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Bee Movie Blu-ray
DreamWorks | 2007 | 90 mins | Rated PG | May 20, 2008
Bee Movie Blu-ray ReviewBee sure to add this disc to your Blu-ray collection.Reviewed by Martin Liebman, May 24, 2008 When I'm done the humans won't be able to say 'honey I'm home!' without paying a royalty. I have no idea what Jerry Seinfeld's shtick is. I've never watched his popular sitcom or heard one of his stand-up comedy routines. About all I could do is pick the man out out of a lineup, so it was with great interest that I screened Bee Movie, hoping to discover his supposed comic genius and see what I've been missing out on all these years. As it turns out, I don't think I've missed much. Bee Movie misses the mark, its funniest moments coming in scenes that seem forced into the movie with little to no bearing on the story. The movie focuses on the global importance of bees, our lack of appreciation for what they do, and their own failure to recognize their importance to society, all with an animated and "comedic" twist. If anything, Bee Movie can be seen as film that parallels human existence. We're all "buys bees" in one form or another, and even if we hate our jobs or don't know why we do them, they still contribute to society, and society would most certainly crumble if something or someone stepped in and forced us to stop working, whether we see the benefit of our jobs or not.
Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld, TV's "Seinfeld") has just graduated with a perfect report card (straight "Bs," naturally). After his 10-second graduation ceremony (there are tens of thousands of graduates per day, you see), Barry and his friend Adam (Matthew Broderick, The Freshman) tour the Honex Corporation and must choose the job they will work for the rest of their lives (and their bosses will certainly try to work them to death). Even though all of the work done in the hive takes place at Honex and involves honey production, the hive is alive with cars, roads, houses, digital cameras, and even a newspaper publication. Barry fears the monotony of performing the same job until death and yearns to venture out with the "pollen jocks," the most respected and daring bees in the hive. Raised from birth and highly trained for just this task, they're the ones that go out and collect pollen and brave the outside world. Barry finds himself invited to go with them and his trip turns into an adventure -- from becoming stuck on an in-play tennis ball, to finding his way through a running automobile engine, and to avoiding the wrath of an angry human with size 10 1/2 Timberland boots at the ready to squash him. Barry barely escapes with his life thanks to the kindness and perfect timing of Vanessa Bloome (Renée Zellweger, Me, Myself & Irene), a florist who is a friend to all living creatures who befriends Barry (who wouldn't want to get to know a talking bee!). When Barry goes to the supermarket with her and sees shelves of honey, he becomes furious at mankind for stealing the honey the bees work so hard to make, and sues humanity (with Vanessa's help). Will Barry win the case, freeing bees everywhere and returning honey to its rightful owners, and if so, what impact will the influx of honey to beehives everywhere have on bees, humans, and the planet? In a society where frivolous lawsuits have become the norm and the easy way of achieving the American Dream, it's no wonder that bees suing humans over "stolen" honey is the next logical step in societal evolution. The movie is a rather fine satire on the American mindset insofar as the current state of the legal system and a commentary on the importance of work and the state of harmony required to keep the world moving forward. As a comedy, however, the movie just doesn't work all that well, save for a few scattered laugh-out-loud moments, perhaps the funniest being the end of Barry's dream about Vanessa, seen in chapter six. Having no background on Jerry Seinfeld's sense of humor and the quality of his routines, I cannot say if Bee Movie is representative of the comedian's repertoire or not. The premise is a good one, and certainly different. We've seen many insect-centric movies in the past (A Bug's Life, Antz), but their stars have never become so involved in human society as they are here. The problem here is that the film's target audience, small children, probably won't understand the nuts and bolts of the movie's second and third acts (especially the courtroom proceedings which, by the way, completely ignore standard judicial procedure. Tell me why, again, the lawyers pander to the jury, but the judge decides the case on a whim, completely ignoring the jury's presence and role?), but will probably find themselves entertained by more talking creatures and some of the film's attempts at humor. John Goodman, as usual, is a bright spot, voicing the high-powered lawyer representing the honey companies (with a wonderful deep South