decides to spare him due to his promise to his late mother.
- He also instantly believes Molt and lets him off the hook when he tells him that a trio of grasshoppers tricked him into trying to convince Hopper not to go back to Ant Island.
- Subverted when he gives the ants another chance to gather food after Flik ruined everything, calling himself a "compassionate insect" but doubling the rations.
Pragmatic Villainy: Subverted. Though the ants messed up badly giving his grasshoppers food, he states that he's willing to give them another chance... only to double the amount of food. This sows the first seeds of discontentment, as even the most terrified ants complain that there's "just not enough food left on the island," which opens them up to Flik's idea of a revolt since they feel they have little to lose. Later still, when his own men point out what a waste of time and resources it is to return to Ant Island so close to the rainy season (where they could get caught in the shower) as they have more than enough food to get through the winter anyway, Hopper kills the complainers and bullies his gang into returning anyway. Once there, the excessive cruelty he shows the ants combined with the reveal that he planned on killing the Queen causes them to revolt anyway due to finally snapping and having nothing left to lose.
Red Right Hand: Hopper has a scar over his right eye. According to Molt, this is because Hopper was nearly eaten by a bird in the past.
Sadist: A ruthless tyrant who delights in the fear he instills in the ants and for whom the only way to live is by being in ultimate power. Was fully prepared to publicly execute their queen to keep them compliant. He even admits to his minions that they don't even need the immediate food the ants provide, implying his actions are motivated at heart by sadism.
Scars Are Forever: One over his (also likely blind) right eye, which the Pixar staff confirms was inflicted by the first bird that attacked him.
Screams Like a Little Girl: When confronted by his greatest fear, birds. In fairness when they're big enough to eat you alive, you probably would too.
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: He is savvy enough to fear the ants' numbers and their ability to bite back at any time, but his own method of avoiding this, abusing and intimidating them to increasing measures in the belief that their fear of Hopper and other Grasshoppers will keep them in line, is ultimately what causes the ants to snap and turn on the grasshoppers.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Manly Man to Molt's Sensitive Guy, but it's really only in the movie itself - he's actually quite a softie in the Hilarious Outtakes.
Slasher Smile: He only smiles on about two occasions, both of which involve him doing or about to do something horrible
The Social Darwinist: Uses the philosophy of Might Makes Right to the ants to keep them subjugated (despite knowing that from a certain point of view the ants are superior) to the grasshoppers and of course he doesn't like it when he is reminded that according to this logic birds are above him in the natural order of things. It is clear that he believes it himself and applies it to his own as well, as terrorising and even murdering his men is meant to keep them from ever questioning him.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: When not at borderline frothing rage point, he's committing brutality with a stoic, outright bored look on his face. How he makes his case towards his men ditching going after the ants is a key example.
Hopper: *politely* Does anybody else wanna stay?...
Stupid Evil: His constant need to fulfill his sadism leads to him inflicting increasingly unreasonable demands and threats to the ants, culminating in his plan to kill the Queen. All this manages to accomplish is a major example of The Dog Bites Back and Hopper getting eaten by the bird's chicks.
Too Clever by Half: Hopper is smart enough to know that the ants far outnumber the grasshoppers and that they need to be kept in line for the grasshopper' sake. Unfortunately, he's too blinded by his own ego to realize that doubling down on his cruelty towards them is what will cause them to rebel as opposed to keeping them eternally submissive.
Undignified Death: Terrifying though it was, he still died by being eaten by an adorably fluffy baby bird.
Vile Villain, Laughable Lackey: The Vile Villain to Molt's Laughable Lackey.
Vile Villain, Saccharine Show: One of the darkest villains Pixar has ever done is in a comedy about cute ants and insect clowns.
Villainous Breakdown: He loses his Faux Affably Evil demeanor when he tries to kill Flik out of anger and speaks about gathering grasshoppers and returning when it is obvious that he lost and there won't be any returning and later when he's about to be eaten by a bird and then he realizes the bird has hungry babies.
Villainous Glutton: Downplayed, but he makes the ants gather double the usual offering of food and later orders his gang to eat every scrap of food on the island, when he and his gang have more than enough to last them through winter - which he openly admits. It's not about food but keeping them in line.
Villain Has a Point:
- Atta says the sudden loss of the food wasn't her fault, but Hopper tells her the first rule of leadership is that "everything is [her] fault." Even though he's just bullying her for the sake of laying down the law with the new leader, he correctly points out to her that she must learn to take responsibility when things go wrong.
- He kills some of his own men to demonstrate his point that the ants aren't harmless; he emphasizes that the ants are smaller than them, but their greater numbers mean if they do stand up to the grasshoppers in any significant way, the grasshoppers will be powerless against them. His concern turns into a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
Villains Out Shopping: At his hideout, Hopper is seen enjoying a nice back massage and genuinely enjoying it. Later, after occupying Ant Island, he decides to kick back and enjoy the circus bugs’ performance, and laughs it up quite a bit.
What, Exactly, Is His Job?: The only justification Hopper gives to the ants for his reign is some vague talk about the grasshoppers protecting them from more dangerous insects but the ants seem to not have any enemies except for Hopper as Flik's venture outside sees him get by fine. It's Flik pointing out that Grasshoppers need ants, not the other way around, that leads to the ants finally pushing back.
When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Cruelty and intimidation are the only leadership style Hopper is capable of or interested in and so he uses it and nothing else, eventually causing ants to push back.
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: According to Atta and Molt, he was always afraid of birds. This is his eventual fate when he gets eaten in the end. Downplayed when everyone who hears this agrees, because birds are equally threatening to all bugs.
Would Harm a Senior: He planned to murder the elderly queen to get control over the colony.
Would Hurt a Child: Hopper doesn't hesitate to feed Dot to Thumper. Fortunately, Flik stops him.

