Manny You listen to me my boy, I've made a living out of being a failure and you sir are not a failure!
Played by Jonathan Harris 
A Bug's Life (1998) · 109 quotes
A Bug's Life (1998) · 109 quotes
In 9 of the 109 quotes from A Bug's Life (1998)
Most scenes with: Flik (5), Francis (5), Gypsy (5)
From the most mysterious reaches of uncharted Asia, I give you the Chinese Cabinet of Metamorphosis!
More lines from Manny
1 quote Manny Scenes with Manny
7 scenes
Fly Brother #1
[to Francis]
Hey, cutie! Wanna pollinate with a real bug? [laughs]
[flies up to the pair of flies and angrily throws his hat off]
SO, being a ladybug automatically makes me a girl! Is that it, flyboy?! Huh?!
Fly Brother #2
Yikes!
Fly Brother #1
She's a guy!
Not again! [hops off]
Judging by your breath, you must have been buzzing around a dung heap all day!
Come on, Francis, You're making the maggots cry.
[The baby maggots wail. Large wings with eye spots fan out. They belong to a moth, Gypsy, who preens and warms up her voice in a dressing room. Gypsy operatic vocalizing]
All right, we're dying out there. Gypsy, quick, you and Manny...
Shh. He's in a trance.
[An elderly praying mantis, Manny, is shown in the room rubbing his temples with his eyes closed]
Well, get him out of it! You and your husband are up now!
Manny, we're on!
Manny Oh? Yet again, it is up to me to rescue the performance. Gypsy, come.
Manny Yes, of course.
[We cut to Francis, whose face is reflected multiple times in the fly's eyes]
Anytime, pal! I'm gonna pick the hairs out of your head one by one!
Fly Brother #1
Take your best shot!
You name the place!
Fly Brother #2
Oh, yeah?
Yeah, 'cause when you get there, YOU ARE DEAD!
I heard that, you twig!
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present Manto the Magnificent and his lovely assistant, Gypsy!
Manny [?]
From the most mysterious regions of uncharted Asia, I give you the Chinese Cabinet of Metamorphosis!
Rosie, whole troupe! On stage! Finale! Now!
Now!
Coming. Coming. Tuck, Roll. Let's get moving, guys. We're up next.
Up-a! Up-a! [speaking gibberish]
Hey! They don't understand me.
Manny I summon the voice of Confucius...
Circus Fly
Get off the stage, you old hack!
Manny [yelps]
I demand to know who said that! [grunts]
Manny [A berry splatters in his face]
How dare you! [yelps]
Manny [More berries hit Manny. The other flies, booing]
Ingrates!
[Fruit continues to hit Manny as he storms offstage. Gypsy remains inside the food container] [muffled]
Manny? Manny!
Fly Brother #2
I only got 24 hours to live, and I ain't gonna waste it here! Come on!
[P.T. runs to a matchbox and takes a match]
I've just about had it with these losers! [Strikes the match and hops onto his thimble in the center ring] FLAMING DEATH!!!
[The leaving flies stop to look]
I hold in my hand the match! The match that decides whether two bugs live or die this very evening! In a moment, I will light this trail of matches, leading to a sheet of flypaper doused in lighter fluid! Aimed directly at the flypaper are Tuck and Roll, the pillbug cannonballs! The cannon will be triggered by Dim, trained to jump at the sound of this bell, set to go off in 15 seconds. Our pill bugs' only hope of survival is our mistress of the high wire, Rosie! Secured to a web line of exact length, Rosie will plummet down to these two posts, spinning a web of safety in less than 15 SECONDS!!! Not good enough, you say? Well, what if they were all BLINDFOLDED?! [The cast puts on blindfolds. The flies hurry back to their seats.] Ladies and Gentlemen, may I suggest that those of you with weak constitutions leave the arena, for this act is so dangerous that if the slightest thing should go wrong...
[Roll tightens Tuck's blindfold too tight, and they both slap each other, launching Tuck into P.T. He drops the lit match and triggers the line of Matches]
No!
Go?! Whoa! Okay, through the tunnel...
Whoa!
[Gypsy falls onto the timer, causing it to ding and signalling Dim to jump. Dim laughs]
Okay, that's done!
Aaah!
P.T.!
Oh, no!
Oh, dear.
[The flame continues approaching. P.T. Flea attempts to pull himself off. P.T. Flea panics and grunts]
Water! We need some water!
Water, water, water, water!
Fly Brother #1
[P.T. successfully pulls himself off the flypaper and walks off laughing triumphantly until the flypaper falls on top of him and is ignited by the flame]
Wow!
[The flypaper burns away, leaving behind a charred P.T.standing midstep]
It's the-the web. I'm sorry, it's--
You're all fired.
We got the water!
Here we come, P.T.!
We'll save you.
Fly Brother #1
[Francis, Slim and Heimlich toss water onto P.T. Flea, who floats within it] [clapping]
Whoo! Whoa!
