2 Disc Special Edition of Dreamworks' BEE MOVIE(2008).
© Dreamworks Animation
Title: Bee Movie (2-Disc Special Edition)
Rating: PG
Starring (Voices): Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Chris Rock, John Goodman, Kathy Bates, Barry Levinson, Ray Liotta, Larry Miller, Megan Mullally, Rip Torn, Sting, Patrick Warburton
Written By: Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Barry Marder, Andy Robin
Directed By: Simon J. Smith, Steve Hickner
Distributor: Dreamworks Animation
Original Year of Release: 2007
Extras: Jerry and Filmmaker Commentary, The Animators' Corner, Barry's Trivia Track, Lost Scenes with Commentary: Barry Interview, The Queen and Liotta on a Plane, Alternate Endings with Commentary: Barry and Vanessa Fly off Together, Naughtybee@hotmail.com, Spanish Fly, Outer Space, Ken Flies Ultralight, The Eagle Has Not Landed, Inside the Hive: The Cast of Bee Movie, TV Juniors: Bringing Down the Big One, Super Chicken, Toothbrush TV (This Neck-O-Vision), The Turtle and the Chicken, She's my Sister and my Mother, Department Synergy, Knock Off Bee Movie, Dream Washer, Matthew has Notes, Idiot with Coffee, Ray, Renee has Notes, Welcome to Hell, Anyone Can Sell an Animated Movie, Eat, Drink, Sleep Animation, Introducing the DWA Board of Directors, Brad Garrett "Baked Goods," Snack Snack Patty Whack, Anything Can Be an Animated Movie, Bee Movie Live Action Trailers: Windshield and Steven, Jerry's Flight Over Cannes, Meet Barry B. Benson, Tech of Bee Movie, "We Got the Bee" Music Video, DWA Juke Box, DWA Kids: The Buzz about Bees, The Ow! Meter, Un-BEE-lievable, Pollination Practice, DVD-ROM
Buy it now!
BEE MOVIE
By: Robert T. TrateDate: Wednesday, March 19, 2008
To start, you’d better like Jerry Seinfeld and his type of humor. If you don’t then the Bee Movie isn’t for you. His comedy is all over this film as if it were the color yellow. Being a fan of his comedy and his show I found the Bee Movie to be surprisingly fun. I laughed out loud a few times and, in all honesty, the Bee Movie makes Shrek the Third look like Ishtar (1987).
Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) has just graduated from college and is about to decide on what job he is going to have for the rest of his life. Realizing that he’ll do the same job until the day he dies Barry has a few questions about what else there is in life. In short, is this all I’ll ever be? Exploring the hive Barry is invited to join the Pollen Jocks, bee that gather pollen, on a trip to the outside world. What we discover is a story that starts off as predictable but quickly changes gears to enlighten and entertain.
Barry, of course, gets separated from the Pollen Jocks and meets a human florist named Vanessa (Renee Zellweger). The story bounces around the fish out of water motif and looks as if it will become a love story between a human and a bumble bee. Barry learns that humans eat honey too and this upsets Barry because they are exploiting the Bees and they receive nothing for their hard work. The film takes a bizarre turn from kid friendly off beat romantic comedy to court room drama. Surprisingly enough this actually works. Who would have thought that a romantic comedy/ court room drama/ animated fish out of water story could work? Jerry Seinfeld did.
The Bee Movie is a cut above your usual computer generated movie because of the hyper kinetic supporting characters. Sure Donkey and Puss in Boots in Shrek bring up the tempo to play off of Shrek’s demeanor and indifference to the world. In Bee Movie all the characters lend to bringing Barry’s story to life, adding energy upon energy to a story that is already buzzing.
Highlights to wait and watch for are Matthew Broderick’s portrayal of Barry’s best Bee friend Adam Flayman. No stranger to animated features, Broderick perfectly plays the straight man to Seinfeld’s comedic dreamer. Chris Rock’s character, Mooseblood, could probably have stood on his own in an animated film but after Osmosis Jones (2001) I’m sure Rock isn’t ready to go down that road again. Without a doubt the antics of Ray Liotta as Ray Liotta outshine any cameo in computer generated movie history. Look for his deleted cross dressing flight attendant scene in the “Lost Scenes”.
The Bee Movie is definitely worth the watch. To buy or not to buy is your decision. If you enjoy Seinfeld and are tired of the fading re-runs on TV than the Bee Movie is right up your alley. Those of you who are tired of Seinfeld then by all means buzz off.
Special Features:
“A very Jerry 2 Disc Edition” of Bee Movie is more Bee Movie than you will ever need.
The first disc has all the same special features as the single disc release which is loaded with Bee Movie TV juniors. You might remember them from being broadcasted on NBC. If you were like me, you probably watched one and never saw another. There are sixteen on the disc and run in total under ten minutes. They start off lame but there are a few gems to look for. Any time the character of the “Moron” appears is worth watching. Ray Liotta taunting Seinfeld about the other animated movies he is doing is worth it just to see him in a giant bug costume. Seinfeld does make fun of the Latino community a few times that sparked the memory of that controversial Seinfeld episode. Those were uncomfortable, not really so funny.
By far my favorite special feature was the live action trailers. Seeing Steven Spielberg show up on set of a live action giant sized Bee Movie dealing with Seinfeld’s complaints was priceless. Better than his cameo in Austin Powers the Spy Who Shagged Me. If I would have seen that trailer or the comedians dressed as bugs in the “Windshield” trailer featuring Chris Rock I would have gone to see the Bee Movie.
The second disc features plenty on how the movie was made. Learning how long the film took to render gave me an enormous appreciation for the patience of animator. “Tech of Bee Movie” also highlighted the fact that Seinfeld didn’t leave New York to work on the film. He communicated via HALO with the animators and crew on an hourly basis. He would witness rushes via satellite and communicate immediately with the directors to bring his script and concept to life.
For the kids, this two disc edition has a fun and not completely movie verbatim eleven questions and answers that the kids can choose to ask Barry. The scenes are right from the movie however, the dialogue is different and at times seems as if they used most of Seinfeld’s improvisations.
There is music video called “We got the Bee” which features kids dressed as Bees descending on New York City. Cute and silly but not nearly as much fun a having seven different music numbers from the more recent DreamWorks computer animated features. Strange that there weren’t any Antz (1998) numbers in the animation juke box.
