Bee Movie (2007)

Great Movie

I can't get enough of these animated movies, and Bee Movie was just another must have to add to the collection.
You either like Jerry Seinfeld or you don't, but if you do, this will be a great film that you shouldn't miss.
It's not for kids really, there's a lot of adult humour which makes it all the more funny and would just go over the kids heads.

The movie looks fantastic in HD also, so just go and buy it if you haven't already seen it. July 29, 2008

Beeware, this is no Toy Story

The first half of this movie is great. It was clever, funny, and original. The second half, while there were shining moments, fell short. Seinfeld was great, and his humor found its way through. Nearly all of the activity inside "the hive" was very entertaining. The problem with these types of movies is that it is becoming so easy to make them quickly. Movies like Toy Story and Monster's Inc. took years to make, which also gave them plenty of time to tweak and change the plot and script to make sure that it was perfect. Now that they take less time, and money, to make you end up with movies like this one (along with Madagascar, over the hedge, etc.) Yes, they are funny. However, in the end they don't quite measure up. July 2, 2008

I expected better from Seinfeld

Penguins, Toys, Cars, Monsters and now Bees have their own light using the brilliance of computer animation and when hearing that Seinfeld, THE Jerry Seinfeld was himself writing and voicing one of the characters I was sure this movie would not fail to amuse. I have to admit that watching this film I was very disappointed, and that was simply because a man who can be named by many as being one of the greatest comedians of our time had stooped so low as to use Bee puns in order to get a laugh. During the movie things changed however and when Barry Benson entered into the court case when suing the humans, we are given some genuinely funny gags that can be attributed as funny yet true.

The story revolves around Barry Benson a Bee who's graduated from Bee University and is now forced to make a choice as to which job in the hive to take that he will work for the rest of his life. He isn't happy with that and decides to go out one day with the pollen jocks who are the bees who go out and collect the pollen to help make the honey. While on this trip he's accidentally lost and meets a human who saves his life, he thanks her and they become friends (Although she's freaked out by a talking bee). While out with her one day shopping he discovers the honey shelf and finds out the humans kidnap bee queens and hold captive bees in order for them to make honey in artificial hives. Because of this, Barry decides he must punish the humans and sues them.

Although the comedy does lack, it picks up towards the end and actually becomes quite intelligent. During the court case itself you can't help but notice the racial undertones when talking about bees being taken as slaves in work camps etc. John Goodman plays the stereotypical southern lawyer who is in favour of the bees being taken as slaves in work camps. The movie itself is quite intelligent especially when touching on the subject of lawsuits and the true repercussions a lawsuit can have. It's an enjoyable film but if you're expecting a hysterical Seinfeld classic then you will be sorely disappointed, it's good but be warned. June 24, 2008

Rene Zellweger looking her most "suggestive" yet ...

I rarely, if ever, notice what MPAA Rating a film has received as it is something I have NEVER had to worry about. I used to go to drive-in movies to watch The Exorcist and The Omen when I was but a fragile fawn in the woods collecting twigs. But when I saw that it was rated PG for 'mildly suggestive humor', it caught my attention. I thought: That's something you don't see everyday.

So, maybe it was the scenes where the angle of the viewers perspective was beneath the beautiful young girl's long legs and curvaceous body with that short, short skirt and her huge blinking eyes and wry smile. Maybe it was the many slick references to The Graduate. I was a little too reminded of all the much-more suggestive Japanese Anime that I've ingested in the last decade watching the first fifteen minutes. I guess at some point, the inclusion of "suggestive" material would have to happen to mainstream Western animation, too. We export so much "suggestive" and "explicit" material, it goes without saying that even a Dreamworks movie would someday co-opt a little of that market as well. For that, I guess as a thirty-something -- I'm thankful. I've never seen Renee Zellweger looking so trim and glowing and 'come hither'. Being a married man and having to understand the basic frailties of my wife and the way she looks, I'm sure Renee was probably intensely satisfied with her characters appearance as well. It was a highlight, even if they put most of the suggestive material on the front-end of the movie.

The second half of the movie then turns into a message-driven cautionary tale about Mankind's exploitation of bees, which is probably a long time coming and a good message for kids. I can understand the frustration of one reviewer, seeing that he's a bee farmer and that the film wasn't "correct" in all its descriptions of a real bee's life and the nomenclature of its existence. But the truth is, even if you do get your bread and butter from bee farming, being socially aware of our impact on the world of bees is a good message, no matter how you slice it. And, oh yeah, I think we all know that bees don't speak English (or Spanish), don't sip latte's, wear sweaters or study legal documents and seek to litigate for labor law violations and community infraction.

I laughed out loud and followed this movie in rapt attention from beginning to end as did my wife, who couldn't help saying that "it's so cute" numerous times. I was very impressed with this and will probably watch it again, adding it to the short-list of animated films that I keep out for repeat viewing.

And anybody that can work in an angle to put Sting on the witness stand and give him a lecture about his nom de plume has my vote ... very funny stuff. Gord Lord ... Gordon Sumner! June 21, 2008

Fun For The Whole Family

Bee Movie was actually to my suprise pretty good. it was a silly kids movie that people of all ages will enjoy. we need more movies like this, shrek & Ice age. June 17, 2008

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