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| Bee Movie (Widescreen Edition) | 
 enlarge | Actor: Jerry Seinfeld
Studio: Dreamworks Animated
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $5.66
You Save: $14.33 (72%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $5.66
Avg. Customer Rating:  (122 reviews)
Sales Rank: 711
Format: Ac-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), French (Original Language), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 90 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: PARD117944D
UPC: 097361179445
EAN: 0097361179445
ASIN: B0011ZNAIC
Release Date: March 11, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: November 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Oh C'mon it's great fun! November 12, 2007
I took a date on to this movie and while we barely knew each other we had loads of fun watching it. We missed the first 10 minutes but got immersed in the plot/world immediately. No it's not high art, it's just a fun movie. I would say it's better than Antz and equal to some of the Pixar offerings. Enjoy.
Kids will love it; adults, not so much... November 10, 2007
This is a pretty timely movie; while the problem of hive collapse that is threatening honey bees is not actually discussed, the movie makes the point to young audiences about how critical bees are to pollination/plant life, and a major plot point involves a treeless/flowerless "dooms day" scenario of what would happen if bees were to stop pollinating/making honey.
There is some scientific basis for the way the hive is depicted - kids will learn (if they don't already know this) that bees live in a hive, that they have separate jobs, that there is one queen, that nectar becomes honey and pollination helps plants flower. It would be a good movie to see alongside a study of bees.
All in all though, this movie lacked a certain charm that I've come to expect from computer animated movies. I usually love these movies as much as (or even more, as in the case of Ratatouille) my kids, so the fact I didn't enjoy this as much as them (and let it be said that they LOVED this movie) was a bit of a disappointment to me. Some of the humor was a little infantile (in one, a fat lawyer is wheeling around the courtroom in a giant baby walker -- my kids howled here), and the movie's premise was a little hard to buy into (honeybees sue humans for stealing honey), even for me who so willingly suspends disbelief in the theater.
Overall, this movie is a great way to spend an afternoon with your kids. They'll love it, and there are enough redeeming qualities (amazing animation, some of the dialogue & humor) that you certainly won't feel tortured sitting through it.
Good For the Kids, Bad for the Adults (3.5 Stars) November 10, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
There's a lot of great voice talents in Bee Movie, and there's even a great message for the kids here too. Just the same, the movie is funny, witty and very well written on the whole. If there was any major problem with Bee Movie it would be that it's a movie that at times is over the top, and at other times doesn't seem to reach high enough. Your kids will be very impressed with this movie, but adults might not find it to be nearly as well done.
Jerry Seinfeld lends his voice to Barry. A bee that has just gotten through school and has graduated. He and his friend Adam (voiced by Matthew Broderick) are now set to be a worker bees for the rest of their lives inside the hive. Except what Barry discovers is that Bees have never had a day off and that they'll be working whichever job they choose for the rest of their lives. "You're going to work us to death?" Barry asks, to which the woman replies, "We'll try." Barry decides that this isn't for him. There's a whole world out there and he wants to see it. Eventually when he gets mixed in with some other worker bees, he gets his chance. He goes off with the bees who gather pollen and sees the outside world for the very first time. In this misadventure he gets separated from the bees, but can't get back to hive as it starts to rain.
He lands in the windowsill of Vanessa Bloome (voiced by Renee Zellweger) and Ken (voiced by Patrick Warburton). When everyone in their home is frightened because of Barry's presence, Vanessa saves him just before Ken can swat him. So she saves his life. Barry now feels compelled to say something to her. Except the first law of the bees is not to talk to humans at all. But seeing as how the movie is only 78 minutes, Barry breaks this law in no time flat. Vanessa can't believe a bee is talking to her, but she rolls with it. Barry then leaves the hive more just to go and see Vanessa and get to know her. His parents don't like the idea of him "dating" a human, and there's backlash because of the simple fact that they are bees.
On one outing while getting to know Vanessa, they go to the store where Barry discovers that they sell Honey. And he's not too keen on the idea of Bees working so hard to make the honey and then humans just taking it. Even more horror arises when he stumbles on a Bee farm where bees work to make honey and the humans take it. Barry, being as ignorant as he is about humans does seem to know they like to sue each other a lot. And so he decides to take the humans to court.