Mississippi accent in New York, reminding me of one of the gubernatorial candidates in Oh Brother Where Art Thou?). Seeing his character flop around in the courtroom after being stung proves to be the funniest moment of the movie (and the next time we see him in a baby walker is rather funny, too). A few pointless scenes featuring Sting and Ray Liotta (whose "Private Select" label of honey looks more like the label you'd find on a high-dollar bottle of Scotch whisky) on the witness stand are also quite funny but serve no purpose in the grand scheme of the story. The remainder of the voice cast is solid, performing well with the material they have at their disposal. Bee Movie is likely to be a love-it-or-hate-it movie (I merely tolerated it, my wife quit 40 minutes in). Video  Funny or not, Bee Movie is a visual feast for the eyes. DreamWorks brings this brand-new animated film to Blu-ray in a "bee"utiful 1080p high definition, 1.78:1 framed transfer. The digital artists are certainly to be commended; they have nailed the visuals, and every frame is a pleasure to look at. Not only can we look at it, but it cries out to be studied and analyzed, so intricate are the fine details and information to be discovered. Not only are environments and backgrounds intricately rendered, but close-ups appear visually striking as well. From the fine representation of hair on Barry's head, to the stitches in the sweater he wears, this Blu-ray brings them all to life, larger than life, in fact. We are also treated to some nice foreground object details, such as fuzzies on a tennis ball. Colors are incredibly vibrant and rich. From the yellow and black of the bees to all the colors imaginable that are scattered throughout the movie, viewers will be amazed at the fine array of shades, each one decadent. If colors were sweets, you'd have eye cavities after watching this one. The digital animators have gone above and beyond the call of duty in Bee Movie, bringing a fantastic-looking image that is three-dimensional and a pleasure to look at, made all the better thanks to the brilliance of the first-rate effort from DreamWorks and the wonderment of Blu-ray high definition. Audio  DreamWorks presents Bee Movie on Blu-ray with a solid Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless sound track. I found the track to be slightly underwhelming from a volume standpoint, forcing me to turn up the volume knob a few clicks, but otherwise clean and concise. Dialogue is excellent, discernible, and focused in the front, a perfect replication of each actor's voice work. Surounds are put to nice use throughout the movie, such as when the "Pollen Jocks" first fly out of the hive. Sound flows effortlessly from one speaker to the next. Sometimes the rears seem dead, ambience missing in a few key scenes, but when they are active, the soundtrack makes for an interesting and lively listen. Sound placement is also excellent. In chapter 14, a TV broadcast is heard in the front right channel, and as the camera pans around to center the television on our screen, the sound flows naturally to the center. There are several instances like this one throughout the movie where sound is perfectly placed around the soundstage, making for a pleasurable listening experience. The subwoofer occasionally rattles and rumbles, a scene in chapter seven where the humans at the honey farm walk around, their heavy steps reverberating nicely as though we were hearing them as a bee would, stands out. A subsequent scene where the walls of the fake hive are removed is equally momentarily boisterous. Thunder during the film's climax booms, as does the sound of a jet flying through our listening area. While not quite as impressive as the video quality, Bee Movie's lossless soundtrack is nevertheless a solid one, complimenting the film very well. Supplements  Bee Movie buzzes onto Blu-ray with a seemingly endless set of special features. This disc also offers users a choice of menu styles through the "My Menus" listing of the extra features, customizing the look between four themes. Beginning the proceedings is a commentary track featuring Jerry Seinfeld, co-writer Barry Marder, co-directors Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner, producer Christina Steinberg, and editor Nick Fletcher. For such a large number of participants, the track is remarkably easy to get into, but at times the participants talk over one another (as is to be expected when you cram this many participants into a room). They do provide some good information, but often find themselves ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the film (this is the first time many have seen the completed product). The majority of the track is a self-congratulatory party where they discuss the interactions between the characters, the animation, changes in the story, and generally laugh at and discuss their favorite scenes. Barry's Trivia Track continues on the theme of the commentary, providing