Hopper's Hideout, as seen in the 1998Disney/Pixar film A Bug's Life, consists of a large sombrero in the middle of the desert where Hopper and his gang of grasshoppers live. It is run by mosquitoes and is similar to a tropical resort. The grasshoppers enjoy it there so much that two of Hopper's gang members (Axel and Loco) try to get Molt to convince Hopper not to leave, which ends disastrously for both of them as Hopper leaves them buried underneath a pile of nuts and grains (and presumably crushed to death by them).
The filmmakers had always seen Hopper’s herd of marauding grasshoppers as a motorcycle gang. An abandoned sombrero became a south-of-the-border hideout where the gang could party and Hopper could nurse his grudge. When the grasshoppers take to the sky bent on revenge, the sound design included motorcycle engines mixed in with the flapping wings.
Role in the film[]
While a few grasshoppers are enjoying themselves outside, one is skiing, one is relaxing on a leaf in a puddle of water, and the others are relaxing under umbrellas, the rest of the gang are partying inside while a quartet of mosquitoes is playing Mexican music. At a bar, Axel, Loco, and Molt are discussing the risk of returning to Ant Island at the start of the winter. Molt suggests that they tell Hopper about their idea; they, in turn, suggest that Molt should be the one to tell him, since he's his brother, which, in a sense, makes him the gang's vice president. Molt follows their suggestion, not knowing that they're tricking him into getting in trouble.
Meanwhile, a millipede is giving Hopper a massage, which he enjoys, in the upper level. At that second, Molt arrives. Not happy about Molt interrupting his peace, Hopper coldly orders him to go away. Molt is about to leave, but decides to tell Hopper his idea anyway; he sheds one of his skin flakes, which slowly descends onto Hopper's arm, making him growl. The second Molt suggests that Hopper forgets about returning to Ant Island because he doesn't like grain anyway, he is outraged and jumps to his feet, advancing towards Molt, who confesses that it wasn't his idea, but Axel and Loco's, and they tricked him. Hopper then decides to teach Axel and Loco a lesson.
As the party continues, Hopper appears, causing everyone to give him their undivided attention. Hopper declares that they are staying, commenting they just got there, and they have more than enough food to last them the winter, so they have no reason to return to Ant Island as he goes into the bar where Axel and Loco are sitting. He then recalls Flik opposing him when he tried to feed Dot to Thumper. Axel and Loco say that Flik was just one ant and that they're puny. Hopper then plays a game with them, pretending grains from a jar lodged in between two rocks are puny little ants and throwing them at Loco and Axel, asking if they hurt; they respond "Nope." and "Are you kidding?". The other grasshoppers burst out laughter. Hopper then goes right to the point, "Well, how about this?", and rips the lid off the jar, causing grains to pour out on Axel and Loco, burying and possibly killing them; the other grasshoppers look on in shock. Hopper climbs the resulting pile of grains, stating that if one ant opposes them, then the whole colony may oppose them, because the ants outnumber the grasshoppers considerably, and their way of life will be ruined if the ants ever realize that. He then announces that it's not about food, but keeping the ants under control, and that's why they're returning to Ant Island, before asking if anyone else wants to stay. The other grasshoppers look at Hopper silently before getting into their ready-for-takeoff positions. Molt tells another grasshopper that Hopper is quite the motivational speaker. Hopper descends to the floor and shouts "LET'S RIDE!", and he and the other grasshoppers take off, flying through a hole in the top of the sombrero and back to Ant Island.
It is suggested in the DVD commentary for A Bug's Life that the mosquito family that lives in the sombrero are taken over every summer by Hopper and forced to play along with them.
