BEE MOVIE

SYNOPSIS:
Barry B. Benson (voice of Jerry Seinfeld), a bee fresh out of college who is disillusioned with the prospect of having only one career choice - honey. On a chance opportunity to go outside the hive, Barry's life is saved by Vanessa (voice of Renee Zellweger), a florist in New York City. As their relationship blossoms, Barry's eyes are opened to the world of humans and he soon discovers that people partake in the mass consumption of honey. Armed with this information, Barry realises his life's true calling and decides to sue the human race for stealing the bees' honey.

Review by Louise Keller:
It's a bee-utie, this fresh and zany animation that will delight young and old. Every small job well done can make a difference we are told, as each member of the bee colony commits to doing the same job day in and out for the rest of its life. With its bold, colourful animation and A list voice cast, Bee Movie tells an endearing tale about fitting in and pushing life's boundaries - even if your perpetual wardrobe is yellow and black.

Jerry Seinfeld's first foray onto the big screen is original, witty and funny, taking us into the ordered world of industrious, honey-making bees. As Seinfeld's newly graduated bee Barry makes his first trip up and down the honey-filled rollercoaster, he is confronted by the realities of his future existence. Imbued with the brash confidence of youth coupled with the insecurity to commit to being, say, a Crud Remover in the mandatory honey business, when the cocky nectar-collecting Pollen Jocks ask him 'Are you Bee enough?' he finds himself flying into a clear blue sky, through the multi-coloured box kites and flowers of Central Park. It's a gorgeous sight as he buzzes over the Park into Manhattan, the start of his extraordinary bee adventure.

He gets stuck on a tennis ball mid-match, and on a car windshield where Chris Rock's outrageous Mooseblood Mosquito screeches his own brand of hilarity. There's an unlikely friendship cum romance with Renee Zellweger's almond-eyed florist Vanessa and a jocular relationship with Matthew Broderick's fellow-grad bee Adam. The court scene when Barry sues the human race for stealing the bees' honey against John Goodman's rotund lawyer is good fun; watch out for Sting's cameo as a witness ('Have you ever been stung, Mr Sting?')

I was thoroughly entertained in this lively burst of nonsense that has little agenda except to amuse.