The first really great thing about Bee Movie is that it has a stellar cast. The voice talent in this movie is easily among the best assembled. The voice talents include, Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, John Goodman and Opera Winfrey among a few. There are also little guest snippets like Larry King, Sting and Ray Liotta. Easily, the voice cast is the best part about Bee Movie. Just the same, the writing, done by Seinfeld himself, is also pretty good. Seinfeld's observational humor comes out here and its reminiscent of his show. Needless to say if you don't like Seinfeld's comedic style, you probably won't like this movie. Just the same, it really is a funny movie on the whole.
Unfortunately, while the cast and writing is great, Bee Movie suffers from other traumas. The first being that even for a children's animated film, it's a little over the top in some of its zaniness. Particularly the trial. It's all in good fun, though. Little children will absolutely love the movie, but adults who have liked such animated classics as Shrek, Finding Nemo and this years Rataouille, won't be taken in by some of Bee Movie's over the top zaniness.
The movie is pretty short, though, so its over fast. It's an enjoyable film for the younger crowd, but may not be enough to rouse the inner child of an adult.
 Bee Movie Review November 8, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Jerry Seinfeld has been away from the spotlight for some time now and 2007 marks the year of his return - but only as a voice in a computer animated film. While the premise is unique, the approach is generic, and the excellently animated, poorly executed family film will have difficulty avoiding the already popular classification that Bee Movie is indeed a B-movie.
Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) is an average bee approaching adulthood, who must decide upon a job in the hive. The catch is that once he chooses his job, he must keep it for the rest of his life. Unsatisfied with the monotony of working in the hive, he ventures outside where he meets a human woman, Vanessa (Renee Zellweger), who saves his life. Indebted, he breaks the Cardinal bee rule: never talk to humans. At first Vanessa has difficulty accepting the talking bee, but the two soon spend quite a bit of time together and Barry gets overly comfortable as she reveals that she is a florist. Enamored with Vanessa, despite the interspecies barrier, Barry learns that humans have been stealing honey from bees and selling and eating it. Infuriated, he sets out to sue the honey company, with the help of Vanessa and his bee pals.
Apparently bees drive cars, they are all cousins, and they can use their antennas as cell phones. The comical world the creators have devised for the bees is perhaps the most creative aspect of the film. Many parallels reside with Barry's rebellious teen years and human childhood, as specifically referenced by a sensationally hysterical homage to The Graduate. From voting the queen bee into monarchy, to pollination, to insects on windshields and their attraction to lights, many of the typical insect behaviors are addressed and translated into humorous gags - supposedly their thinking is shockingly similar to humans.
The animation (from Dreamworks, the studio that brought us Shrek) as always continues to excel in its realism, from the cartoon movements and facial expressions of the characters, to the nearly flawless reflections and refractions of the inanimate objects and background environments. Barry gets stuck to a tennis ball and batted around in slow motion, and sucked into the engine of a car: both scenes and many more are executed with amazing editing and stunning camera movement that can only be achieved in computer animation.
Hysterical character designs and voice acting also add to the fun, with jocose performances by John Goodman, Patrick Warburton, Chris Rock and even voice cameos by Michael Richards (who many joked would play the role of an Africanized bee) and Larry King as Bee Larry King. What doesn't work as well is the execution of the story. The film often contradicts itself with the reactions of the humans to talking bees, and with what Barry is capable of realistically doing as nothing more than a heavily personified insect. Some of the jokes elicit laughter, but most are on an unexpectedly low intelligence level, and ultimately the many entertaining bits are specifically aimed at younger audiences. As is often with computer animated films, visual perfection oftentimes overshadows the time spent trying to devise an enticing story, and Bee Movie falls in with the too-kid-friendly films that are quickly forgotten.
- Mike Massie
A Pleasant Movie November 5, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This movie features many voices we have grown to love, Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Oprah Winfrey, Larry King, Sting, and more. While not being the best computer animation film out there, it holds its own well enough and is an enjoyable viewing experience for all ages. Some very young children won't get all the jokes, but the fun factor and eye candy make it worthwhile. I liked the spin put on the movie that bees could communicate with humans but weren't allowed to by traditional bee law. Complications ensue due to the law being broken by the main character Barry, and he ends up getting involved in a lawsuit meant to assist bees everywhere from being exploited for their honey. It goes well, but doesn't exactly turn out like Barry intended. Fortunately he finds a solution to the problem he unwittingly created. A solid four stars from me.
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