Thumper

Voiced by: Frank Welker (vocals), David Lander (outtakes) ^{Other voice actors}

One of Hopper’s closest henchmen. He’s completely crazy and attacks anyone he can find.

Actually Pretty Funny: Despite his crazed demeanor, he can be seen chuckling with the others when Hopper compares pieces of grain to ants.
All Animals Are Dogs: He has dog-like body language and makes some canine sounds, acting like a Right-Hand Attack Dog to Hopper.
Ax-Crazy: In case his frothing at the mouth roaring wasn't hint enough, it's shown in full when he mercilessly beats up Flik on Hopper's orders.
Death by Adaptation: His video game version suffers this at the game's Flik's hands.
Dirty Coward: When Dim roars at him, he flies off yelping in fear while leaving Hopper to be swarmed by the ants like the rest of the grasshoppers.
The Dragon: As Hopper's personal attack dog, he fits the bill better than Molt.
Dumbass Has a Point: He aggressively tries to stop Manny from using the Queen for his next magic trick before Hopper calls him off. It turns out that the trick was a ruse to get the Queen away from Hopper. Though it was a case of having a one-track-mind rather than any legitimate suspicions.
Even Evil Has Standards: As feral and violent as Thumper is, he is just as shocked and terrified as his comrades are when Hopper buries three of their fellow grasshoppers alive under a mountain grains.
Feral Villain: He's by far the most violent member of Hopper's swarm, making him the attack animal when Hopper needs to start making examples of problematic ants. He's almost completely non-verbal, or at least noncomunicative as he only speaks in snarls and roars except for one line in the finale.
For the Evulz: Hopper is a tyrannical, ruthless gangster with very few redeeming qualities, but if nothing else, he at least understands the value of restraint to a degree. The same cannot be said for his deranged, Ax-Crazy lieutenant Thumper.
Fluffy the Terrible: If you associate the name "Thumper" with a certain adorable bunny, it's weird to see an Ax-Crazy grasshopper having the same name. On the other hand, it's also a Meaningful Name, as he likes to thump his enemies in the ground.
Furry Confusion: He's less humanized than the other grasshoppers, to the point of being treated as a pet.
Horrifying the Horror: In the brief scene of Thumper chuckling with the others when Hopper compares pieces of grain to ants, Thumper was also as shocked as everyone else when Hopper buries a few henchmen alive.
Madwoman in the Attic: Well he's kept around, but often on a leash, blurring the line between thug and animal.
Mean Character, Nice Actor: The Hilarious Outtakes portray Thumper as being polite, completely sane, and far from the Ax-Crazy character he is in the movie.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: He dishes an absolutely brutal one on Flik after the bird stunt, pummeling him so hard, he leaves the ant in a curled ball of agony. He only relents when Hopper orders him to heel.
Obfuscating Insanity: Implied and downplayed. He acts like a vicious, psychotic animal who has to be leashed to stop him from attacking the ants, but in Hopper's hideout, he acts slightly more civilized around the other grasshoppers (though he still begs Hopper for grain like a dog and needs to be kept on a leash by Molt). Assuming it's not a Conforming OOC Moment, this implies that part of his crazed persona is an act he deliberately puts on to intimidate the ants before he kills them.
Oh, Crap!: Expresses shock at Hopper's outburst when he breaks the bottle and let three of their kind get buried alive.
Professional Voice Dissonance: In one of the Animated Outtakes at the end of the movie, Thumper, who can only shriek in the movie, suddenly breaks character and speaks in a soft, nasal voice (courtesy of David Lander).
Psycho for Hire: A very low-functioning example, but very psycho for treats nonetheless.
Right-Hand Attack Dog: Of the Ax-Crazy, violent, mentally unstable variety. Hopper likes to use him to mercilessly beat down the ants, particularly Flik, for insubordination and he tries to frighten Dot with him at one point to keep the ants in line. Thumper also acts and vocalizes like a dog.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He goes flying for the hills with the rest of Hopper's gang after Dot overcomes her fear and sics Dim on him.
Suddenly Voiced: In the main film, he has no actual dialogue, save for an easy-to-miss line where he says "get those bugs!" In the outtakes, however, he talks normally.
Team Pet: Though it's ambiguous whether he's supposed to represent an attack dog or an insane person, he seems to be this to the grasshoppers to some degree. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene shows him begging Hopper for treats and catching a piece of grain tossed to him in his mouth. He also has to be held by a leash by other members of the gang when out in the open.
The Unintelligible: Speaks in grunts, rasps, growls, snarls, and whimpers when Dim scares him away. His one line of actual dialogue in the movie is absurdly easy to miss and might actually be all he knows how to say.
Would Hurt a Child: Without a doubt. He shows no qualms about eating Dot if Hopper had his way, and he terrorizes the girl every chance he gets.

