Bee Movie (Widescreen) (2007)

"Bee Movie is an A.  Gene Shalit, Today
"Dazzling fun. Jerry is master of a new domain.  Kyle Smith, New York Post
"Agreeably skewed fun.  Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"It has enough buzzing wit and eye-popping animation to win over the kids - and probably more than a few parents, too.  Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
"...an extra snap that's recognizably Seinfeldian.  Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Editor's Note Touted as Jerry Seinfeld's first major project since the 1998 end of his long-running eponymous TV series, 2007's computer-animated BEE MOVIE stars the popular comedian as the voice of Barry B. Benson, a young bee eager to explore the world outside of his hive. As he discovers how people live in New York City, he befriends a human florist, Vanessa Bloome (Renee Zellweger), and becomes outraged at the selling of honey, leading to a lawsuit and, of course, plenty of Seinfeldian misadventures. Helmed by directors Steve Hickner (THE PRINCE OF EGYPT) and Simon J. Smith (a member of the SHREK creative team), BEE MOVIE lightens Seinfeld's notoriously stinging humor for a family audience, while staying true to its inherent New York-bred quirkiness. This leaves room for the film to feature impressive (if anatomically incorrect) bug-oriented CGI animation and a solid supporting cast that includes Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Chris Rock, and Ray Liotta (who plays a honey-peddling animated version of himself). Although it inhabits some of the same insect-populated territory as A BUG's LIFE and ANTZ, BEE MOVIE also nods to THE GRADUATE (admittedly a Seinfeld favorite) in its restless protagonist, resulting in a playful and thoroughly entertaining film that even manages to work an environmental message into its colorful palette.

	Alex McDowell - Production Designer
	Chris Rock - Voice Of
	Christophe Lautrette - Art Director
	Jerry Seinfeld - Voice Of
	Jerry Seinfeld, et. al. - Writer
	Jerry Seinfeld, et. al. - Producer
	John Goodman - Voice Of
	Kathy Bates - Voice Of
	Larry King - Voice Of
	Matthew Broderick - Voice Of
	Nick Fletcher - Editor
	Oprah Winfrey - Voice Of
	Patrick Warburton - Voice Of
	Ray Liotta - Voice Of
	Renee Zellweger - Voice Of
	Rip Torn - Voice Of
	Rupert Gregson-Williams - Original Music By
	Simon J. Smith - Director
	Steve Hickner - Director
	Sting - Voice Of

Entertainment Weekly
"BEE MOVIE is agreeably skewed fun....The images have a spangly clarity -- they make New York look new again..." -- Grade: A- 11/09/2007 p.79

Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "There are child-friendly puns, but it's also crammed with Seinfeld's trademark observational humour." 01/01/2008 p.58

Sight and Sound
"At its heart is a sweet moral message about everyone pulling together, about doing even the smallest job to the best of your ability..." 01/01/2008 p.60

Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] magnificently entertaining adventure....With a host of subtle jokes, references and cameos..." 05/01/2008 p.85

ReelViews 7 of 10
The press notes for Bee Movie indicate that Jerry Seinfeld came up with the title before he had an inkling what the story might be. Having seen the film, I can believe that...It's a little weird and a little subversive, but mostly it's just dull. Moreover, while adults may get something out of Bee Movie, it's hard to understand what it has to offer to kids besides the flashy animation and a couple of video game-inspired sequences. On the whole, this is another disappointing animated effort and it resides considerably lower on the totem pole than this year's current non-live action champion, Ratatouille...It's fair to argue that Bee Movie ventures onto a road less taken. Certainly, I can't think of another movie in which a talking insect has dragged the entire human race before a judge whose voice is provided by Oprah Winfrey. Nevertheless, while there's something to be prized about uniqueness in a motion picture, that quality is only an asset when it enhances the overall entertainment value - something not evident here...While it has value as a passable diversion, this is ultimately yet another disappointing animated feature in an every-widening pool of them. At least this time it appears that the cause is an offbeat sensibility rather than the laziness and greed that have characterized so many others. - James Berardinelli

Chicago Sun-Times 6 of 10
All of this material, written by Seinfeld and writers associated with his television series, tries hard, but never really takes off. We learn at the outset of the movie that bees theoretically cannot fly. Unfortunately, in the movie, that applies only to the screenplay. It is really, really, really hard to care much about a platonic romantic relationship between Renee Zellweger and a bee, although if anyone could pull if off, she could...Barry and Adam come across as earnest, articulate young bees who pursue logic into the realm of the bizarre, as sometimes happened on the "Seinfeld" show. Most of the humor is verbal, and tends toward the gently ironic rather than the hilarious. Chris Rock scores best, as a mosquito named Mooseblood, but his biggest laugh comes from a recycled lawyer joke...In the tradition of many recent animated films, several famous people turn up playing themselves, including Sting (how did he earn that name?) and Ray Liotta, who is called as a witness because his brand of Ray Liotta Honey profiteers from the labors of bees...Liotta's character and voice work are actually kind of inspired, leaving me to regret the absence of B.B. King, Burt's Bees, Johnny B. Goode, and the evil Canadian bee slavemaster Norman Jewison, who -- oh, I forgot, he exploits maple trees. - Roger Ebert