"No! Bad grasshopper! Bad grasshopper! Go home!"note
Awesome moments in A Bug's Life.
- Flik's "Ants aren't meant to serve grasshoppers" speech, even after he's been horribly beaten. And everyone else realizing he's right.Hopper: Let this be a lesson to all you ants! Ideas are very dangerous things! You are mindless, soil-shoveling losers put on this earth to serve us!
Flik: You're wrong, Hopper. Ants are not meant to serve grasshoppers! I've seen these ants do great things! And year after year, they somehow managed to pick food for themselves and you. So who's the weaker species? Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's you who need us! We're a lot stronger than you say we are... And you know it, don't you?- Especially great is right before the aforementioned Armor-Piercing Question, when Flik sees the look on Hopper's face and realizes that Hopper is afraid of them.
- Bit of a Genius Bonus as well: in reality, ants eat grasshoppers!
- Hopper's response? He knocks Flik down and puts his foot on his head and gets ready to kill him off, only to be stopped by Atta at the last second. Here's the best part: Even if he did kill him or didn't hesitate to kill Atta after she defended Flik, he would've not only proved his point, but possibly motivate the entire colony to attack even more than when they all heard Flik's speech.
- The first time Atta had to speak to Hopper, she was trembling and stuttering and could barely even look at him. When the fake bird crashes and burns, however, and the Blueberries come stumbling out coughing and choking and helpless, she plants herself in front of them and looks Hopper square in the eye. She's not afraid of him anymore. That's when she became a queen.
- The best part is that her voice wavers as she says it. She's terrified. Who wouldn't be? But those are her kids, her sister's best friends who were risking their lives to save the colony. Nobody is messing with those girls without going through her first.
- Princess Atta finally standing up to Hopper before initiating the Zerg Rush:
- As horrible as Hopper is, his rather impressive demonstration
on the necessity of keeping the ants in line is pretty awesome.- His speech shows he's not all muscle - he's really very smart, too.Hopper: Guys? Order another round because we're staying here! (Cue applause from his lackeys) What was I thinking? Going back to Ant Island. I mean, we just got here and we have more than enough food to get us through the winter, right? Why go back? (Music starts up again only to stop when Hopper enters the bar) But, there was that ant that stood up to me.
Axel: Yeah, but we can forget about him!
Loco: Yeah, it was just one ant!
Right Grasshopper: Oooh, one ant!
Hopper: Yeah, you're right! It's just one ant!
Loco: Yeah boss, they're puny!
Hopper: Hmmm, puny? Say let's pretend this grain is a puny, little ant. (Throws grain at Loco.) Did that hurt?
Loco: Nope.
Hopper: Well, how about this one? (Throws grain at Axel.)
Axel: Are you kidding?!? (Grasshoppers laugh.)
Hopper: Well, how about this? (Rips out the stopper and crushes the three grasshoppers under an avalanche of grain, causing the laughter to stop)
Hopper: You let one ant stand up to us, then they all might stand up! Those "puny, little ants" outnumber us a hundred to one. And if they ever figure that out, there goes our way of life! It's not about food, it's about keeping those ants in line. That's why we're going back! Does anybody else want to stay? (Cue grasshoppers preparing to take off)
Molt: He's quite the motivational speaker, isn't he?
Hopper: Let's ride! - And the way he keeps a straight (and yet strangely bored) face during the crushing of three other grasshoppers is pure evil awesome.
- What's awesome about this is that unlike most villains, Hopper does not Shoot the Messenger which turns out to be his brother Molt. Molt even tells Hopper it was Axel and Loco's idea, and Hopper instead shoots, or rather, buries, the people who sent the messenger, which turn out to be Axel and Loco. Evil he may be, but Hopper is pretty smart to not fall into the shoot the messenger cliché trap that most villains do.
- His speech shows he's not all muscle - he's really very smart, too.
- Early one, when Hopper was about to have Thumper hurt Dot, Flik stands up for her!Flik: Leave her alone!
- Although Flik does back down when Hopper coldly encourages he stand up to him again, it's still impressive. It's a Foreshadowing that the ants have the potential to stand up to the grasshoppers.
