Review of Bee Movie (2007) by Zack B — 07 Jul 2017

This might be a very unpopular opinion, but I really thought Bee Movie was a great and entertaining movie. It certainly has its flaws but it is really good altogether.

The story is mediocre because it has a ridiculous premise about suing the human race for stealing the honey of the bees. However, this movie does give a lesson about bees and why they are important to the world. Without bees, the flowers will never be colorful. Add the fact that the humor is solid overall and the story is just ok.

Dreamworks has always been great with animation and Bee Movie is no exception. First, the backgrounds are unique because there aren't many films that look into a bee hive this in depth. When the bees first go to Central Park, the background is breathtaking. The character animation is also really smooth on the bees. The human animation for some of them might be somewhat cartoony but the overall design of the humans is realistic. The only complaint here is that the character design outside of the humans is not great and looks a little weird. But even still the animation is great.

I'll be brief on the characters because they are a little generic and unoriginal, but thanks to the voice cast, they make them more memorable. Jerry Seinfeld does do a great job as Barry. He has a great cause because he experiences what humans do with bees when he visits the honey farm. Vanessa is more of a love interest that dumps her boyfriend for a bee. She is weird but I don't mind her at all. Adam is more of the best friend and supporter of Barry. He is more aware of Barry's cause and wants to prevent him from being seen from humans. Everyone else has a minor role at best. My favorite character is Ken because Patrick Warburton brings a lot of energy and excitement to the character, making him memorable.

Bee Movie sounds ridiculously stupid on paper, but in execution, it actually works beautifully. Although the story in general could be improved, the beautiful animation, the humor, and great voice performances save Bee Movie altogether. It is becoming more popular because of internet memes and makes the movie more memorable. I definitely recommend this to Seinfeld fans and kids because both of these groups will love this movie. It is on Netflix right now if anyone is interested. This is definitely underrated as an animated movie. I congratulate Dreamworks for making a very memorable movie even though the story is not very good.