A Bug's Life Inspired Dog Names

Since the birth of Mickey Mouse, animation has been rife with animal characters from the traditional Goofy to the off-the-wall Spongebob Squarepants. When Pixar introduced the world to the first animated feature-length film with Toy Story in 1995, it took the world by storm, giving meaning and life to objects we once saw as inanimate. Just three short years later, they turned everything on its head again by taking some of the most overlooked living beings on earth, insects, and giving them life and personality, and in turn, providing viewers a bit of perspective.

While A Bug’s Life itself didn’t include any canine characters, it certainly featured one that could have composed his entire circus on a dog’s back: P.T. Flea. Thanks to the voice acting of the legendary John Ratzenberger, the rough, former antagonist was brought to life and eventually reformed by the film’s end. But P.T. wasn’t the only flea-named cartoon to grace screens as a somewhat abrasive character that some viewers had to learn to love. Another existed two decades prior and even had a similarly messy composure: Fleabag.

Fleabag was one half of the animated and less-than-star-studded duo that also included a cat named Spiffy, the pair of which formed the basis for The Oddball Couple.

Much like other tenured series that finally got the axe, The Odd Couple (the original) was one more show in a line of many others (Laverne and Shirley, Star Trek, Mork and Mindy, Gilligan’s Island) that were picked off the scrap heap with the intent of some kind of cartoon reinvention. The result was a dirty, unkempt and socially selfish dog named Fleabag (much like Felix Unger) and his companion Spiffy (much like Oscar Madison), who had nearly all contrasting traits, from his organization and kindness to his general appearance and demeanor. For the sake of entertainment, much like the original Odd Couple, they lived in the same house and drove the same car, each of which was split down the middle and matched to their personalities. 

Unfortunately, despite playing to the contrasting personalities perfectly, Fleabag was essentially depicted as a conglomerate of a dog’s worst traits, from having little regard for others, to messiness, rudeness and a lack of predictability. Fortunately, the show was at least able to make light of them and in turn, allowed him to become an endearing character, despite his flaws, much like many of those who have been adopted into our own homes.