The title, Bee Movie, hardly leaves much to one’s imagination. If you’re expecting a colourful and vivacious animated film with a spectacle of wacky talking bees, then you’ve hit the nail right on the spot. But don’t be too quick to jump the gun and cast Bee Movie as yet another mindless animated film for it does offer a tad more than just honeyed fanfare. With veteran and much loved comedian, Jerry Seinfeld, scripting and playing the lead role, fans of ended cult sitcom, Seinfeld, will be able to recognise small doses of the warm humor the comedic genius has become synonymous with.

Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld) is a wide-eyed fresh college grad bee and, like all bees, faces a life of making honey at the Honex Industry. Unlike his best friend Adam Flayman (Matthew Broderick), who’s thrilled to start work, Barry craves for adventure outside of his colony confines, reluctant to settle for the mundane job he’ll be stuck with the rest of his life.

So, what do most curious bees, or any curious beings for that matter, do when their parents specifically say ‘no’ to flying out and to talking with humans? They go ahead and do it anyway. Barry does exactly that.

Barry joins the pollen-jocks, an elitist group of bees who travel out of their hives to pollinate and keep the flowers on earth blooming, on their next trip out and gets his first taste of near-death experiences. Several scenes such as the bee being revived in an ambulance and the tennis ball bee battering are so forced and overly exaggerated, it really takes the term ‘corny’ to a different level.

Just when you thought the storyline couldn’t delve into a more clichéd formula, Barry takes a nosedive right into the apartment of florist, Vanessa Bloome (Renee Zellweger), who (surprise, surprise) loves insects. An odd friendship develops between them as Vanessa saves Barry time and again from several squashing attempts by her jealous boyfriend, Ken (Patrick Warburton).

Zellweger as Vanessa is somewhat jaded and boring. This is a character that blends into the background and becomes thoroughly forgettable, which is a waste of talent of the Oscar-winning actress who’s known for her quirky and fun personality.

Barry’s fun-filled life comes to a halt when, during a trip to the supermarket, he discovers what seems to be endless rows of jars of honey sold on the stands. His investigatations lead him to Honey Farms, a money-grubbing honey manufacturer, where he witnesses his fellow bees being exploited for their honey, and Barry, unable to stomach this, decides to take Honey Farms to court.

As with most animated cartoons such as other productions by the same studio, DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek, a fairly predictable happy ending ensues, to the delight of most children and movie-goers who just want to catch a feel-good show. However, as a Seinfeld by-product, this movie seems to be of a b-grade standard animated cartoon and the storyline resembles that of fellow insect cartoons such as Antz and A Bug’s Life where themes of freedom vs colony and community values tend to be pitted against each other.

Maybe it’s the Seinfeld curse, but this movie is merely a testament of his eagerness to stage a successful comeback. Bee Movie ends up as Seinfeld’s disappointing attempt to translate his winning stage comedy sequences onto the animation movie medium. This results in choppy and rushed progression throughout the movie, failing to leave any significant impression of Barry’s characteristics in audiences’ minds.

With the release of several highly-received animated blockbusters this year such as Shrek 3 and Ratatouille, it would really be quite a feat if Seinfeld’s Bee Movie can garner the loudest buzz.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Movie Details

Opens: Nov 7

Running time: 90 mins

Language: English

Cast: Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick

Directors: Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner