<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $120 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $363.3 million </Td> </Tr> <P> A Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer - animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures . Directed by John Lasseter, the film involves a misfit ant named Flik that is looking for "tough warriors" to save his colony from greedy grasshoppers, only to recruit a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troupe . The film stars the voices of Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, and Julia Louis - Dreyfus, and also featured Roddy McDowall's final film appearance before his death . </P> <P> The film is inspired by Aesop's fable The Ant and the Grasshopper . Production began shortly after the release of Toy Story in 1995 . The screenplay was penned by Stanton and comedy writers Donald McEnery and Bob Shaw . The ants in the film were redesigned to be more appealing, and Pixar's animation unit employed new technical innovations in computer animation . During production, the filmmakers became embroiled in a public feud with DreamWorks Animation due to the production of their similar film Antz, which was released the same year . Randy Newman composed the music for the film . </P>

When did the movie a bug's life come out