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Bee Movie
DreamWorks Animation


5.1

based on 34 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 81 votes
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FILM:

The Prince of Egypt

MPAA RATING: PG for mild suggestive humor, and a brief depiction of smoking

Starring Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Patrick Warburton, Kathy Bates, and Rip Torn

Having just graduated from college, a bee by the name of Barry B. Benson 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. He is shocked to discover that the humans have been stealing and eating the bees' honey for centuries, and ultimately realizes that his true calling in life is to set the world right by suing the human race for stealing the bees' precious honey. (Dreamworks)

GENRE(S):	Animation \| Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Andy Robin Barry Marder Spike Feresten Jerry Seinfeld
DIRECTED BY:	Steve Hickner Simon J. Smith
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: March 11, 2008 Theatrical: November 2, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	90 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Agreeably skewed fun.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

At its relaxed best, when it's about, well, nothing, the slyly comic Bee Movie is truly beguiling.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Kids are going to adore looking at this movie, living in it, flying through and above its brilliant landscape. It's an animated joyride over a relief map of Manhattan. I just wish the script was as good as the paint.

New York Post Kyle Smith

Dazzling fun. Jerry is master of a new domain.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The movie's not even close to Pixar standards - the animation is slapdash and the story construction's a mess - but the vibe is loose-limbed and fluky, and the gags have an extra snap that's recognizably Seinfeldian.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

It has enough buzzing wit and eye-popping animation to win over the kids - and probably more than a few parents, too.

Newsweek David Ansen

I'm not sure what kids are going to make of Bee Movie. The shiny, vivid computer-animated images pop off the screen with the vibrancy of the Pixar movies, but the understated, throwaway humor is pure Seinfeld: adult, observational, feasting on the small ironies of human (make that "beeish") behavior.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

The real fun is the insect shtick.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

Jerry Seinfeld's foray into feature animation will delight young kids and leave their elders alternately amused and bemused.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

It's good to have Seinfeld back, even in this watered-down form.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Andy Spletzer

The riskiest move Seinfeld made was to create an unlikable protagonist who is wrong every step of the way, but treat him like a hero.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

This candy-colored animated fable is an awkward mix of corny bee puns, clever sight gags, kid-friendly action, adult-centric workplace angst and Seinfeld's distinctive navel-gazing wit. And what's up with those four-legged bees?

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Much of this wordplay is clever, though there’s something off with the plotting.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

On the whole, this is another disappointing animated effort and it resides considerably lower on the totem pole than this year's current non-live action champion, "Ratatouille."

Empire Sam Toy

The depth of talent in the cast and gag writing shines through, but it’s only just enough to take your mind off of the flat animation.

Slate Dana Stevens

The movie's more than cute, funny, and (at 81 minutes) brisk enough to move families in and out of the multiplex in mass quantities, like the social insects we are.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

If an animated movie isn't competing with Pixar to dazzle the eye, it had darn well better hit the heart or the funny bone. With its wee little stinger, Bee Movie misses both.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Feels so slight and trivial, like a cute but small idea blown up to proportions it does not merit. A surprisingly unfunny, belabored and unimaginative comedy, Bee Movie is a huge disappointment considering the extent of Seinfeld's participation.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Just another ambitious, lavish animated adventure, pretty enough to look at, but ultimately foundering on the weakness of its script.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

The whole thing's pretty cute and breezy, but don't expect logic or coherence.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Maybe Bee Movie is another ground-breaking show about nothing – a hornet's nest of hype for a fat hive of nothing. If so, pay up and get stung.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

All of this material, written by Seinfeld and writers associated with his television series, tries hard, but never really takes off.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

There's no real jeopardy. The stakes are low. It's a bee movie about nothing.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

Has a few charming moments and a scene or two with legitimate hilarity, but mostly it's just mediocre.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

No nectar of the gods this, but we can still be thankful that Bee Movie is a sweet morsel that's devoid of any jokes about bee farts and poop.

LA Weekly Robert Wilonsky

For all the muscle and money behind Bee Movie, it still feels unfocused and unfinished.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Best viewed as an oddball career move rather than as a successful movie.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

Unfortunately, bees just aren't that funny...Nor is the odd story Seinfeld and his collaborators dreamed up very inspired.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Amiable but no more, Bee Movie puts a hiveful of potent talent at the service of a zig-zigging, back-of-an-envelope story that's short on surprise and originality.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

The result is oddly schizoid, but also so insubstantial that to call it oddly schizoid suggests a weight it doesn't have.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The more the movie progresses, the more you realize how much Seinfeld's voice sounds like a droning bee -- the kind you want to swat away.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

The film will be huge. It’s busy. It’s kinetic. It’s a treat for kids. But like much of Seinfeld’s work outside his TV show, it’s impersonal. It doesn’t come from anywhere interesting.

USA Today Claudia Puig

It's so unfunny it almost stings.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Bee Movie isn't a B movie, it's a Z movie, as in dizmal.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.1 (out of 10) based on 81 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

[Anonymous] gave it a5:
At least it was good.

Clifton S. gave it a2:
Not one line made me laugh. replete with failed attempts at jewish humor. naturalistic worldview way off base.

Mike W. gave it a0:
This movie sucks. Bees cannot sue people in real court. Why is Chris Rock even in this movie? Just as a favor for jerry. This movie is like sex. Good for 2 mintues then boring as hell.

Steve M. gave it a5:
It's better then shrek.

Dean P. gave it a0:
I'm sorry but this movie is sending some horrible messages. The most deplorable of them all is that the movie tells us that we should be happy with our lot in life, never think for ourselves, rock the boat, or try to change society because it causes nothing but trouble and could possibly end all life on earth!? We should be happy with a life of work and never hope for adventure or try make life more enjoyable? Ummm... I believe this country was founded on the principles: life, liberty and the pursuit of HAPPINESS. This movie is an outrage! Don't let your kids watch it.

Adam M. gave it a4:
First off, I did find this movie mildly amusing at parts, but it ultimately is completely unbelievable, even in the fantasy world of a cartoon. They do the right thing by showing the human character Vanesa being shocked that a Bee is talking, but then the entire world not only goes along with it, but winds up letting themselves be sued by the now sentient species? I don't care who flames me for this, because the movie points it out to make fun of itself. The bees are jewish, reffered to as Bee-ish in the movie. Classic Jewish stereotypes are abound in this lackluster film, and though Seinfeld remains one of my favorite shows of all time, Jerry sounds like a hack with every over the top line he delivers in this one. I think it was unnecessary for them to go for the jewish joke, then have the bees sueing people, I mean come on... they even went so far as to have the film end on the bees flying through a Kite shaped like the star of david. Geez guys, bees in slavery, reparations of honey, all that, then the movie turns a 180 and says that was all better for the world, and the bees shouldn't have tried to change anything? MIXED message from this one. Either way, any other digital animation movie should teach this one it's tricks. Create a fantasy world that might exist within our own, not one that tries to sue us, hahaha.

Jacob H. gave it a10:
It's pure brilliance.

Bee Movie DreamWorks Animation

Bee Movie
DreamWorks Animation