Boys and girls alike usually go through a phase of being fascinated by bugs. For some kids, the phase never ends and they grow up to become entomologists, biologists or ecologists. So why not encourage that early interest in insects with these Amazon Instant Videos?
A Bug’s Life (G, 4.75/5 stars, currently priced at $1.99 to rent and $14.99 to buy) – Well-meaning but clumsy ant Flick has lots of big ideas for improving life at the ant hill where he lives, but individualism isn’t a good thing when you’re an ant. Journey with one ant as he searches for warriors to help battle bullying grasshoppers who threaten his home. When he stumbles on a bumbling troupe of circus bugs, the only hope for victory is the bond of friendship and the power of imagination.
In The Ant Bully (PG, 4/5 stars, currently priced at $2.99 to rent and $9.99 to buy), a boy who usually takes great glee in destroying ant hills finds he’s been shrunken to ant size himself, and is now on the side of the tiny creatures.
James and the Giant Peach (PG, 4/5 stars, currently priced at $1.99 to rent and $9.99 to buy) features an animated cast of surprisingly endearing insects, arachnids and the like, voiced by such stars as Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss and David Thewlis. From Amazon: When young James spills some magic crocodile tongues, a giant peach grows as huge as a house. Climbing inside, he embarks on a thrilling and magical odyssey.
Bee Movie (PG, 3.5/5 stars, currently priced at $2.99 to rent and $9.99 to buy) – Having just graduated from college, a bee by the name of Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) finds himself disillusioned with the prospect of having only one career choice–honey. As he ventures outside of the hive for the first time, he breaks one of the cardinal rules of the bee world … and talks to a human, a New York City florist named Vanessa (Renee Zellweger).
For those kids who want to learn more about real-life insects, a great place to start is Life – Season 1, Episode 6: Insects (TV-PG, no reviews yet, currently priced at $1.99 to buy this episode and $15.99 to buy the entire season of 10 episodes). From Amazon: There are 200 million insects for each of us. They are the most successful animal group ever. Their key is an armored covering that takes on almost any shape. Darwin’s stag beetle fights in the tree tops with huge curved jaws. The camera flies with millions of monarch butterflies which migrate 2000 miles, navigating by the sun, and a honey bee army stings a raiding bear into submission.