Movie Review - Bee Movie

Below is my review based on seeing Bee Movie in the theater. I have since seen it again in the theater and it was just as good the second time around and I look forward to adding this one to my collection once it comes out on dvd.

Once bees graduate from school, they immediately go to work making honey. They are given the choice of which job function they want to do and are told to choose carefully because that will be what you do for the rest of your life. You see, bees do the same function every single day...no vacations, no time off...ever. And it's been this way for 27 million years. One bee, Barry (Jerry Seinfeld), doesn't like the idea of doing the same thing every day for the rest of his life, so he wants to see what it's like outside the hive. Launching out with the Pollen Jocks (yes, they do exactly what you're thinking they do), he ends up getting separated from them and meets a human. Bees can talk, but it is strictly forbidden for them to talk to humans; however, this one human, Vanessa (Renee Zellweger), saves his life from being squashed by her boyfriend (Patrick Warburton) so he wants to tell her thank you. After her initial shock of a talking bee, they end up getting to be good friends. One day when they're out and about together, grocery shopping, he sees that honey is on the shelves and humans are consuming it, essentially having stolen it from the bees. So Barry decides the right thing to do is to sue the humans for stealing the honey from the bees and keeping the bees as slaves. ("There are bee KEEPERS but are there any bee FREEers?")

Basic message is that we, humans, need bees to do what they do in order for life to exist, and the way they demonstrate that really makes you think. I'm not saying that I've conquered my entomophobia after having seen this movie, but it made me appreciate a little more that bees have a reason for being here. (Hornets and wasps still have yet to prove to me their purpose in the circle of life, though.) :]

I'll be honest. I figured this movie would be only okay, with just a few funny parts, because I think Jerry Seinfeld overacts, but it was GREAT! From the very start of the movie where the Dreamworks logo appears (and they customized it for this movie, but I don't want to give away how they do it) up until the very last scene, it was entertaining, informative, funny, and it had some heartwarming moments. Once you get about 3/4 into the movie, the ending becomes pretty predictable, but that's okay because you're still wondering HOW they're going to get to that point, so it doesn't lose any of it's momentum. Jerry Seinfeld is credited with writing and co-producing so he gets respect from me for that. It's a refreshing story told from an interesting point of view (the bees'), the visuals were stunning, and the cameos were well used. Overall, they did a great job with this movie!

Vixy :]