Bee Movie (U)

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Kelly Rissman

US News Reporter

The notes handed out to the press explain that Jerry Seinfeld, having dinner with Steven Spielberg, cracked a joke about making a movie about bees and calling it Bee Movie, and next thing he knew he had DreamWorks on the phone telling him they wanted to make it: "I really didn't have an idea for the movie," Seinfeld is quoted as saying. "All I had was the title." Whaddya know? He doesn't just write and star, he gives it all the review it needs.

The first half of this animation is standard-issue be-your-own-person, live-your-dream, ignore-the-nay-sayers yarn about a young bee Barry B Benson, voiced by Seinfeld who abandons the hive's dreary uniformity to make friends with a human.

Then the film lurches towards a Marxist critique of corporate capitalism as Barry sues honey manufacturers for exploiting bee labour. Finally, it changes direction again, in to an eco-fable about the importance of everybody fulfilling their role, which rather negates the be-your-own-person bit.

The gags aren't much more coherent. (Are they aimed at kids? If so, will kids know who Sting is, for instance?) Given the amount of talent involved Rene Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Rip Torn, and Seinfeld himself it all feels like a terrible waste.