Todd McCarthy of "Variety" wrote, "Lasseter and Pixar broke new technical and aesthetic ground in the animation field with "Toy Story", and here they surpass it in both scope and complexity of movement while telling a story that overlaps "Antz" in numerous ways." James Berardinelli of "ReelViews" gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying ""A Bug's Life", like "Toy Story", develops protagonists we can root for, and places them in the midst of a fast-moving, energetic adventure." Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film three and a half stars out of four, saying "Will "A Bug's Life" suffer by coming out so soon after "Antz"? Not any more than one thriller hurts the chances for the next one. "Antz" may even help business for "A Bug's Life" by demonstrating how many dramatic and comedic possibilities can be found in an anthill." Kenneth Turan of the "Los Angeles Times" gave the film four out of five stars, saying "What "A Bug's Life" demonstrates is that when it comes to bugs, the most fun ones to hang out with hang exclusively with the gang at Pixar." Peter Stack of the "San Francisco Chronicle" gave the film four out of four stars, saying ""A Bug's Life" is one of the great movies – a triumph of storytelling and character development, and a whole new ballgame for computer animation. Pixar Animation Studios has raised the genre to an astonishing new level".