Product Details

• Actors: Jerry Seinfeld
• Format: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English, Spanish, French
• Subtitles: French
• Dubbed: French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Dreamworks Animated
• DVD Release Date: March 11, 2008
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (283 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0011ZNAIC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,251 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #79 in Movies & TV > DVD > Kids & Family
• Learn more about "Bee Movie (Widescreen Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There aren't a lot of choices in a bee's life: a bee attends a few days of school, graduates from college, and chooses a job in the hive that he'll labor at for the rest of his life. Barry (Jerry Seinfeld) is different from his best friend Adam (Matthew Broderick) and all the other bees: he wants to see the world outside the hive and can't begin to contemplate doing the same job for his entire life. Naturally, the life of the "pollen jock" bees appeals to Barry because it's the only job that takes a bee outside the hive and into the larger human world. Once outside the hive, Barry breaks the most sacred bee law and speaks to a human named Vanessa (Renée Zellweger) in order to thank her for saving his life. A relationship quickly blossoms and leads Barry to the discovery that humans are stealing honey from the bees and selling it for their own profit. Vowing to hurt the humans the one place they’ll feel it, Barry brings a legal suit against the honey industry and the courtroom drama begins. There are some hysterical moments in the film, as one would expect from a Seinfeld production, and an abundance of one-liners, double-meanings, slapstick humor, and innuendo-laden dialogue that will keep adults guffawing throughout the show. Still, the whole concept of seeing the life of a common pest through non-human eyes is getting repetitive thanks to films like Ratatouille, Flushed Away, Open Season, and Over the Hedge. It should be noted, though, that this first foray into animation by Jerry Seinfeld was four years in production due to its collaborative nature, so its theme may actually have well predated all of the aforementioned films. Children ages 5 and older will love the bees' silly antics, though many of the jokes will go right over their heads and parents should be cautioned about some mildly suggestive humor. More than just a comical film about the life of one very different honeybee, Bee Movie is a social commentary that pokes fun at human behavior while stressing the importance of doing even the most menial job well and championing the power of working together toward a common goal. There's even a lesson to be learned from the bees about controlling one's temper. --Tami Horiuchi

Product Description

"Bee Movie" is a comedy that will change everything you think you know about bees. Having just graduated from college, a bee by the name of Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) finds himself disillusioned with the prospect of having only one career choice—honey. As he ventures outside of the hive for the first time, he breaks one of the cardinal rules of the bee world and talks to a human, a New York City florist named Vanessa (Renee Zellweger). He is shocked to discover that the humans have been stealing and eating the bee’s honey for centuries. He ultimately realizes that his true calling in life is to set the world right by suing the human race. That is until the ensuing chaos upsets the very balance of nature. It is up to Barry to prove that even a little bee can spell big changes in the world.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 54 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun with fresh message. November 3, 2007

By R. Christenson

I've seen all of the animated features since Toy Story, and liked this one better than most. It's not as funny as Shrek, and overall not as good as Monsters Inc or Finding Nemo, but certainly in the better half, comparable to Cars, Ice Age, and Over The Hedge. During the first twenty minutes or so it seemed like it might offer nothing better than a series of Bee jokes, which I see has resulted in some negative reviews here. But the story develops as an allegory for frivolous lawsuits, but it's the bee who brings the frivolous lawsuit here, so it doesn't jump on the Hollywood blame-humans-first bandwagon, which is refreshing. Some of the results are predictable, some funny, but not preachy or trite. There's at least one lawyer joke that had the audience in stitches, along with several other funny jokes.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So much better than I thought it would be March 14, 2008

By Matthew Kunka

Format:DVD

I didn't care that this movie came out as Jerry Seinfeld is sometimes overhyped as being funny, when in reality, most the time he isn't. I decided to rent this because a few other new releases were sold out at the video store. I get home, watch it and within minutes, am floored laughing. With a good message and superb humor, I went out today and bought this movie. I love it and if you appreciate cartoons with a good message, get this!

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Bee Movie Review November 8, 2007

By thejoelmeister VINE™ VOICE

Jerry Seinfeld has been away from the spotlight for some time now and 2007 marks the year of his return - but only as a voice in a computer animated film. While the premise is unique, the approach is generic, and the excellently animated, poorly executed family film will have difficulty avoiding the already popular classification that Bee Movie is indeed a B-movie.

Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) is an average bee approaching adulthood, who must decide upon a job in the hive. The catch is that once he chooses his job, he must keep it for the rest of his life. Unsatisfied with the monotony of working in the hive, he ventures outside where he meets a human woman, Vanessa (Renée Zellweger), who saves his life. Indebted, he breaks the Cardinal bee rule: never talk to humans. At first Vanessa has difficulty accepting the talking bee, but the two soon spend quite a bit of time together and Barry gets overly comfortable as she reveals that she is a florist. Enamored with Vanessa, despite the interspecies barrier, Barry learns that humans have been stealing honey from bees and selling and eating it. Infuriated, he sets out to sue the honey company, with the help of Vanessa and his bee pals.

Apparently bees drive cars, they are all cousins, and they can use their antennas as cell phones. The comical world the creators have devised for the bees is perhaps the most creative aspect of the film. Many parallels reside with Barry's rebellious teen years and human childhood, as specifically referenced by a sensationally hysterical homage to The Graduate. From voting the queen bee into monarchy, to pollination, to insects on windshields and their attraction to lights, many of the typical insect behaviors are addressed and translated into humorous gags - supposedly their thinking is shockingly similar to humans.

The animation (from Dreamworks, the studio that brought us Shrek) as always continues to excel in its realism, from the cartoon movements and facial expressions of the characters, to the nearly flawless reflections and refractions of the inanimate objects and background environments. Barry gets stuck to a tennis ball and batted around in slow motion, and sucked into the engine of a car: both scenes and many more are executed with amazing editing and stunning camera movement that can only be achieved in computer animation.

Hysterical character designs and voice acting also add to the fun, with jocose performances by John Goodman, Patrick Warburton, Chris Rock and even voice cameos by Michael Richards (who many joked would play the role of an Africanized bee) and Larry King as Bee Larry King. What doesn't work as well is the execution of the story. The film often contradicts itself with the reactions of the humans to talking bees, and with what Barry is capable of realistically doing as nothing more than a heavily personified insect. Some of the jokes elicit laughter, but most are on an unexpectedly low intelligence level, and ultimately the many entertaining bits are specifically aimed at younger audiences. As is often with computer animated films, visual perfection oftentimes overshadows the time spent trying to devise an enticing story, and Bee Movie falls in with the too-kid-friendly films that are quickly forgotten.

- Mike Massie