Cornelius
Harvester! Why, we harvested the same way since I was a pupa!
Played by David Ossman 
A Bug's Life (1998) · 109 quotes
A Bug's Life (1998) · 109 quotes
In 6 of the 109 quotes from A Bug's Life (1998)
Most scenes with: Flik (4), Thorny (4), Princess Atta (3)
Like everybody else!
More lines from Cornelius
1 quoteScenes with Cornelius
4 scenesOh... Wind's died down. They'll be here soon.
Just be confident, dear. You'll be fine.
Ah! There's a gap. There's a gap in the line! What are we gonna do?!
It's okay, Your Highness. Gaps happen. We just lost a few inches, that's all.
Oh, right. [hovers over Thorny's shoulder]
Your Highness, I can't count when you hover like that.
Oh, of course. I'm sorry. [chuckles] Go ahead.
Guys, go shade someone else for a while. Okay, Atta. Now what do we do?
Oh! Don't tell me. I know it. I know it. What is it?
We relax!
Right.
Oh, it'll be fine. It's the same, year after year. They come, they eat, they leave. That's our lot in life. It's not a lot, but it's our life. [laughs. Atta laughs too] Isn't that right, Aphie? Oh, you're such a cute little aphid. [As she sets Aphie down, the two ant boys pop out of a hole in the ground]
Ditch Dot!
Yeah, yeah!
Hey, come back here! [tries to hover after the boys. But drops to the ground]
Dot!
Yes, Mother.
What did I tell you about trying to fly?
Not until my wings grow in.
Right.
But, Mom...
Dot, you're a young queen ant, and your wings are too little to be...
I was talking to Mother! You're not the queen yet, Atta!
Now, Dot, be nice to your sister.
It's not my fault she's so stressed out.
Atta!
Thorny and Dr. Flora
Princess Atta! Princess Atta!
Hey! Stop that!
What do you think you're doing?!
You could have killed somebody over here!
[Cornelius groans]
I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I'm sorry! [The council members lift the stalk, freeing Atta; Flik exclaims] Princess Atta!
Flik, what are you doing?
Oh... Oh, this? This is my new idea for harvesting grain! No more picking individual kernels! You can just cut down the entire stalk!
Flik, we don't have time for this.
Exactly! We never have time to collect food for ourselves, because we spend all summer harvesting for the Offering! But my invention will speed up production.
Yeah, and I've got something for you, too. [Picks up a blade of grass and folds it into a cone]
Since you're gonna be queen soon, you could use this to oversee production. [borrows a dewdrop from Dr. Flora's flower] Dr. Flora, if I may.
This is all very nice, but...
What?
Just an ordinary blade of grass and a bead of dew, right?
Flik, please.
Wrong! It is, in fact... [drops the dewdrop in the middle of the blade] A telescope!
[Flik peers at Atta through the telescope]
Hello, princess! My, aren't you looking lovely this morning! Not, of course, that you would need a telescope to see that...
[swipes the telescope from Flik and throws it near Dot's feet]
All right, listen! The Princess doesn't have time for this! You wanna help us fill this thing?! Then get rid of that machine, get back in line, and pick grain, like everybody else!
Cornelius
Like everybody else!
Please, Flik. Just go.
I'm sorry. I was... I was really just trying... [Thorny and Cornelius gesture pointing for Flik to go] Trying to help.
Cornelius
"Harvester"! Why, we've harvested the same way ever since I was a pupa.
[Later, Atta banging a gavel inside a large courtroom with the Queen and the Council of Elders]
Flik, what do you have to say for yourself?
Sorry. I-I'm sorry for the way I am. I didn't mean for things to go so wrong. I...especially didn't want to make you look bad, Princess.
Well, Flik, you did.
I was just trying to help.
Then help us. Don't help us.
Help? Help? Help?
Flik, you are sentenced to one month digging in the tunnels.
Uh, excuse me, Your Highness. Need I remind you of Flik's tunnel-within-a-tunnel project?
Helpers to help us. That could... That's it! We could...
It took the whole engineering department two days to dig him out. Send him to Health and Ant Services.
Heavens, no!
We could leave the island. The riverbed's dry right now. We could just walk right across the riverbed. We could go get helpers. We could! We could leave, sure. We could go find helpers to help us. It's perfect!
Perfect? What's so perfect?
Your Highness, don't you see? We could send someone to get help!
Why didn't I think of that? Oh, because it's suicide!
She's right. We never leave the island.
Cornelius
Never leave!
There's snakes and birds and bigger bugs out there!
Exactly! Bigger bugs! We could find bigger bugs to come here and fight and forever rid us of Hopper and his gang!
Ludicrous!
Who would do a crazy thing like that?
I'll volunteer. I'd be very happy to volunteer.
At least we could try. Oh, I-I could... I could travel to the city. I could search there!
If you went, you'd be on that silly search for weeks.
Royal huddle. [whispering] Great idea, princess. It's perfect.
Cornelius
Exactly.
Wait a minute. What did we just decide here?
To let Flik leave.
Cornelius
While we keep harvesting to meet Hopper's demands.
You see? With Flik gone, he can't...
He can't mess anything up! [After talking with the Council] Flik, after much deliberation, we have decided... to grant you your request!
Really?
Really?
Uh, really.
Oh! Thank you, princess. Thank you so much for this chance. I-I-I won't let you down, I promise, I promise, I promise, I promise.
Yeah, yeah, that's fine, that's fine. No, forget it, forget it.
But I should probably help repair some of the damage before I go, don't you think...
Ant Council
No! No, no!
Just go. Just go.
Cornelius
Just leave!
Hey, look who's playing lookout again. Little Speck!
The name is Dot.
Well, Spot, you still looking for Flik?
Forget it, Dot. That loser's never coming back.
What?
Quit shoving!
Flik! Over here! Flik! Flik!
Hey!
He did it! He did it! Yay! He did it! He did it!
Cool!
Cornelius
That's right! We need a miracle!
Cornelius
[The troupe begins descending with a droning buzz]
Run for your lives!
[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.
Cornelius
Yeah, hubba-hubba.
Firefly
[The Queen and Cornelius walk down toward the ants and circus bugs joyfully gathering among blooming flowers]
Oh, thank you!
Thank you.
You're too kind.
The least we could do.
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.
Oh! [chuckles] It's a rock.
Cornelius
[Manny, Slim, & Francis congratulate each other]
What's with the 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!
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
Manny
Jonathan Harris
Molt
Richard Kind
Rosie
Bonnie Hunt
Dr. Flora
Edie McClurg
Thorny
Alex Rocco
Dim
Brad Garrett
Grub
Reed
Tuck and Roll
Michael McShane