BEE MOVIE on DVD

Animation isn’t as simple as it once was when it was used as a short medium as an extra before the feature. Then when animation graduated into feature films audiences were amazed for a while before the genre seemed directed towards only children. There have always been exceptions in films that were either made for adults or at the very least contained material that could be appreciated by adults while often being missed by children. I highly doubt that many children know or care about Jerry Seinfeld or his long-running sitcom about nothing. It is also safe to assume that none of the children interested in the animated film about the importance of bees would have ever heard any of Seinfeld’s stand-up comedy, but the parents who have broken down and agreed to watch the animated film with their kids at least know of his reputation. This style transfers into the animated world with some simplicity, even making an awkward inter-species relationship somehow acceptable.

I suppose it doesn’t really matter much whether the relationship is believable, because this is a film appropriately directed at children. Adults have The 11th Hour and An Inconvenient Truth while children are given Happy Feet and Bee Movie. These movies teach children what we are still trying to teach adults; that the creatures that live on the planet aren’t simply below us on the food chain and certainly never expendable. This message is disguised within the plot as our bee protagonist discovers that humans are taking the honey from bees and sets out to sue for all of the work bees have done.

Seinfeld’s humor is clearly influenced in the script, although there is a strange feeling watching an animated character that is a starkly different age than the actor lending his voice, bee or no bee. Seinfeld is a young bee that doesn’t want to conform to the expectations of his hive, which is to pick a small job and do it for the rest of his life. Instead he decides to explore the outside world and find out what there is to offer. This is when he discovers the theft of bee’s honey. It is a strange reversal when the bees sue the humans, because suddenly the humans are the innocent ones being deprived of life’s little under-appreciated luxuries.

The “Very Jerry 2-Disc Edition” contains a ton of Seinfeld special features, as well as other special features focused on the bee character he portrays, named Barry. The second disc seems to be directed at children, with music videos and games, whereas the first disc has a director’s commentary which also includes Seinfeld. There is also a featurette about the Cannes film festival, casting and a number of deleted scenes.