Fly Brother #2
Burn him again!
Cockroach
[Inside, bugs sit, drink and talk as a saloon piano plays]
I knew an old lady who swallowed a fly...
Wow...
Fly
Move it!
Whoa!
Fly
Hey, waiter! I'm in my soup! I've been working out. Feel my wing. Yo! Two Black Flags over here! All right.
Bug
Hair of the dog you bit.
Cockroach Waitress
[in the bar]
Hey, who ordered the Poo Poo Platter? [a bunch of flies swarm the dish she holds in the air]
Mosquito Waitress
Here you go, Slick. Enjoy.
Slick
[takes one bite and his mouth starts to bubble]
Ow! OW!! HEY I SAID NO SALT!!
Bug
Buzz off!
Oh, pardon me, sir. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment. I represent a colony of ants, and I'm looking... I'm looking for tough bugs, you know, mean bugs, the sort of bugs...
Fired by a flea, how humiliating!
Let's face it. We stink.
Tuck
You fired!
Roll
You fired!
Tuck
You fireeeeeed!
Tuck
Hey!
Roll
You fired!
Someday I will be a beautiful butterfly, and then everything will be better.
I can't believe the troupe is breaking up. We've always been together.
Manny Farewell, my friends.
To the audience we'll never have.
[Slim sips his drop of water, the Fly Brothers enter the Bug Bar.] [gasps and whispers]
Francis! Your boyfriends from the circus are here!
Fly Brother #1
[Thug enters, Francis gasps]
There she is.
Fly Brother #2
[Francis nervously popping lips]
Hello there, girlie bug.
Shoo, fly. Don't bother me.
Fly Brother #1
Say, why don't you tell our pal, Thud.
Fly Brother #1
[Thud slams down behind Francis. Thud growls]
What you said to us at the circus?
Fly Brother #2
Yeah. Something about buzzing around a dung heap?
Excuse me. Hi, I represent an ant colony, and we're just...
Drunk Mosquito
Hey, bartender! Bloody Mary, O-positive. Aha! [given a drop of blood] Oh, yeah... [slurps it quickly and passes out]
Sir?
Fly Brothers
[singing]
Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home.
Fly Brother #1
Not so tough now, are you? All right, clown. Get up and fight like a girl.
Get ready to do the Robin Hood act.
I want to be Little John!
What part can I play?
You see, I'm looking for tough, warrior bugs.
Stand back, ye flies! We are the greatest warriors in all bugdom!
Warrior bugs!
YOU'RE PERFECT! Oh, great ones! I have been scouting for bugs with your exact talents!
My colony's in trouble. Grasshoppers are coming! We've been forced to prepare all this food.
Manny Dinner theater!
Food?
Fly
[?]
Where are they?
We'll take the job!
Really?
Yah! Yah!
Manny That, my friends, is the sound of applause!
We are going to build a bird: a bird we can operate from the inside...
Manny ...which will then be hoisted above the anthill, and right when Hopper and his gang are below, we launch the bird, and scare off the grasshoppers! It's going to take...
...everyone's involvement to make this plan a reality. I know it's not our tradition to do things differently, but if our ancestors were able to build this anthill, we can certainly rally together to build this bird!
[The ants cheer wildly]
[singing]
I'm gonna be rich, rich, rich, I'm gonna be rich, rich, rich, I'm gonna be the richest flea in the land! Ka-Ching! The Streets'll be paved with golden retrievers, I'm rich, rich, rich, that's who I am!
Hey, maybe we can cheer him up a bit.
Don't worry, Flik. The circus life isn't so bad.
Yes, you can be part of our act.
Here! Like this.
Slapstick! Get it? I... I'm a walking stick. Oh, never mind.
Flik, wait! Wait!
Dot, you're flying! What are you doing here?
Oh, no!
Manny Good heavens!
And I heard a grasshopper say that when they're finished, Hopper's gonna squish my mom!
Oh, not the queen!
We got to do something!
How?
Come on, you guys, think!
I know. The bird.
Manny Yes, of course.
The bird! That's brilliant.
Ja!
What are you talking about? It was your idea.
But you said that everything...
[depressed]
Forget everything I ever told you All right Dot? Let's face it. The colony is right; I just make things worse. That bird is a guaranteed failure. [sighs] Just like me.
Manny You listen to me, my boy, I've made a living out of being a failure, and you, sir, are not a failure!
Oh, but Flik, you've done so many good things.
Oh yeah, okay, show me one thing I've done right?
Us.
All
Yeah, yeah.
Manny Dim is right, my boy. You have rekindled the long-dormant embers of purpose in our lives.
And if it wasn't for you, Francis would have never gotten in touch with his feminine side.
Oh, yeah?! Well... [chuckles] You know what? He's right.
Lieutenant Gypsy reporting for duty.
Kid, say the word, and we'll follow you into battle.
Manny We believe in you, my boy.
Flik, please?