Molt

Voiced by: Richard Kind ^{Other voice actors}

Hopper’s younger brother. He isn’t really as mean as Hopper, and is just following orders from him and rest of the group.

Adaptational Villainy: He fights Flik in the video game, trying to kill him, a far cry from the Nice Guy Punch-Clock Villain he is in the movie.
Affably Evil: Sure, he's still aiming to acquire the ants' food, but he's pretty nice and friendly while doing it, even trying to tell funny stories to ants he's menacing. He even gives them a friendly warning during the second raid, having himself made Hopper angry one too many times:
"Do as he says; you don't want to make him mad. Believe me!"
Annoying Younger Sibling: He infuriates Hopper to such an extent that Hopper had to promise their dying mother that he wouldn't kill Molt.
Cain and Abel: The Abel to Hopper's Cain. Molt is far nicer and personable than Hopper, who thrives on picking on weaker species and treating everyone around him like dirt. At one point, Hopper flat-out tells Molt to his face that the only reason he hasn't played this trope straight and killed him is because he promised their mother on her deathbed that he wouldn't.
Character Catchphrase: "Shutting up", whenever he find out that he's pushing his luck.
Death by Adaptation: Flik kills him in the video game.
The Ditz: Molt isn't exactly the smartest bug in the movie.
The Dragon: Invoked and ultimately subverted. Molt’s friends tell him that as Hopper’s brother, he’s basically their second-in-command. Molt falls for it and goes to convince Hopper to not return to the island, but immediately backtracks once it’s made clear he has no leeway in Hopper’s decision-making whatsoever. Ironically, Thumper fits the role better than Molt ever could.
Dumbass Has a Point: Granted he was talked into it by three other grasshoppers, but Molt argues that going back to Ant Island makes no sense since the grasshoppers have more than enough food for the winter, and Hopper himself doesn't even like grain. Indeed, the grasshoppers' final visit to Ant Island leads to Hopper's death.
Establishing Character Moment: When he enters the film, he shouts "Boo!" at the ants, establishing that he’s the only not evil member of the grasshoppers.
Even Evil Has Standards: While he's not evil but just part of the bad guys, he's seen visibly flinching when Thumper attacks Flik. He was also as shocked as everyone else when Hopper buries a few henchmen alive, even though this was the same trio who tried to set Molt up as The Fall Guy.
Evil Laugh: He gives one upon entering the anthill and again when he flies out, though the effect is ruined when he misses the exit and bonks his head on the ceiling.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: An "evil" variant with Hopper, as he is more-or-less the screw-up of the gang and is not very good at being evil, unlike his brother.
Gentle Giant: He's a big guy and doesn't really want to pick on the ants.
Heel–Face Turn: He joins the circus bugs at the end of the film as a strongman.
Hidden Depths: He knows just how foolish and evil Hopper's plan is but is scared to refuse to go.
Lovable Coward: A rare villainous version. He's a coward but so friendly he's impossible to hate.
Mean Character, Nice Actor: Played with. Since Molt was already a Minion with an F in Evil in the movie, in the Hilarious Outtakes he pretty much acts like his usual playful self, sans allegiance.
Minion with an F in Evil: While he's one of the bad guys, he's a dim-witted Gentle Giant, often infuriating his intelligent but evil older brother. The worst thing he really does is let out a few evil laughs and aggressively ask the panicking ants where the promised food was, though they mostly just ignore him.
Motor Mouth: Loves to babble on and on. Helps that he's voiced by Richard Kind.
Nice Guy: Easily the nicest of the grasshoppers in Hopper's gang, not wanting to attack the ants and warning them about Hopper's murderous intentions. He even pulls a Heel–Face Turn joins the circus at the end as their strongman.
Pragmatic Villainy: While he's not necessarily cruel to the ants, his main compunction with mugging food from them is that it's an exhausting waste of time and effort when the grasshoppers already have loads of food. A lot of the other grasshoppers are implied to think the same, just like Molt, they don't want to cross Hopper about it.
Punch-Clock Villain: When the food's collected and the circus is performing, he happily claps and plays along, rather like a child.
"The circus, the circus, I love the circus!"
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Sensitive Guy to Hopper's Manly Man.
Sibling Yin-Yang: The chummy, talkative and generally likable and stupid Molt is as far removed from the cold, intimidating, sadistic and bullying Hopper as you can get.
Token Good Teammate: He's not evil at all, just following along with the other grasshoppers.
Vile Villain, Laughable Lackey: The Laughable Lackey to Hopper's Vile Villain—he steals Hopper's thunder not two minutes into their introduction, causing an irritated Hopper to pull him aside. This dynamic exhausts Hopper to no end, who flatly admits the only reason he doesn't kill Molt is because he promised his mother on her deathbed he wouldn't.

