Bee Movie

STARRING: Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 11/02/2007 DATE SCREENED: 10/30/2007 The Verdict OK - Wait for the DVD

Jerry Seinfeld has been traveling around the country, talking to seemingly every possible newspaper and TV outlet, to sing the praises of the animated Bee Movie. He has been telling anyone who will listen the story about how he had lunch with Steven Spielberg and mentioned an idea for a movie called Bee Movie. Surprisingly, Spielberg wanted to run with the idea, and Seinfeld could not say no to such an icon. He had to actually write a script. DreamWorks Animation then got on board, and the rest is history. By the way Seinfeld is out promoting the film you would think it’s the second coming of Toy Story.

Seinfeld voices the lead character of Barry B. Benson, a young bee who has just graduated from college and must choose a career. Every career choice somehow involves the production of honey. The bees who are allowed to leave the hive to collect nectar are bred for that role from birth. So that is not an option. But Barry someone wrangles his way into a chance to fly with those bees to watch how they work. Of course, he manages to get himself separated from the group. Just as he is about to meet certain death at the hands of man’s boot, he is saved by the man’s girlfriend Vanessa (Renée Zellweger). It’s love at first sight and Barry decides to break the cardinal rule in his society, which is to never talk to humans. Vanessa and Barry are soon hanging out and having conversations, while the boyfriend is pushed to the sidelines. They take a walk to the grocery store, where Barry discovers that people steal honey from bees and eat it themselves. The movie turns into a courtroom drama as Barry sues the honey industry, demanding that the enslaved bees are freed and the honey is returned to its rightful owners.

Bee Movie attempts to be a movie that the entire family can enjoy. It looks like a cute kids cartoon, but most of the jokes are aimed at adults. The screening I attended was full of parents with their children. There were a few scenes that had the kids laughing early, but as the movie moved into the courtroom phase, it was only adults that laughed. I’m not sure that anyone was completely satisfied. I certainly didn’t laugh much. There is a fumy cameo by Chris Rock as a mosquito. The movie started to feel like it was running long, even at a reasonable 90 minutes, as there is an epilogue after the court decision that feels tacked on. Bee movie is no Toy Story. The animation is great, which is what you would expect from DreamWorks. It’s a “cute” movie that might be good for a family outing, but I think it would be best to wait for the DVD.