Review of Bee Movie (2007) by Jeff B — 12 Aug 2010

Oh, that Bee Movie should germinate from the creative hive of Jerry Seinfeld, a stand-up comedian whose hugely successful self-titled sitcom afforded him the luxury to develop crappy, animated, vanity projects. While on the air, Seinfeld was touted for being about ?nothing.? Sadly, Bee Movie amounts to something less than nothing, which puts it well into a negative aggregate beyond the comprehension of even Alan Greenspan. And yes, the bar was raised high?but not because this low-concept cartoon marks Seinfeld?s return to mass market America. Rather, it is because so many of modern moviedom?s recent best efforts were tooned in from ace studio animation units (Monster House, Ratatouille). Aimless, slipshod, and rarely funny, Bee Movie boasts all of the ingredients that made these projects winning (celebrity pipes, wise-cracking non-human characters, etc.), but simply amounts to more sting than honey.

In the PG-rated animated Bee Movie, Seinfeld voices Barry, a college-educated Bee who ventures outside the hive and sues humankind for mass-consuming the world?s honey supply.

In most live action comedies, there is the expectation that some jokes will work and others will fail?but there is the guarantee of at least some laughs. Bee Movie drums up a few chuckles, yes, but they are limited to the opening scenes in the Beehive community. Unfortunately, much of this has already been covered in A Bug?s Life and Antz, so the points get taken away. Everything that follows is a misdirected swarm of ludicrous tangents (insect/human romance, bugs giving depositions, bees landing a plane) that will make the audience buggy.

Bottom line: Bumble-fudge.