more bee trivia and facts from the ways the animators could convey emotion to the history and uses of honey, the real-world lives of bees, and information on items seen throughout the movie. The Animator's Corner is wonderful feature that shows the movie played, frame by frame, in a rough state in a box that overlays the final product. We see the rough animation and storyboards that accompany each scene. The World of Bees is a feature that is accessible by pressing the "red" button on your remote or by selecting it in the main menu. Users can select characters from a list and read that character's biography and discover facts about each one, including their favorite books, songs, movies, foods, hobbies, and heroes (which provides insight into the quantity and quality of pre-production character development). Next are three deleted scenes (1080i, 5:00) with an introduction by Jerry Seinfeld. The scenes are not complete, presented here in pencil-drawn form. Six alternate endings (1080i, 14:39) to the film are next, again presented in only pencil-drawn form. Inside the Hive: The Cast of 'Bee Movie' (1080i, 14:41) features interviews with the cast, focusing on Jerry Seinfeld. He discusses the origins of the idea and his role in the making of the film, while the supporting cast and crew talk up his contributions to the movie, as well as the plot of the movie. TV Juniors (1080i, 23:20) is a series of 16 comedic shorts that spoof the process of getting the movie up and running, pitches for animated movies, more Ray Liotta fun, cheap Spanish-language knock-off DVD versions of Bee Movie, and other assorted nonsensical vignettes. These shorts are hilarious, easily besting the movie in terms of laughs per minute. Next are two live-action trailers for the movie (1080i, 4:12) followed by Jerry's Flight Over Cannes (1080i, 3:03), showcasing Jerry Seinfeld's unique promotion of the film at the Cannes Film Festival. Meet Barry B. Benson allows viewers to ask eleven questions of the famous bee. The developers of this feature use clips from the movie to provide the answer to each question. Tech of 'Bee Movie' (1080i, 7:33) examines the computing power involved in the movie, Jerry's "virtual" involvement in the movie, and other assorted technologies used in the film. Next is a music video entitled We Got the Bee (1080i, 2:13) which is inspired by We Got the Beat by the Go-Gos. DreamWorks Animation Video Jukebox shows musical clips form the Shrek films, Flushed Away, Over the Hedge, Madagascar, and Shark Tale. Finally, 1080p trailers for Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar: The Crate Escape, and The Spiderwick Chronicles are included. Separate from the extras is DreamWorks Kids, a series of four kid-centric extras. Build-A-Bee allows viewers to create their very own Bee Avatar which, upon completion, can be seen floating on the screen. The Buzz About Bees (1080i, 7:08) is a short feature on the lives of bees, humans' fear of them, and how you can help the bees that live in your own back yard. The Ow! Meter (1080i, 33:46) looks at how badly it would hurt if five separate species of bee were to sting you (we also learn a bit about each species). Conversely, the feature examines how badly human weapons used against bees hurt, such as boots and rolled up magazines. Finally, the feature informs viewers how to avoid being stung. Concluding the DreamWorks Kids features is That's Un-Bee-Lievable, a true/false game meant to educate players about the lives of bees. Final words Bee Movie is a somewhat entertaining kids' movie. I generally find myself enjoying animated movies as much as the target audience, but this one fell mostly flat. A few genuinely funny moments are scattered throughout the movie, but the remainder plays mostly straight, neither funny nor serious. The story itself is fine, if not a bit out of left field (even for a kids' movie) with a decent life lesson, but one that may well go straight over the younger audience's heads. Bee Movie receives an "A" for effort but a "C" for execution, and if you average those out you get a "B"ee Movie. DreamWorks has produced an absolutely first-rate disc. Bee Movie may represent the pinnacle of animation on Blu-ray, easily equalling the likes of Happy Feet and Ratatouille, and arguably surpassing them. Regardless, this is first-rate demonstration material, and for the moment should be the de facto "go to" disc in Blu-ray displays around the country. The audio is solid as well, a bit underwhelming, but the overall presentation is acceptable. This disc is also crammed with high-quality and high-definition supplements, easily enough to keep any Bee Movie fan busy for the better part of the day. Even though Bee Movie will never be a favorite of mine, it's an easy watch, entertaining at times, and fantastic to look at. This disc is a winner from DreamWorks and should earn a spot in your collection. Recommended. 
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