...tries mightily to be cute and cuddly, and in this regard it succeeds...at least for kids.
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Note: In the following joint review, both John and Dean provide their opinions of the film, with John also writing up the Video, Audio, Extras, and Parting Shots.
The Film According to John:
"Bee Movie" is cute.
No, it's not particularly innovative. We've had CGI movies about bugs for quite some time. And, no, it's not particularly well animated. We've had CGI animations that have looked as good or better for quite some time. And, no, its voice characterizations are not particularly newsworthy. Despite an all-star cast of voice talents, we've had more memorable voices than these in other animations.
But "Bee Movie" is undoubtedly cute.
Jerry Seinfeld co-wrote, co-produced, and stars as the voice of the main character. It's Seinfeld's first major project since the close of his long-running TV show, and it surprised me that he would choose a children's animation to mark his return. Not that it's a bad thing; it's just a departure from most anything he's done before. Part of my surprise, too, was his using his own voice for the main character. He's got a pleasant voice, to be sure, but it's undistinguished. And since this film seems primarily geared for younger audiences, I wonder how many young people would even recognize the voice. Which goes for many of the other voices in the cast as well. I mean, it's nice to have Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Patrick Warburton, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, Larry King, Ray Liotta, Sting, Oprah, and Rip Torn among the voices, but, really, how many youngsters are going to recognize them? Worse, the film uses most of these folks in cameos; the filmmakers intend for us to recognize their voices and go, "Say, isn't that so-and-so." I doubt that kids would do that.
Even worse, the movie probably won't appeal much to adults who would recognize the voices, because the film is pretty routine and predictable. If you're a fan of Jerry Seinfeld's deadpan humor, that's what we get here. Yet it isn't the same in a cartoon, where the characters need to be livelier and, if I may use the expression, more animated. It's only Chris Rock and John Goodman who seem to deliver any expression at all. The other voices are virtually interchangeable.
In fact, it's hard to believe that this animation came from the same studio, DreamWorks, that gave us "Shrek," which was funnier and more irreverent. Seinfeld's script seems so watered down to meet the expectations of kids that it almost put this adult to sleep on occasion. If you'll excuse another Bee-quality pun, it pretty much just drones along.
Seinfeld voices Barry B. Benson, a bee who's just graduated from college (a mini course) and must now decide what he wants to do with his life. When he sees that he's expected to make honey all day, he balks at the idea. He's got higher aspirations, you see, because he's a nonconformist. His parents don't know what to do with him since he sulks around the house all day or in the swimming pool. In this regard, the film parodies "The Graduate," and that's also a cute bit, but, of course, it will go right over the head of any youngster. Barry's best friend is a bee named Adam Flayman (Broderick), a rather dreary, conventional fellow, who doesn't understand why Barry seems discontented with his lot in life.
Anyway, Barry, bored, decides to fly the hive. He takes off with the pollen jockeys for the big city (New York), where he is almost swatted to death before being rescued by a human florist, Vanessa Bloome (Zellweger), for whom he gets a crush. Then he starts talking to her, and then all the bees start talking to humans, and humans talk back, and the whole thing gets more weird than funny. Why has it taken insects and humans so long to communicate, and how did insects all learn English as a common language? OK, I'm being silly asking.
Barry's adventures in the big city are the highlight of the film; it's too bad they don't last longer. Most of the story is predictable, dealing with Barry's learning that humans steal bees' honey and sell it, for which he tries to sue the human race. The movie even throws in the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena and an airline flight, both of which seem done out of desperation.
In its defense, for kids the movie does carry commendable messages about being one's self, being tolerant of others, being accepting of other people's ideas, and seeking personal independence. I also found myself smiling several times. Yet it isn't enough to overcome a basically watered-down script with precious few laughs. "Bee Movie" tries mightily to be cute and cuddly, and in this regard it succeeds...at least for kids. For adults, though, it's another story and may seem like awfully tame stuff.
John's film rating: 5/10
The Film According to Dean:
I have always felt in the minority when it comes to Jerry Seinfeld. I didn't particularly enjoy his long-running television show and have completely been unable to comprehend how he continues to receive superstar credibility with doing pretty much nothing since "Seinfeld" ended roughly ten years ago. Aside from bit parts in "Pros & Cons" and "The Thing About My Folks," Seinfeld has flown beneath the radar until last year's "Bee Movie," which was written by, produced by and starred Jerry Seinfeld as the lead voice talent. The film performed admirably at the box office and grossed well over $100 million. After finally watching "Bee Movie," I'm tending to think a lot of its success was because of the near-mythical Seinfeld's involvement.
The animated DreamWorks picture is no "Shrek." While it does contain a few very nicely executed laughs, the film suffers terribly from a weak storyline. With the recent unexplained mass deaths of honey bees, I'm not sure if Seinfeld and company weren't trying to create a film with a simple message that if we don't soon learn to understand the bees, we won't have any pollen to keep our beautiful flowers, fruit and vegetables growing. Whether or not Seinfeld intended underlying commentary about the rash of deaths in the world's honey bee population or not, the film's essential plotline is that a young bee decides to not pick a job to do until he dies. He then goes out into the world and befriends a young female florist and realizes he has to sue the world because of their theft of honey. This causes an unnatural balance in nature and the bee must fix things.
To get into a little more detail, Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld) has graduated bee high school. He and his best friend Adam Flayman (Matthew Broderick) quickly find themselves thrust into the workforce, but Barry doesn't seem to think having just one job for his entire life is a good thing. He takes to the world with some 'Pollen Jocks' and becomes separated from his hive during a rain storm and is nearly killed by a human named Ken (Patrick Warburton), but Vanessa Bloome (Renee Zellweger) stops Ken from killing Benson. After some internal toil and discussion, Barry decides that he must break a major bee rule and talk to Vanessa to thank her for saving his life. Of course, she is shocked.
The friendship grows between bee and girl and Barry's breaking of the biggest bee rule causes a lot of problems. The overly stuck-up-on-himself Ken finds himself losing the love of Vanessa. More importantly, Barry discovers commercial bee hives and takes the world to court for reparations to the bees for all of the honey 'stolen' by man and for the poor treatment of the hive bees used by man. A long court battle between Barry and Layton T. Montgomery (John Goodman) results and eventually, Barry makes his case to the court and so much honey is returned to the bees, they never have to work again. This causes nearly all the trees and plants to wilt when the bees stop carrying pollen from one plant to another.
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[release]23710[/release]