Bee Movie

Directed by: Steve Hickner and Simon J. Smith
Starring: Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Patrick Warburton, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, Barry Levinson, Larry King, Ray Liotta, Sting, Oprah Winfrey
Running Time: 1h 30min

It's sad to think, that in the years since Seinfeld's self titled sitcom has been off the air, that all he has been able to muster is this mediocre film populated with stock jokes, tired cinematic conventions, and lazy one liners. Considering he was the star of such a consistently funny, cleverly paced, and tightly woven series, that provided fresh laughs and continues to be the hallmark of situation comedies, Seinfeld's first foray into film is a disastrous flop.

The premise sounds like great comedic fodder, the workman like bee hive, with all its natural wonder and colony code of conduct. It seems perfectly matched with Seinfeld's stand up style, of pointing out life's oddities and silly social structures and situations. Yet all Bee Movie offers are the run of the mill punny honey jokes that you can see from a mile away. Even the lousiest Seinfeld episode has more laugh out loud moments than this film. Even jokes aimed at the preschool crowd fall flat, so that no matter what age you are, this film fails to offer any laughs.

Lack of laughs aside, there really isn't any insightful or meaningful moments which are often peppered into animated children's films. The human-bee relationships seem awkward and borderline crazy, and the premise of bees talking and humans listening is too easily glazed over, when it could be a goldmine for humour, allegory, or moralizing. Instead, we're left with the message that capitalists have been trying to subversively instill in workers for centuries; accept your lot, because you never know what disaster could strike if you choose to rebel against your meaningless McJob.

Perhaps the only bright spots in this film can be credited to the supporting cast, who do some great voice work in their roles. Zellweger, Broderick, Warburton and Rock all get a lot of millage out of their roles, showing some real skill and style with their line delivery. Their screen time makes you wish their characters were more developed and more integral to the film's plot.

The bottom line however, is that a good animated film rests on strong voice work, a clever story line that's suitable for both kids and adults, and finally, but most importantly, great animation. Bee Movie strikes out on all three fronts. Seinfeld can't carry the film on his own, as his whiny voice does little to inspire the audience to rally behind the hero. The plot skips and jumps its way along, in search of meaning while forgetting any semblance of coherency. Sadly, the animation is uninspired, with only the moments of bumblebees in flight providing any visual excitement. Robots did a much better job utilizing the geometric designs into the world inhabited by its characters, and both Antz and A Bug's Life, not to mention Toy Story and Finding Nemo, painted much more lush, extravagant backdrops for it's tiny creatures living amongst humans.

Bee Movie is a huge disappointment, as a comedy, as a kid's flick, and as an animated adventure. It doesn't even rate a "B", but due to some interesting scenes, a few clever cameos, and some decent supporting work, it isn't a complete failure. Let's just hope it doesn't warrant a sequel.

Grade: C-