―Flik, finding out the warrior bugs are not who he thought they were[src]
TheCircus Bugs are a group of bugs in the1998Disney•Pixar animated feature filmA Bug's Life. They are trained to be circus performers but were mistaken as warrior bugs byFlik.
Francis (voiced byDenis Leary in the film and byNick Jameson in the video games and inFrancis' Ladybug Boogie) is a hot-tempered male ladybug who acts as a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. Unfortunately, due to Francis being a drag queen, the effect is so convincing that insects are always mistaking him for a real female (along with his actual species being a ladybug). He is very short-tempered and aggressive, and it doesn't help that he's constantly being mistaken for a female just because he's a ladybug. He is great friends with Slim and Heimlich, who try to keep him calm. He also carries Slim when the circus troupe flies. He becomes a "den mother" to theBlueberry Scouts.
Slim (voiced byDavid Hyde Pierce) is astick bug who acts as a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. It appears that he is unhappy with his position at the circus troupe, as his boss constantly casts him as a prop instead of a character, with such castings as a broom, a pole, a stick, and a splinter. He is shown to be best friends with Heimlich and Francis, and often treats other bugs with more respect in contrast to Francis' aggressive nature. However, he seems to tolerate it, as seen when he calmly broke up a fight between Francis and a couple of flies during a performance. Unlike most stick insects, Slim does not have wings and cannot fly. Because of this, Francis usually carries him for transport.
Heimlich (voiced by the lateJoe Ranft) is an obese, lime green,German-accented caterpillar (blue as a butterfly) who acts as a clown in P.T. Flea's circus troupe, with dreams of becoming a butterfly. He is shown to have a gluttonous appetite and is seen eating almost all the time, especially while helping the ants construct amodel bird to scare Hopper and his gang. Although brave, he still shows fear when areal bird nearly eats him. Also, when Hopper shouts at the approachingcircus wagon, he frightens Heimlich who says he thinks he's going to wet himself.
Dim (voiced byBrad Garrett) is a blue rhinoceros beetle that plays the "ferocious beast" in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. He has a childlike nature, as seen when he sobs in pain after Rosie accidentally whips the sole of his front left foot. He is also shown to be incredibly ticklish when some kid ants unintentionally tickle his thorax with their antennae while exploring beneath him. He is usually mothered by the black widow spider, Rosie. He is easily the biggest and heaviest insect in the circus troupe, and also the transport to Heimlich, Rosie, and Tuck and Roll. He is big and strong but also kind of cowardly, like when Thud the Horsefly scares him and his friends (although maybe because Thud was even bigger than Dim).
Rosie (voiced byBonnie Hunt) is a black widow spider who acts as Dim's "lion tamer" in P.T. Flea's circus troupe with a motherlike nature. She is mostly a mother figure, with whom she shares an act, and also the younger ants of the colony. She has apparently had twelve husbands who all died, making her (as she says) a "black widow widow." She sees her circus friends as her only true family.
Tuck and Roll (both voiced byMichael McShane) are twin pillbug performers fromHungary. They occasionally argue, but are usually the best of friends. They speak in gibberish and act as cannonballs and dancers in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. They are supposed to be the main part of the "Flaming Death" act, but their arguing and fighting results in the act going totally out of control and everybody being fired. However, they don't seem to understand this and remain cheerful even at theBug Bar. They also appear to like the sound of the catchphrase: "You're fired!", since they continuously repeat in throughout the film after P.T. Flea says it to them, much to Rosie's irritation.
Manny (voiced by the lateJonathan Harris) is an elderly,English-accented praying mantis and the magician of P.T. Flea's circus troupe and Gypsy's husband. He is very kind and courteous to his fellow circus troupe and other insects, especially theants onAnt Island. His act involves the "Chinese Cabinet of Metamorphosis", which is really the packaging of aChinese takeout. His magic act is not appreciated well by the flies in the usual audience, who insult him and throw berries at him, but the grasshoppers take it seriously, as he somehow improved.
