Film Bites

Barry B. Benson(Seinfeld) is a lowly worker bee. Only he isn’t so thrilled about working and making honey for the rest of his life. Whilst deciding what to do after graduating from college, Barry travels outside the hive into the human world. After two near-death experiences involving a tennis ball and size 10.5 winter boots, he meets Vanessa(Zellweger). To thank her for saving his life, he must break the cardinal rule of bees; never talk to humans.

As Barry and Vanessa’s relationship blossoms, Barry discovers that humans actually eat honey. Outraged at the exploitation of honey bees for the pleasure of humans leaves Barry with only one option; sue the human race and return the honey to the bees.

To be succinct, Bee Movie is exploding with cuteness and family-friendly fun. One of the best animated films I’ve seen, it ranks up there with Toy Story and Shrek. Shows, that Dreamworks can come up with high-quality films with the best of them.

What pleased me the most about this film, as with all family-friendly animated films, is the adult humor that is snuck in for the portion of the audience over the age of 12. For example, Mooseblood(Rock), a mosquito, explains how he became a lawyer,

Ma’am, I was already a bloodsucking parasite. All I needed was a briefcase!

It is quotes like that, which make these films so enjoyable for everyone.

One pitfall of the film was the imbalance in the story. It seemed that the film didn’t flow smoothly from start to finish. There was a huge build-up of Barry’s character and his life and purpose, but soon after the trial, the film speeds up and plot points are piled on, one after another. The ending of the film seems rushed. Maybe it was the studio shortening the script, maybe Seinfeld got tired of writing. Whatever the cause, the film ended rather abruptly and left me wanting more.