Review of Bee Movie (2007) by Adriano V — 16 Mar 2013

Not only was I not expecting to like this movie, I actively avoided it. I like Jerry Seinfeld as a comedian, but I never thought he was very good as an actor. The show Seinfeld wasn't funny because of his performance, it was funny because he came up with funny situations and surrounded himself with funny people. I also despised the way the media treated this movie like the friggin' second coming of Christ.

But a few years went by, I got over it, and decided to give it a shot. And...I liked it. I didn't love it, it's no masterpiece, but it's way better than any expectations I had for it.

Seinfeld's vocal performance had plenty of moments that fell into overacting or just plain annoying, but he's still got plenty of moments where he can give a big laugh. It's the same type of delivery we've seen him do before, just maybe a bit more likable. It's a bit strange that his most likable performance would be a bee, but I digress.

The animation is a mixed bag. The bees and their hive look great. The amusement park inspired world they've in the hive oozed with creativity, and was very bright and nice to look at. The human world, not so much. Unless you do a more cartoony human (like How to Train Your Dragon or The Incredibles) they're just not going to look right, and this seems especially true in these earlier Dreamworks films.

The story is also a mixed bag. It lacks a real strong sense of focus, and goes through something like 5 different arcs. The most detrimental of these being the romance between Seinfeld's character Barry B. Benson and a human woman. Why do movies do this? Bestiality is not a good direction for you children's movie to go. And don't act like kids aren't smart enough to find it weird and creepy, they are, and it is.

Bottom line though, Bee Movie is funny. At times, it can be really funny. There were a hanful of moments that got huge laughs from me. The idea is a little weird, but it's handled with such thought and creativity that they manage to make it work. With a bit more focus and cutting out the idiotic romance, it could have been great.