Ever since I got the ABL
special edition DVD I’ve been on such an ABL kick… lol…
Anyway, this is just something I
start thinking about the last time I saw the movie, and I can’t believe it never bothered me before. Did anyone
else notice that Manny and Gypsy are missing from the rainy chase sequence? When Hopper’s flying away with
Flik, all the circus bugs go after him - except for those two. Maybe there was no good way for Manny and Gypsy
to get stuck in the tree, like there was for Slim and Dim. Maybe Gypsy’s wings are too delicate for her to be
flying in the rain, and Manny wouldn’t leave her behind.
Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone had any
other thoughts about this.
Mitch
January 20, 2007, 6:29pm
#2
Heheh – yeah, I thought that a
couple of bugs were missing from that scene!
I agree with the fact that Gypsy’s wings were just too
delicate to be exposed to any wet substance of any sort. If you have ever touched a butterfly’s or a moth’s
wings, you’ll notice that the “powder” on them comes right off. Way too delicate. Manny, on the other
hand, would have had to have the aid of Gypsy, since he can’t fly. And since Gypsy couldn’t expose her wings to
the rain, well, I guess they just had to stay behind to either find cover or battle the remaining grasshoppers.
Interesting question, though.
That’s a
good point raised there, BandGeek. The thing is, although there are perfectly plausible reasons for the two of
them not to have been included in the scene, such as what Mitch has mentioned, that still doesn’t explain why
they weren’t included at all. There could have been a few seconds of footage of the two of them going under
cover or something.
Mitch
January 20, 2007, 8:13pm
#4
lizardgirl - Or perhaps the
animators didn’t want to go through the trouble of animating two more characters in a raging thunderstorm, the
scene itself being very difficult and tedious to animate already. There could be a number of reasons, like you
said.
That’s a good point. Maybe taking the time to show
Manny and Gypsy going into hiding would have slowed the scene down, or taken away from the action of the moment.
Going directly into the chase keeps the scene moving.
Mitch - Can’t Manny
fly on his own? I’m pretty sure I saw him flying next to Gypsy.
Mitch
January 21, 2007, 10:52pm
#6
BandGeek - Hmm…you know, maybe you’re right. I haven’t watched the film in a
while, so I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps he could fly on his own? If he does, then I didn’t know that praying
mantises could fly. (snigger)
Okay, this
was really bothering me. I had to find out if praying mantids really do fly or not. So, I went to good old
Wikipedia to find out for sure. Turns out, after a
certain age praying mantids can fly.
This article is really interesting. I didn’t even know that the
plural is “mantid” until I read it!
neat!
Mitch
January 26, 2007, 12:25am
#8
BandGeek - Ahh…so they fly after a certain age !
Cool. Many sure looks aged enough to be able to hover around, but that still doesn’t explain why he and Gypsy
didn’t join them. Hmm…
On the whole, great article, BandGeek ! I love
those pictures.
I saw the movie again recently, and Manny definitely did fly (on several
occasions). I’m not sure why they didn’t join in the chase, but I do think it would look kind of weird if
Gypsy flew as fast as the other bugs were flying, because butterflies don’t usually fly very fast.
Huh, I did not notice that they weren’t in the rainy scene. My guess is that they went to find shelter, cover. It makes an interesting “missing moment” fanfiction idea… Manny and Gipsy hiding from the battle going on outside, alone in a dark, unfamiliar place, worried for their friends…
heh.
A113
October 2, 2007, 2:41am
#11
I agree with Mitch. Gypsy’s wings were probably much too delicate, and Manny can’t fly. I noticed that the bug’s that could fly were carrying at least one other bugs who couldn’t. Maybe Francis could only carry Slim, since Manny was obviously somewhere else, and was too late to join them in the rain chase, and Dim was carrying Rosie, Heimlich, Tuck, and Roll, all at once, so he probably couldn’t carry Manny as well.
That was a good question.
And it has lots of cool pictures, too. These insects are so