Barry B. Benson, a bee who has just graduated from college, is disillusioned at his lone career choice: making honey.. On a special trip outside the hive, Barry’s life is saved by Vanessa, a florist in New York City.. As their relationship blossoms, he discovers humans actually eat honey and subsequently decides to sue us..

Rated: [ G ]

Cinema release: USA - 2nd November 2007
Australia - 6th December 2007

Running time: 90 minutes

Stars: Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Kathy Bates, Robert Duvall, Rip Torn, Uma Thurman

Bee Movie is no B - movie..

With an all - star cast including Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick and Chris Rock, Bee Movie brings to life the story of a bee named Barry B. Benson who breaks with destiny and ventures outside the hive on a journey of self discovery..

Longing to break free from a humdrum existence, Barry, a recent graduate trying to find his place in the bee world, decides to leave the hive and escape a career at Honex, where he is destined to work until the end of his life..

His journey outside New Hive City finds Barry breaking the one golden bee rule of talking to humans.. He accidentally crashes into the apartment of Vanessa Bloome ( Renee Zellweger ), a florist who develops a bond with Barry and saves him from being squashed..

Barry’s adventure outside the hive loses its buzz when he realises that humans have been harvesting honey by stealing it from the bee populations.. On behalf of his fellow bees, Barry sets out on a mission to bring humans to justice and reclaim the stolen honey..

Written by Jerry Seinfeld and his Seinfeld TV show writers, Spike Feresten and Andy Robin, Bee Movie has a quirky mix of one - liners and gags that will keep you laughing, in particular the court scene where Sting makes a cameo as a witness ( Have you ever been stung, Mr Sting? ) and Barry accuses Ray Liotta of being a ” badfella ” not a ” goodfella..”

Seinfeld, to me, is one of the masters of comedy without vulgarity.. After Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, it seemed inevitable that comedy was going to be dirty and foulmouthed, but Seinfeld has always walked on his side of the line..

The advantage of playing that game is, naturally, that it’s a stable long-term strategy.. Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin have all disappointed their critical fans by playing to the broader family market, and even Richard Pryor went weird in Superman III..

Seinfeld, on the other hand, has been nearly universally heralded as one of the greatest comedians of our time.. I listened to a bootleg cassette of his farewell comedy performance, I’m Telling You for the Last Time, One Rainy Night in Montreal, and it blew me away how effortlessly he hit perfect timing and intonation..

Bee Movie reflects all these sensibilities.. On one hand, it’s a classic Dreamworks animation: kid - friendly characters, bright colours, silly slapstick, but with enough nudge - nudge humour for the adults.. The secret X - factor is Seinfeld, who starts off a little slow at the start of the movie, but by the end, he’s getting laughs by the pound..

The animation is so appealing that everything seems edible.. The honey factory in the hive is outstanding, with bright colours and all that delicious, sweet sweet honey everywhere.. I’ve got half a mind to stick my fist into a bee hive and suck the nectar off my wrist after seeing this movie..

If you enjoyed A Bug’s Life, Antz or Madagascar, you’ll enjoy Bee Movie.. Made to entertain, Bee Movie is a lighthearted and lively animated film that will amuse both young and old..

I was expecting bad things from this movie, perhaps because all the media hype surrounding it was giving me a dull ache in my frontal lobe, but I surprised myself by spurting out laughter, often with the crowd, but sometimes in utter silence.. Was I alone in my enjoyment - or did I appreciate something under the current?

I give Bee Movie 3.5 out of 5..