Gypsy (also known as Ms. Moth) (voiced by the lateMadeline Kahn) is a moth who is Manny's wife and his lovely assistant in P.T. Flea's circus troupe. She is very kind as heard in most of her speaking lines. She is also very brave when she was seen luring the bird away from Heimlich and during the circus act for the grasshoppers. Furthermore, she is very defensive as shown while she was protecting her husband Manny when the grasshoppers began to get suspicious. She may be a little sensitive to gore and violence, which was shown when the ant kids made a mural of the warrior bugs defeating the grasshoppers.
After Hopper's death, about eight ants joined P.T.'s troupe, serving as acrobats and new additions to P.T.'s show, just before the circus leaves Ant Island.
These fireflies serves as the employees of P.T. Flea's circus. Their occupations throughout the circus include selling food in the bleachers, setups for the stage, and as living spotlights throughout the show. During one magic act, one firefly uses a lollipop to filter another firefly's light for Manny's act.
This yellow spider serves as the circus' musician playing multiple instruments using his legs. Though he plays multiple instruments, he is also seen playing the drumroll during the "Flaming Death" act, and later when the ants and the Circus Bugs are about to defeat Hopper via cannon, but the plan fails when rain arrives on Ant Island.
These two millipedes are P.T. Flea's use of transportation pulling two "Casey Jr. Cookies" boxes as circus wagons. P.T. uses them so that the millipedes can stop at certain spots for his circus troupe to perform.
Role in the film
The Circus Bugs first appear when their acts do not perform well, with the flies dissatisfied of their performance and resulting in many of them leaving the circus in anger. Their leader,P.T. Flea, ruthlessly refuses to give out refunds to the flies during the first two minutes of the show, much to his harsh strictness to the circus troupe. When P.T. became very upset that his act did not perform properly, he decides to do a dangerous act known as "Flaming Death" to test if any of the circus troupe members survive the act in less than fifteen seconds while telling other bugs who are sensitive to the act to leave the circus immediately. P.T. survived the act after the flaming flypaper falls on him and the Circus Bugs extinguish him with water droplets, but he fires the whole troupe for their bad performance in the circus.
Flik first sees them inthe city at theBug Bar after they were fired by P.T. Flea, when his "Flaming Death" act went wrong, doing aRobin Hood act, believing them to be warriors, and they believe him to be a talent scout, and he convinces them to come toAnt Island to help him deal with thegrasshoppers. Shortly after arriving, Flik and the circus troupe discover their misunderstandings; Flik is horrified that he brought a circus troupe, and the Circus Bugs are upset that Flik didn't tell them that they were actually going to be "combatting" grasshoppers. As they attempt to leave, with Flik attempting to stop them, they stumble upon abird's nest, and they, along withDot, are attacked by the mother bird. Francis manages to save Dot from falling to her death, but they end up trapped in the riverbed. Flik and the others work together to save them both. After hearing that evenHopper fears birds, Flik proposes creating amodel bird to scare him and his gang, with the circus troupe taking credit for the idea.
Later, P.T. comes to Ant Island looking for his troupe and inadvertently reveals the truth about them. Upon learning this,the Queen andPrincess Atta banish them from the island, along with Flik as punishment for lying to thecolony. However, this was a fatal mistake, as they all put themselves in danger. When Hopper and his gang return and take over the island, Dot eavesdrops on a couple of grasshoppers discussing Hopper's plan to squish the Queen in order to discourage opposition from the ants and follows Flik and the troupe to tell them about the dire situation. Flik is still ashamed of himself for being a screwup all the time, but some encouragement from Dot and the troupe makes him feel better and motivated to return and stop Hopper. The Circus Bugs present themselves to Hopper, claiming that Princess Atta invited them as a surprise for his arrival; Hopper initially orders his gang to kill them, but after seeing Tuck and Roll fight, he decides they can use a little entertainment and spares their lives. The Circus Bugs continue their show until Manny takes the Queen for a magic trick, making Hopper demand to know where she is. At that moment, Flik andthe Blueberries launch the fake bird they constructed to scare the grasshoppers; it works until P.T. sets it on fire, unintentionally aiding Hopper and his gang in the process.
