March 12, 2008

If you are a Jerry Seinfeld fan, like myself, then I’m sure you’ve been just as interested and excited about what his next project would be after leaving his hugely popular NBC series, and you were probably just as surprised when you learned that his next project would be an animated feature titled, “Bee Movie”. I was a bit nervous and even skeptical at first, at least until I learned that DreamWorks was behind the project – those guys have never let me down.

Bee Movie is yet another charming insect movie following in the footsteps of previous animated bug flicks like Antz, Bug’s Life, and Ant Bully, but Bee Movie is far more clever than any of those other movies and a lot more entertaining. The creators even managed to work in some factual tidbits about bees and their impact on the environment, so Bee Movie will educate as well as entertain.

Bee Movie is a very personal project of Jerry’s, who also served as co-writer, producer, and voices the main character, Barry B. Benson. Even the wizards at DreamWorks admit that Jerry is the first “outsider” to get this totally involved in the production of one of their animated features, and his care and attention to detail shows in every aspect of the production of this brilliant and charming movie that provides a bit of insight into the daily lives of one of nature's most misunderstood insects.

Once you have DreamWorks working on the visuals for your story the only thing left is to assemble the perfect voice cast, and animated movies have become quite the fashionable project for just about every big star in Hollywood these days. It has to be a big change for a lot of these actors, not having to deal with makeup and wardrobe during a shoot, but then again, acting into a microphone, often alone, can present its own challenges. Whenever possible, Jerry tried to get the actors in the studio together to play off of each other. They would do an initial pass through the script (as written) then do it again, in character, and riff off each other and let the dialogue evolve on its own, and much of that is what made it into the final film.

Matthew Broderick plays Adam, Barry’s best, and slightly neurotic friend, John Goodman plays the evil corporate lawyer, and Chris Rock plays a blood-sucking mosquito. Patrick Warburton (one of my all-time favorite actors) plays Ken, the jealous boyfriend of Vanessa, the main human character and romantic interest of Barry who is brilliantly voiced by Renée Zellweger. Not only is her character beautifully drawn and animated, Renée provides just the right amount of quirkiness to this character that makes you actually wonder if a bee could become romantically involved, or at least become friends with a human.

The story begins inside the hive where Adam and Barry have just graduated and are ready to begin their lifetime assignments working at Honex preparing honey for the rest of their lives. There are thousands of tiny jobs that go into the honey-making process, and as we learn by the end of the movie, even the smallest job, when done right, is important – a great lesson the creators managed to work into the script without sounding too preachy.

Adam is anxious to get to work but Barry has his doubts and wants to take some time off despite the insistance of his parents played by Kathy Bates and Barry Levinson. Rather than backpacking across Europe he decides to go on a “fly along” with the Pollen Jocks, the macho bee pilots who leave the hive every day to collect nectar and spread pollen. This offers our first glimpse of the world outside the hive in what is easily one of the most magical and invigorating parts of the film. You can’t help but share the awe with Barry as he leaves the hive and breaks free from the canopy of the treetops to see the bright blue sky and the New York skyline.

After a comical bit involving Barry getting stuck to a tennis ball and a rollercoaster ride through downtown traffic, Barry ends up in a rainstorm. Since bees can’t fly in rain (technically they shouldn’t fly at all) he takes shelter in the apartment of Vanessa, a beautiful florist who values all life including Barry’s when she saves him from the “winter boots” of an allergic and irrational Ken. Barry decides he has to break one of the Bee Laws and actually talk to a human so he can thank her, which leads into a rather one-sided romantic relationship that drives Ken insane with jealously despite the absurdity of it all.

On one of Barry and Vanessa’s strolls they go to a market where Barry learns that humans are packaging and selling honey, effectively stealing their life’s work. Barry vows to sting the humans where it hurts (no, not the eye or inside the nose) so he sues the human race. After winning the lawsuit the bees get all of the packaged honey dumped back into their hive and no longer have to work. Of course, this upsets the balance of nature in disastrous ways, and Barry and Vanessa must join forces to save the world.

