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Tear Jerker / A Bug's Life

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Tearjerking moments in A Bug's Life.


  • How we're introduced to Dot, while not dwelt on, is still kinda sad. She shows up trying to chase after two of her peers who are clearly bullying her (and based on later scenes, have been doing it regularly) and all her mom and older sister can think to do is scold her for trying to fly, something we later see she's deeply sensitive about. And to top it off, her mother and sister, along with everyone in the colony except Flik, are too scared of Hopper to even react to him threatening to have Thumper do...something to her for accidentally bumping into him.
  • The scene where Flik has been called in front of the council for causing the destruction of the offering and then causing Hopper to demand double the amount by being the only one who stood up for Dot when Hopper threatened her with an Uncertain Doom via Thumper is already pretty sad as is but if you're a viewer who reads Flik as neurodivergent, his line "I'm sorry for the way I am" smacks of how many neurodivergent individuals feel pressured to apologize for existing because the way they exist is considered problematic or difficult to handle for "normal" people.
    • And then the juxtaposition between Flik's innocent and naïve belief that being sent to find warrior bugs is a second chance to make things right and the truth that the council took Atta's sarcastic suggestion that he'd be gone for weeks (and more than likely never come back) and thus not be around to, as Atta puts "mess anything up" and ran with it is just heartbreaking. Heck; Atta even starts to look slightly guilty as Flik enthusiastically thanks her for this chance and promises that he won't screw up (his own words) this time.
  • While the scene is mostly Played for Laughs, the fact that Flik outright asks the circus bugs to KILL HIM after he figures out that they aren't the warriors he thought they were and states that doing so would be doing him a favor since he's dead when the colony finds out is rather disturbing and tragic, especially since, as stated above, most of the colony seemed to have expected Flik to never return because leaving the island is suicidal (quote the queen).
  • Just after the Circus Performers save Dot, Princess Atta and Flik have a moment alone where Atta voices the pressure on her to rule the kingdom one day, saying that it seems like everyone is always looking at her as if they're..."Waiting for you to screw up." The way Flik says this isn't angry or overly sad, just kind of resigned and tired, in a way that should be familiar to anyone who has felt ostracized or under pressure. Atta even realizes the implication of this line, sincerely apologizing to Flik for the first time in the movie.
    • It's also possible that she's remembering the above mentioned council scene and how Flik felt compelled to apologize for existing; no matter how badly she fumbled, Atta never had to deal with that level of disdain or disapproval.
  • When Flik is banished from the ant colony for his deception about the "warrior bugs", Dot, the only one who still believes in Flik, tries to run out to him, only to be stopped by the Queen. This, along with the sad way she calls out "Flik!", is a perfect example of how undying loyalty knows no limits, especially when you're apparently the only one who can sense any chance of redemption in the one you've always looked up to as a positive role model even when, at least in everybody else's eyes, they've screwed up big time.
    Atta: You mean, you're not warriors?
    P.T. Flea: Are you kiddin'? These guys are the lousiest circus bugs you've ever seen! And they're gonna make me rich!
    Thorny: You mean to tell me that our entire defensive strategy was concocted by clowns?!
    Francis: Hey, hey, hey, hey. We really thought Flik's idea was gonna work. (the ants gasp as the fireflies put the spotlight on Flik) Oops.
    Atta: Tell me this isn't true!
    Flik: No, no, no, you don't—
    Mr. Soil: This couldn't have happened at the most inopportune time! The last leaf is about to fall!
    Dr. Flora: We haven't collected any food for the grasshoppers!
    Thorny: If Hopper finds out what we almost did—
    Queen: Hopper is not gonna find out! We're gonna hide all this and pretend it never happened! You bugs were never here, so I suggest you all leave!
    Flik: But the bird! The bird will work!
    Queen: I never thought I'd see the day when an ant would throw himself before the rest of his colony.
    Flik: What?
    Queen: The point is, Flik, you lied to us.
    Flik: No, no, no, please, let me explain! I—
    Atta: You lied, Flik! You lied to her! You lied to the colony! You lied to me! And like an idiot, I believed you.
    Flik: I... I... I... I was just afraid, if you'd known I'd gotten circus bugs...I...(sighs)... I just wanted to make a... difference.
    Atta: I want you to leave, Flik. And this time, don't come back.
    (Dot gasps at her sister's actions; the Queen's pet aphid gives a very sad whimper. Flik hangs his head and turns to leave with the circus bugs.)
    P.T. Flea: Tough crowd. (forces the wagon forward)
    (Dot tries to follow them, but her mother stops her)
    Dot: (close to tears) Flik...
  • Flik's entire post-banishment Heroic BSoD scene. He has lost it all: his brightest chance to make a difference has been ruined, the colony now seemingly permanently sees him as an annoyance, a failure, and a liar all in one, and now he has been exiled by Princess Atta, who had seemed to become a mutual love interest for him during the bird's construction – he is now an ant with no home and no purpose. The Circus Bugs try to convince him to become part of their act, but he is too depressed to show interest or to even care. Not even when Dot appears and tells him of Hopper's takeover of Ant Island and plot to take the colony's winter food supply and kill the Queen can rise him, to the point where he completely disavows the bird when the Circus Bugs suggest using it as originally planned, as well as anything he ever taught Dot, and denounces himself as a failure. The Circus Bugs try to assure him otherwise, citing that Flik gave them purpose again by recruiting them despite the initial miscommunication between them, and that they're willing to go back to help the colony in their Darkest Hour, but he, still doubtful of himself, still refuses, believing he'll only make the situation worse. It isn't until Dot uses a rock to remind him of his speech to her about how a seed becomes a tree that Flik gets his confidence back and agrees to the plan.
  • The scene where Flik finally stands up to Hopper and gives the speech about how Hopper was wrong about them being worthless and called out the grasshoppers for being afraid, all while being beaten senseless by the Ax-Crazy Thumper.
  • The troupe has been a failure for so long they've forgotten what applause sounds like.
  • A small one, but when Flik goes to the city, there's a homeless looking cricket with a sad look on its face, and a sign that says 'Kid pulled my wings off'. Really tugs at the heartstrings for the adults watching who may have done that as a kid.

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