After seeingThumper beat up Flik and hearing Hopper insult the colony and his troupe, P.T. realizes his mistake and, upon Flik giving an inspiring speech, assists the ants in driving out the grasshoppers, resulting in all the grasshoppers, except Hopper, his younger brother,Molt, and Thumper (until Dim and Dot scare him off), fleeing and Hopper getting eaten by the real bird, putting his reign of terror and insult on the ant colony and troupe to an end. Following Hopper's defeat, P.T. reforms, becoming less greedy and more kind-hearted, and he and his troupe spend the winter on Ant Island (as it would be impossible for them to go anywhere in the rain and snow) before returning to the circus in the spring after a brief celebration, bringing a group of acrobatic ants with them and Molt (now called "Tiny" and working as a strongman), while promising to come back in the future and receiving a fond farewell from the colony.
Heimlich is a playable character inDisney Heroes: Battle Mode. Heimlich is a Front-line Tank role hero. He is 3rd playableA Bug's Life character added to the game. Heimlich's skills are:"The Chase Is On","No Head, No Problem","Beautiful Butterfly","Terrific Response", and"New Me". These skills allow Heimlich to do certain things (in the order mentioned):
Heimlich chases his food through all enemies, dealing True Damage to each enemy.
Heimlich tucks his head into his neck, scaring all enemies for a few seconds and granting himself an HP Shield for a few seconds. When this shield gets replaced, destroyed or removed, Heimlich Heals for a percent of his Max HP.
Heimlich knocks back all Damage and Tank enemies twice by flapping some leaves, he also gains stacks of Determination and stacks of "Well Fed". If there are no Damage or Tank enemies, Heimlich knocks back the closest enemies. All the enemies that aren't knocked back get their Armor and Reality decreased by a certain amount for a few seconds.
When Heimlich reaches a percent of his Max HP, he immediately casts "Beautiful Butterfly". He also gains Berserk, a percent of Increased Attack Speed, and Reflect for a few seconds. During this time his food heals him for an extra amount of HP.
"The Chase Is On" deals bonus True Damage per stack of "Well Fed" Heimlich has and grants him Invincibility for a few seconds when he returns to battle. Each "Well Fed" stack grants Heimlich Armor and Reality. When enemies Damage Heimlich they gain stacks of Fatigue. This effect can trigger on each individual enemy once every few seconds.
Heimlich doesn't have basic attack which deals damage to enemies, instead, he eats delicious food which heals Heimlich and grants him stacks of "Well Fed" and also distracts nearest enemies. Each stack of "Well Fed" grants Heimlich Max HP.
Heimlich has friendship campaigns withFlik andTimon &Pumbaa.
In the former areaA Bug's Land, statues of P.T. Flea's circus troupe (excluding P.T. Flea) were added since the opening of said area. P.T. Flea's Market, a market named after P.T. Flea (originally named Santa Rosa Seed & Supply) was also a shop at the former area Bountiful Valley Farm; however, this market and the rest of Bountiful Valley Farm were closed in2010 to make way forCars Land.
InPixar Pier, the Circus Bugs (including P.T. Flea and Flik) are also seen as spectators in the boardwalk gameHeimlich Candy Corn Toss (re-theming of the2009 game Casey at the Bat), in addition to Heimlich being added in the game, where the player must throw candy corn at Heimlich's mouth to score points to win prizes.
The Circus Bugs made a cameo appearance as circus cars at theRadiator Springs Drive-In Theatre during the end credits ofCars, in whichMack complains that the characters are being voiced by the same actor (referring toPixar actorJohn Ratzenberger).
Francis is the only male Circus Bug who has been mistaken for a female due to his appearance, as he looks more feminine than masculine.
Dim's horn structure wasn't meant to be reflective of a specific kind of horned beetle. However, in2006, entomologist Brett C. Ratcliffe discovered a species of rhinoceros beetle that closely resembled Dim, which was named Megaceras briansaltini and dubbed the "Nature imitates art" coincidence as the "Dim Effect".
Heimlich was seen inToy Story 2 in both theouttakes and the actual movie, when he is crawling along some branches just beforeBuzz Lightyear chops through them. Also, when Buzz is looking forWoody atAl's Toy Barn, he passes by toys of Heimlich.
Ironically, despite being her first one. Rosie is also the only Pixar role ofBonnie Hunt so far where her appearance of origin didn't expand, nor wasn't part of any Pixar franchise (Karen Graves doesn't count because she originated inMonsters University, which is part of theMonsters, Inc. franchise).
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