- If it's any indication of how significant that small act of bravery was, Hopper's "You let one ant stand up, then they all stand up" speech serves to further glorify it.
- He does the same when Hopper threatens Dot and Atta again and this time refuses to back down, even as Thumper beats him stupid, leading to his speech mentioned above.
- Even though Hopper makes the scene where the grasshoppers return for the offering terrifying, there's something awesome about how he delivers this line:Hopper: Have you been playing all summer? You think this is a game?! (...) Well, guess what! You just LOST!
- The moment the fake bird's finally hoisted up and put in place, Tuck and Roll pop out of its beak announcing, "YOU'RE FIRED!" to everyone below, almost like what they mean to say is "Great job, everyone!". (Doubles as a Funny Moment AND a Brick Joke!)
- Gypsy stepping in to help Manny when he starts stammering under the grasshoppers' interrogation.
- Gypsy and Manny's relationship, period, is a combination of this and CMOH.
- When the circus arrives at the anthill. The timing to the music is absolutely perfect, showing the feet of the troupe landing on the ground impressively.
- Each of the circus bugs during the bird fight scene either get their own Crowning Moment of Awesome or a Crowning Moment of Funny.
- Slim, Heimlich and a few ants use squashed berries to pretend to have been mauled by the bird to give Hopper the fright of his life, this is especially awesome for Slim, who gets to show his acting chops for once.
- Flik, Dot, the blueberries and two boy ants sneaking up into the tree and releasing the bird. It's worth mentioning that this bird was designed to be controlled by adult ants. And yet, who ends flying it? A group of children!
- The way everything turns around for the ants at that moment. Everyone is panicking because Hopper is choking Manny and demanding to know where the queen went, and then the music turns from anticipatory to full-on triumphant as the bird dives out of the tree. The ants start cheering and running around while the grasshoppers start panicking and fleeing, and Hopper is yelling, "Don't let it get me, don't let it get me!"
- Even though he really screws things up, P. T. Flea's improvising a flamethrower to use on the fake bird would have been absolutely awesome if it had been a real threat.
- Under the false impression that one of his performers has died at the hands of the bird, P. T. Flea is essentially avenging him.
- After that, when they're all getting ready to send Hopper flying out of a cannon, P.T. can be seen preparing the signal to fire him off with a stern look on his face.
- This Shut Up, Hannibal! bit from Dot when she confronts Thumper again after he nearly killed her earlier:Thumper: (Snarling)
Dot: (smacks Thumper) No! Bad grasshopper! Bad grasshopper! Go home!
Thumper: (Keeps snarling)
Dim: (Jumps down behind Dot and roars fiercely)
Thumper: (flies away yelping) - The circus bugs chasing after Hopper when he grabs Flik. These guys went from being a bunch of bungling, washed up entertainers to being willing to risk life and limb to save their friend. Special mention goes to Rosie turning Tuck and Roll into makeshift bolos and throwing them at Hopper. It doesn't work but it was still awesome and they got Hopper's antennae as a souvenir.
- Atta snatching Flik away from Hopper. If you needed any more proof she was not afraid of Hopper anymore, there it was.
- After said near-death experience with Thumper chasing after and knocking her off a high ledge when she goes to look for Flik, Dot is finally able to — say it with us — FLY!
- Francis catching Dot mid-fall. Doubles as a Heartwarming Moment.
- Likewise, the circus bugs' entire rescue of Francis and Dot from the bird when they're trapped in the cracks.
- Dot pulling Francis out of the bird's way after he's knocked out cold by falling debris.
- Flik using the bird's nest and Hopper's complacency from his previous (failed) scheme with the fake bird to lure the murderous grasshopper boss to his death in their final confrontation.Hopper: Well, what's this? Another one of your little bird tricks?
Flik: (with a knowing smirk) Yup!
Hopper: Are there a bunch of little girls in this one, too? (tauntingly) Hello, girls!
Bird: (loud blaring screech)
Hopper: (screams in absolute terror as he realizes he's been had)