Bee Movie is the perfect family film that will delight young and old alike. The kids will love the animation and fun characters, and there are a few over-the-head jokes targeted for older viewers (they even worked in a "lawyer joke") but nothing naughty. In fact, when you watch some of the deleted materials you will see just how much care went into making this a family-friendly feature. You'll learn a bit about bees and honey and how it all impacts the environment, and they even throw in some social commentary on slavery and smoking.

Available as a standalone movie or in the 2-disc special edition, Bee Movie is a must own title for anybody with kids or who is just a kid at heart. Bee Movie: A Very Jerry 2-Disc Edition is loaded with extras and bonus features including a full-length commentary by Jerry and some of the crew from DreamWorks. They’ve also included alternate endings and lost scenes – these are still in the rough pencil stages, but it’s interesting to see what was left out and learn why. There is a short feature that shows Jerry “flying” into the Cannes Film Festival on wires in a bee suit to promote the movie, and you can also watch all 16 of Jerry’s TV Juniors; little live-action snippets used to promote the movie as well as two live action trailers that are totally hilarious - one with a cameo by Steven Spielberg.

A second disc contains even more extras like a music video, a pollination video game, and many other clever interactive games and features that will keep the kids busy long after the movie is over. Interestingly enough, all of the disc two bonus features are included on the standalone DVD, but you’ll need the Very Jerry edition if you want the commentary and missing movie footage.

Filmmaking: 10
Jerry Seinfeld has always been one of my favorite comedians and now he has spun that wit and charm into a magical script that DreamWorks has crafted into one of the best animated features of all time. It all starts with a great premise, and that story comes alive with a fantastic ensemble cast that brings these characters to life. You know your animated movie works when you forget you are watching an animated movie and start asking absurd questions like, "Will the bee get the girl?"

Graphics: 10
DreamWorks never ceases to amaze me from one feature to the next. Bee Movie is pure genius, both from a technical and creative standpoint. I loved the curvy architecture and golden hues of the hive, juxtaposed against the linear grid structure of the city and blue tints of the real world. The character designs were excellent for both insects and humans and I appreciated the fact that they didn’t try to make the animated characters resemble the actors – that just gets creepy sometimes. And kudos to the amazing camera work that not only has you flying right alongside the bees, but also captures the exhilaration of flight, and the hazardous turmoil of downtown traffic.

Sound: 10
I’ve already extolled the fabulous cast so I’ll now focus on the wonderful score by composer, Rupert Gregson-Williams (“Over the Hedge”), and music producer, Hans Zimmer, whose credits and accolades are far too numerous to mention here. The music is flawless, especially during the aforementioned scene when Barry first leaves the hive. There are two specific musical numbers that stand out; Sugar Sugar, by the Archies, appears midway through the movie during a dream picnic sequence, and the ending sequence features the Beatles classic, Here Comes the Sun, magically recomposed and sung by Sheryl Crow. There was also a planned musical number with Jerry and Matthew that was dropped from the film for pacing reasons, but you can still hear them sing the song if you stick through the closing credits.

Value: 9
The Bee Movie: A Very Jerry 2-Disc Edition sells for around $27, or about $8 more than the standalone movie. For most consumers, you probably won’t find enough extra stuff on the 2-disc edition to justify the extra cash; especially since all the kid-friendly bonus goodies are included on the solo DVD. But, if you’re like me and are really interested in what goes into making these movies and want to hear the humorous and insightful commentary and view all the missing material, you’ll definitely want to pick up the special edition.

Overall: 9.8
Interestingly enough, I never saw Bee Movie in the theaters, but I did play and review the video game, so I had a pretty good idea of what the movie was about and my expectations were understandably high, what with Jerry Seinfeld and DreamWorks collaborating - that’s like Lucas and Spielberg joining forces. You know something special is going to happen. Bee Movie not only lived up to my unreasonably high standards, it exceeded them exponentially, and this is one DVD that now holds a place of honor in my animated insect movie collection.