“Bee Movie” Tries But Fails to Make Bee Problems Releavant
After reviewing four animated animal-friendly movies this weekend - Home on the Range and Barnyard on Friday, and Open Season and Chicken Run on Saturday - I realized that my roommate owned a popular, recent one that I hadn’t watched yet. And so, Saturday night I stayed in and watched Bee Movie. Unfortunately, that’s 91 minutes of my life that I can never get back. Let me make sure that you don’t fall into the same trap: do not watch it.
Despite my longtime annoyance with Jerry Seinfeld, I went into Bee Movie with an open mind, respecting him for making a film that addresses the growing bee disappearance. Alas, I was sadly disappointed.
Seinfeld voices the main character, Barry B. Benson, a young honeybee on the brink of starting his life as a dedicated, hard worker. When faced with the decision of what bee career he wants for the rest of his life, Barry panics and flees the hive in search of something more. After befriending a human, Barry discovers that humans are stealing bees’ honey. He is outraged and decides to create change. So he sues the major honey companies on behalf of all bees.
Warning: spoilers ahead. The main flaw of this flick is its muddled message. First, the bees are happy working all day. But when they argue the class action lawsuit, they whine about humans abusing them and forcing them to toil away simply because they are the little guy. They win the case and can begin to relax. The message initially seems to be that humans are cruel, bees are defenseless, and we should back off. But part of the lawsuit was that all the honey be returned, so now there is no need for the bees to work at all. Thus, without pollination, plants begin dying and the world is bleak and gray. The bees start working again, Barry saves the day, and all is right once again.
I understand where the writers were going: we need bees, but we also need to respect them. It just didn’t work though. And the humor of Seinfeld, which is what I dislike about him, failed to save it.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
[...] Without Meat: “Bee Movie” Tries But Fails to Make Bee Problems Releavant by Sally Andersen “Saturday night I stayed in and watched Bee Movie. Unfortunately, that’s [...]