Bugs! (2003) User Reviews

Good, but I would've liked a different approach better

[Evac156 · 7/10 · 12 January 2004]

I enjoyed the film, and the IMAX 3D effects were very impressive. However, instead of just focusing on the lifecycle of two creatures and giving the occasional side note about others, I would've preferred more of an overall survey about insect life. The lifecycle isn't all that fascinating (unless you're seeing it for the first time, which most viewers probably aren't), it's the visuals that we want to see. A more survey-style presentation that allowed us to get a look at a variety of interesting bugs would be more satisfying in this regard.

Two of my favorites, visually, were the dueling rhinoceros beetles, and the praying mantis shedding its carapace whole.

Life of bugs

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 10 October 2022]

It is not easy making a documentary about insects interesting, especially if they are not your cup of tea or if the subject does not sound appealing. That does apply to me admittedly. Still saw 'Bugs' anyway as someone who loves Judi Dench and who has seen many very well done IMAX documentary short films over the past year or so. Have also seen documentaries covering insects that are good and make the subject interesting, so that the subject has been done well in the past gave me some reassurance.

On the whole, 'Bugs' struck me as quite good. It may not have much that is innovative and there are other documentaries with more consistent pacing and a wider range of emotions, but 'Bugs' does a good job making the subject interesting and informative and does have a lot to recommend. It is not one of the best IMAX documentary short films seen, not by a long shot, but it is also not one of the worst. Somewhere firmly in the solid middle is more like it.

'Bugs' looks great first and foremost. The scenery is both gorgeous and unforgiving, enhanced beautifully by the vibrant photography. The IMAX is very well done and is not overused or gimmicky. Personally liked Dench's narration, which did have authority and was soothing. The writing also didn't come over as schmaltzy, preachy or melodramatically corny. The insects are a good mix of the cute and the creepy.

There are two particularly good sequences here. One is the rhino beetles duel, which had a good deal of uncompromising tension and excitement. The other is the one with the praying mantis, though it is not a sequence for the faint hearted. Despite the lack of originality, the information presented still entertains and teaches.

Having said all that, 'Bugs' is not perfect. Will agree that it is intrusively scored, it could have been used a good deal less and it did overbear and sound like it was trying too hard to be like a dramatic film and didn't need to be.

Like all the IMAX documentary short films, 'Bugs' is also too short and also did think that some of the information could have been delved into more. Trying to not include too many things and focus on a longer period of time on a few of the insects would have solved this.

Summing up, not great but pretty good. 7/10.

Imax can be better...

[nEoFILM · 6/10 · 25 February 2011]

Are you not entertained!? Bugs! 3D! Sounds interesting. Should be interesting but unless the experience was 100% different and by that, I mean better on the Imax screen, then this was a real disappointment. The 3D was good, considering, though I did see in via the RED/CYAN format which obviously has its drawbacks, but it was still very effective.

The documentary short follows several insects who reside in the rainforest, some fight, though be it slowly, some forage and some hide and literally 'make like a tree', but don't really leave. And though this is interesting, Imax demands more if we are to be entertained.

The DVD: The DVD is a rarity, available on Region 2 DVD but only in Germany, and the now defunct HD-DVD, again in Europe. It's worth it as a collectible but not as a Saturday night's entertainment. Rent "Dumbo" if a short film is your pleasure!

Bugs! was made for families - made for IMAX but it's fine viewed in 2D as well

[ejchri · 10/10 · 26 October 2019]

On the DVD, watch the "Making of..." and the interviews in its Special Features. Those give a deeper perspective into why and how the writers chose to show two individual insects for the full progression, from hatching egg to adulthood. Lots more fascinating insects, amphibians and reptiles also, of course! Some reviewers had commented here that a broader, more documentary style would have suited their tastes better, but this show was aimed to engage a variety of viewers, preschoolers to mature adults. Kids engage with a personalized story-line better than with just a general documentary not focusing on particular creatures. Photography is wonderful! Dame Judi Dench provides her usual skilled performance as its narrator. Worth watching!

fascinating and engrossing

[disdressed12 · 8/10 · 22 January 2008]

i found this a well done approach to the life of bugs.it's done in a story line format,focusing on the lives of a mantid and a caterpillar from birth onward.the two creatures are even given names.but the movie also deals with other creatures,as well.the creatures are magnified 250,000 times,which really made things more interesting.it's is narrated by Judi Dench,but the narration doesn't overpower the story.the story mostly tells itself.i found the whole thing fascinating and engrossing.i never got bored at all.there are even some comic bits as well,and some touching moments.i have only seen two documentaries on bugs so far but i think this is the best one.for me,Bugs is an 8/10

A quick look at the miniature world of Bugs in the Rainforest.

[TxMike · 11 June 2008]

I saw this on DVD from my local public library. It runs just 40 minutes. There is also a DVD extra the "making of" which is almost as long.

This short film does not try to take a comprehensive approach to the bug kingdom, instead focusing on just a few bugs that live in the Rainforest. One is a caterpillar just hatching, and it is followed through its life cycle, into a butterfly and them its own eggs hatching. Unfortunately for this butterfly, its own life ended as food in front of the camera for one of its enemies.

The story also followed a Praying Mantis from its hatching through young adulthood, and one scene where it snatches up a fly on a nearby flower shows how fast it can move.

The film touches on how natural disguises help each bug hide from its enemies, but it also makes sure we understand that from its first moment of life every bug is on some predator's menu.

This is a nice little film if you can get it cheap or free, but it is not long enough or comprehensive enough to go through much trouble or expense to see.

Hey! Bugs Have Rights, Too, You know!

[strong-122-478885 · 4/10 · 29 March 2015]

I watched most of "Bugs!" with the sound turned off because I didn't like Judi Dench's narration at all - Nor did I much care for the soundtrack music which quickly began to grate on my nerves. So, because of these 2 annoyances, silence was the only option for me.

This documentary also lost itself some significant points when it became quite obvious to this viewer that a number of the insects featured in the show were, in fact, actually being set up to fight with and inevitably eat up each other.

Yes. I do realize that "they-are-just-bugs", but, because of the frame of mind I was in, having to watch them deliberately do each other in for the sake of cinematic-drama (because the production crew made it happen) rendered this entire documentary as being a pretty shoddy bit of entertainment.

Filmed in the rain forest region of Borneo - This nature documentary earned its 4 stars from me for its very lush photography that showed the viewer super-magnified images of spiders, centipedes, beetles, bees and praying mantis, etc., etc., foraging around in their natural environment.