- "Lieutenant Gypsy reporting for duty."
- —Gypsy
Gypsy is a character in A Bug's Life.
A Bug's Life[]
Gypsy is a gypsy moth with a colorful pattern on either side of her wings. She speaks in a Transatlantic accent and is Manny's lovely assistant. She works at the circus as part of her husband's magic act. According to P.T. Flea, they are the best circus act. After the troupe is fired, they go to Ant Island with Flik, mistaking him for a talent scout. When they find out that Flik hired them to kill grasshoppers, Gypsy and her fellow bugs attempt to leave, but they are suddenly attacked by a bird. Gypsy participates in the rescue of Dot and Francis: she, Slim, and Heimlich distract the bird while the others rescue Dot and Francis.
After the rescue, Gypsy and her friends agree to stay and help Flik in the construction of the artificial bird which is used to scare away the grasshoppers. Gypsy also participates in the final battle against the grasshoppers. She gives the signal for Flik's fake bird plan to commence when the plan to rescue the Queen is in session. During this, Manny does his magic act, and Gypsy takes the place of the Queen as if to be a transformation in his Chinese Cabinet.
At the end of the film, the Circus Bugs thank Flik and leave the island, promising to return next spring.
Personality[]
Gypsy is very kind as heard in most of her speaking lines. She is also very brave when she was seen luring the bird away from Heimlich and during the circus act for the grasshoppers. Furthermore, she is very defensive as shown while she was protecting her husband Manny when the grasshoppers began to get suspicious. She may be a little sensitive to gore and violence, which was shown when the ant kids made a mural of the warrior bugs defeating the grasshoppers.
Trivia[]
- Despite being a gypsy moth, Gypsy is depicted in a very stylized way; the unique patterns on either side of her wings resemble those of a European peacock, which is actually a butterfly instead.
- Gypsy's feet are shown to be shaped like high-heeled boots.
- Additionally, her feet resemble the boots on Violet Parr's suit in The Incredibles duology.
- Gypsy's wings have shown to stun people, such as when she showed them to the ants, making them gasp, and when she used them to distract the bird to protect Heimlich and stun the grasshoppers while Flik was trying to save the Queen from Hopper.
- Despite her having wings, only male gypsy moths have fully functional wings in real life, while females have vestigial wings and cannot fly.
- Her antennae are feathery, but in real life, Male moths have feathery antennae, while Female moths have simple filiform or threadlike antennae.
- Gypsy has one thing in common with Heimlich; both are lepidopterans working in P.T. Flea's circus troupe.
- Gypsy was Madeline Kahn's final theatrical animated role before her death in 1999, the year after A Bug's Life was released in cinemas in 1998.
- Both Gypsy and her husband Manny's voice actors, Madeline Kahn and Jonathan Harris have passed away since A Bug's Life's release, only three years apart (in 1999 and 2002 respectively).