[Flik doesn't move as Dot flies off and picks up a rock from the ground and brings it to her best friend]
Pretend it's a seed, okay?
Must be an ant thing.
All right, let's do it.
That's the Flik we know and love.
Ooh-whoo-whoo!
Manny We're on!
So, what do we do first?
[Yelled To The Ant Colony Like A Slave Driver]
ALL RIGHT, GET MOVING! [Pushing All The Ants Into Line] Get Going, Move Your Abdomens Now!
[Watched The Ants Gather The Food]
Oh No, They've Finished Collecting The Food. We've Got To Get The Queen Now. Once She's Safe, We Move On Gypsy's Signal.
[Last lines; The next morning, in a conch sounds. Thorny and other ants, using their own harvesters to cut down and harvest grain stalks, stop work at the sound of the conch]
Come on boys!
Ant Boy
[Dot and other children are playing in the frame of the fake bird, now surrounded by flowers]
Hey, Princess Dot! Wait up!
I finally get a second to relax, and I got to get out of my chair. Come on! You can rub lotion on me later, shade boy.
Yeah, hubba-hubba.
Firefly
[The Queen and Cornelius walk down toward the ants and circus bugs joyfully gathering among blooming flowers]
Oh, thank you!
Manny Thank you.
You're too kind.
The least we could do.
Manny All in a day's work.
Any time.
Dim!
[Daisy tearfully hugs Francis. Daisy and the Blueberry troops are all crying with Dot] [quavering]
I'm not gonna cry. I'm not gonna cry.
[Tuck and Roll perform a skit using Hopper's severed antenna.]
Hey, let's go. We got a schedule to keep. Come on. Let's go.
Ant acrobats
[A number of acrobat ants cartwheel into the wagon]
Hup, hup, hup, hup, hey!
Hey, Tiny! Let's get this show packed up! We got paying customers hatching!
[Molt carries supplies into the wagon] [last words]
Yes, Mr. Flea. Yes, sir. Of course, sir. Right away, sir. And, um, I just wanted to thank you for giving me a chance, because it's an honor to work with creative giants such as yourself. [P.T. motions the fireflies to close the wagon door] Shutting up.
Sorry. My place is here.
Oh, well. Your loss. One minute, insects!
[Flik and Atta walk over to the circus troupe]
I want to thank all of you for giving us back our hope, our dignity... and our lives.
And to you, Princess Atta. You have given us so much. Please accept this gift from us bugs to you ants.
Manny [Manny twirls a leaf and produces a large rock, handing it to Atta]
For you!
Oh! [chuckles] It's a rock.
Must be a circus thing.
Well, Flik, you really goofed up. [quavering] Thanks.
[Rosie begins to congratulate Flik as a hero, followed by the rest of the troupe and the entire ant colony celebrating their victory. Atta kisses him on the cheek. The queen removes her crown, placing it on Atta's. Atta tosses her tiara to Dot, who flies up and catches it on her head and giggles] [sniffles]
All right. Now it's getting mushy. We're out of here! [Snaps the reins and the millipedes pulling the wagon move as the bugs take off and Dim grabs lifts the wagon into the air]
Whoa!
See you next season!
See you Flik!
Bye! We miss you already!
You fired!
[A chrysalis hangs on a nearby tree root. It opens to reveal Heimlich's face]
I'm finished! Finally, I'm a beautiful butterfly!
[Heimlich struggles and slides out of the chrysalis, looking largely the same as before but now a green and blue color and with two bulges on his back. Heimlich grunts. Two tiny butterfly wings pop out of the bulges]
Mein wings! Oh, they're beautiful!
Heimlich! The wagon's taking off! You better start flying!
[Flik and other ants lift up Heimlich]
But I am flying! And from way up here, you all look like little ants!
Manny Farewell!
Bye!
And thank you!
[Atta and Dot lift Flik and land on the root. They wave goodbye to the circus troupe. Thorny and the harvester-wearing ants line up.]
Present stalks!
[The ants face backwards]
Harvester, salute!
[The harvesters launch their stalks into the air, crashing into each other and producing firework-like showers of grain. Flik and Atta hold hands as they and Dot continue waving goodbye. The circus troupe flies away from the island, now surrounded by water and whose tree now bears pink blossoms]
Other characters in A Bug's Life
Flik
Dave Foley
Francis
Denis Leary
Gypsy
Madeline Kahn
Hopper
Kevin Spacey
Princess Atta
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Mr. Soil
Roddy McDowall
Queen
Phyllis Diller
Dot
Hayden Panettiere
Heimlich
Joe Ranft
P.T. Flea
John Ratzenberger
Slim
David Hyde Pierce
Molt
Richard Kind
Rosie
Bonnie Hunt
Dr. Flora
Edie McClurg
Thorny
Alex Rocco
Cornelius
David Ossman
Dim
Brad Garrett
Grub
Reed
Tuck and Roll
Michael McShane