“A Bug’s Life.” Directed by John Lasseter, written by Andrew Stanton, Donald McEnery and Bob Shaw. Running time: 94 minutes. Rated G.

“Babe: Pig in the City.” Directed by George Miller, written by Judy Morris, Mark Lamprell and Miller. Running time: 96 minutes. Rated G.

Pigs or bugs, bugs or pigs? That’s the question some faced this holiday weekend when Hollywood launched two terrific films: “Babe: Pig in the City” and the brilliant, computer-animated “A Bug’s Life,” which is so good, so warm and uproariously funny, it proves to be mandibles and thoraxes above the previously released “Antz.”

If you see only one film, make it “A Bug’s Life,” which is not only better than “Babe” but also better suited for younger children, as it has none of the darker elements that make “Babe’s” G rating surprisingly questionable.

The film, which marks Pixar-Disney’s first collaboration since 1995’s “Toy Story,” is everything Dreamworks’ “Antz” could have been had it only produced a script that was as solid as its special effects.

The creators of “A Bug’s Life” have done that, layering their engaging, family-friendly story over a backdrop so richly drawn that it will remind some of the great French documentary “Microcosmos” in its breathtaking landscapes.

The film follows Flik (voice of Dave Foley), an enterprising, luckless ant who accidentally puts his colony at risk when he upends a leaf filled with food meant for a band of ferocious grasshoppers. The grasshoppers, led by the wicked Hopper (Kevin Spacey), eventually storm Ant Island demanding the colony replenish the food — or else.

But the colony needs what little food it has left to survive themselves. What to do? Fight back, Flik weakly proclaims, and then flees for the city, where he hopes to hire warrior insects to help fight their buggy war.

Naturally — comically — he doesn’t find warrior bugs on his travels. Instead, he stumbles upon nine hapless, unappreciated performers at P.T. Flea’s Circus, including a walking stick named Slim (David Hyde Pierce), a rhino beetle named Dim (Brad Garrett), a cowardly caterpillar named Heimlich (Joe Ranft), and an irascible, tough-talking Lady Bug (Denis Leary) who loves to rumble.

The rest, as they say, is a bug’s life — and what a thrilling life it is, proving to be so unceasingly charming in Disney’s hands, some children may think twice before casually trampling on a bug’s world come spring.

Unlike “A Bug’s Life,” “Babe: Pig in the City” doesn’t sustain its initial energy, though it does recapture a large part of its predecessor’s charm, particularly in the beginning, which finds the huggable, lovable Babe returning triumphant to Hoggett Farm after winning the first film’s sheepherding competition.

All of the animals of the first film are present, but director Miller, wisely unwilling to stay on familiar ground, quickly sets his plot into motion: Babe accidentally falls on Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell), injuring the man so badly he cannot work, thus threatening the farm with foreclosure. Mrs. Hoggett (Magda Szubanski), thinking quickly, decides to bring Babe to the state fair, where she hopes to exhibit him in an effort to win needed cash.

But she and Babe miss their connecting flight and get stuck in a city that is not only an amalgam of all cities, but terribly unkind to pigs — with one notable exception: The Flealands Hotel, where animals are officially asked to leave but actually asked to stay.

It is here, at the hotel, that Miller changes the tone of his film, making it less lighthearted than one otherwise might have expected. Indeed, Babe’s innocence is routinely put at stake by the film’s other animals — a terrifying pit bull, a thieving monkey, a band of nasty cats — as Miller casts a sinister eye on city life. For children, the themes are clear: city people bad, country folk good. But a question lingers: What is a child who lives in a city to do with this jaundiced information?

Miller may have miscalculated here and taken too many risks, but his film, as a whole, should appeal to older children, who won’t be as affected by the film’s stronger currents as younger children might be. Indeed, the good news here is that this little piggy who went to the city still manages to somehow maintain his innocence — in spite of all that he goes through.

Thankfully, in the end, we’ve still got you, Babe. “A Bug’s Life”: A “Babe: Pig in the City”: B+

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear each Monday in the NEWS. Each Thursday on WLBZ’s “News Center 5:30 Today,” he reviews what’s new and worth renting in video stores.