Miscellaneous

The Bird

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bugs_life_disneyscreencaps_com_4979.jpg

Voiced by: Randy Thom

A first-year female sparrow living near the ant colony. The bugs view it as a monster.

Always a Bigger Fish: A gigantic predator (from the bugs' point of view) who defeats the film's true villain Hopper in the end.
Ambiguous Gender: It's hard to tell if the bird is supposed to be male or female—most people guess female since it's caring for a bunch of little baby birds, but male birds do the same sometimes and it's brightly colored like male birds tend to be.
Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Hopper is finally defeated after Flik lures him near the bird's nest, where it easily catches and feeds him to its chicks.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: Due to being a non-anthropomorphic bird, it behaves purely on animal instinct and preys on any and all bugs for food.
Chekhov's Gunman: After its appearance where it nearly ate Flik, Dot, and the circus bugs, Flik uses the Bird to defeat Hopper for good by deliberately leading him to the nest.
Cute Giant: From the perspective of humans, the bird is very cute. Relative to the characters, however, it's a giant.
The Dreaded: Everyone is afraid of birds, even Hopper. It probably doesn’t help the latter that one of them likely caused his eye injury.
Feathered Fiend: To all the bugs, but only when it's hungry. A human would probably find it (and especially the chicks) to be rather cute.
Giant Flyer: A mix of the "normal-sized flyer seen from a small character's perspective" and "giant predator" varieties.
Kaiju: From all the bugs' point of view, it's a giant monster.
Killer Rabbit: It's a cute fluffy bird. That is many times larger than any of the bugs in the movie.
Lightning Bruiser: From the perspective of the bugs, the bird is massive, and it's also much faster than they are, with its movements coming off as Super-Speed in comparison. When it spots Hopper, it easily overtakes and catches him without even flying.
Monster Is a Mommy: The bugs are terrified of it, but it's just a bird looking to feed itself and the chicks.
Non-Malicious Monster: Unlike the anthropomorphized grasshoppers, the Bird doesn't attack the protagonists out of evil or sadistic intentions. It's just a hungry animal trying to feed itself and its family.
Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: As far as birds go it's not very big. But compared to the bugs it's a giant predator.
Predators Are Mean: It isn't really mean, just acting on its instincts, but still the bugs think of it that way.
Robotic Reveal: The Animated Outtakes reveal that it's actually a giant animatronic when it breaks down attempting to eat Heimlich.
Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism: The Bird is the only animal in the film who is not anthropomorphized, unlike all the arthropod characters. It looks and behaves exactly like a real bird would, and shows no signs of human-level intelligence.
The Speechless: Due to being non-anthropomorphic, it never talks at all, only making chirping and roaring sounds.
Summon Bigger Fish: In the climax, Flik lures Hopper near the bird's nest so it can get rid of him.
T. Rexpy: It clearly takes inspiration from fictionalized portrayals of giant predatory dinosaurs—its song sounds like a roar from the bugs' perspective, it has a Giant Foot of Stomping etc.

Characters / A Bug's Life

The Ants

The Circus Bugs

The Grasshoppers

Miscellaneous

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Characters / A Bug's Life

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The Ants

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