- All-Star Cast: Hell, it's just Dreamworks Animation's FIRST released film, and yet the billing goes thirteen deep before we even see the title. Let's see here: Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Lopez, Dan Aykroyd, Gene Hackman, Christopher Walken, Jane Curtin, Anne Bancroft, Danny Glover, John Mahoney, Grant Shaud, and Paul Mazursky, the guy who directed Down and Out in Beverly Hills and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.
- Creator Backlash: Woody Allen was understandably dissatisfied that he was forced to record all of his lines in five days, then brought back in for retakes for lines he was perfectly satisfied with.
- Dueling Movies: Dueled A Bug's Life, but both ended up being highly critically praised and smash hits at the box office. This is the duel that, courtesy of Siskel & Ebert's Gene Siskel (who sadly died not long after), provides the quote for the Dueling Works page on TV Tropes.note
- Playing Against Type: Christopher Walken, known mainly for being hilariously over-the-top characters, plays the soft-spoken, deadpan Colonel Cutter.
- Real-Life Relative: Brothers Paul and Chris Weitz co-wrote the film's script.
- What Could Have Been:
- The film was concaved in 1988 as a Disney animated film titled "Army Ants" abound a pacifist ant teaching free thinking to his militaristic colony, The film was scrapped but it was later made as a computer animated film 10 years later when Katzenberg left Disney to found Dreamworks.
- One other early film idea was a film titled "Bugs: Light's Out" about microscopic insect-like robots who were responsible for the entropy of electronics and machinery. Despite a developed script and some test animations made to pitch the film, the idea was scrapped when the studio was picked up by Dreamworks to make this film.
- According to the original script
, General Mandible was originally a major, and the evil general (under whom he served) was called Formica, who was voiced by Danny Glover. The latter's ultimate fate, instead of being impaled on a twig, was nearly drowning before being rescued by Z and the others, then becoming a honeydew keg. - Also, Bala wasn't just locked in Formica's office in the original script—she was Bound and Gagged and dumped in the Megatunnel before being rescued by Z.
- Perhaps taking a page out of Disney's book, Pacific Data Images announced in 1998 that they were working on a direct-to-video sequel for the film. It never happened. This may have been due to the disappointing sales of Joseph: King of Dreams, which made DreamWorks abandon the concept of direct-to-video films.
- In early concepts, Cutter was going to have a Lady Friend among the ladies-in-waiting, but hesitated to pursue her because of his job. There wasn't enough time for it with the other romances, and it was cut.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger was offered the role of Weaver, but his asking payrate was too high.
- Sarah Jessica Parker was signed on as Bala, and even recorded some dialogue, but was replaced by Sharon Stone as the producers felt that Sarah's voice didn't fit.
- Jeffrey Katzenberg offered Disney the chance to move A Bug's Life to a further release date from The Prince of Egypt, they would delay Antz to after A Bug's Life was released or go as far as to threaten to cancel the film all together.
- Working Title: Army Ants. When it was pitched at Disney in 1988.
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