By David Server
Ever since Bullwinkle J. Moose first famously attempted to pull a rabbit out of his hat, family animation has aspired to that most challenging of goals: the broad demographic crowd-pleaser. The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show, with its unique blend of slapstick comedy and subtle wit, truly mastered that art. To this day, big-budget animated movies strive to achieve this same accomplishment. What better way to for an animated film to please its audience than by juggling zany visuals for the younger crowd with a knowing wink for adults? Bee Movie, from the mind of comic Jerry Seinfeld, clearly harbors similar aspirations. However, despite the film's efforts to appeal to a wide age group, it is more likely to create a buzz amongst kids than adults.
The story revolves around Barry B Benson (Jerry Seinfeld), a young bee about to start his new life as a worker in the hive. But when Barry realizes he'll be forced to work the same job for the rest of his life, he decides to venture outside the safety of his home and visit the human world. Breaking bee-protocol, which forbids bees from talking to humans, Barry introduces himself to Vanessa (Rene Zellweger) after she saves him from her dim-witted boyfriend. A flirtatious bond quickly forms between the two, but Barry is appalled when he discovers that humans regularly steal honey from beehives and sell it. With Vanessa's help, Barry decides to sue all of humanity for the unlawful theft of the life's work of bees everywhere, but his case has unexpected consequences for both bee and humankind alike.
The plot, while admittedly ambitious, is so eager to keep things moving and changing that you can't help but wish it would choose one storyline and stick with it. There are so many stories going in so many different directions, none of them really get the time or attention they need to be satisfying. This leaves the movie's narrative feeling unfocused and underdeveloped. The script also lacks the clever storytelling of other recent animated films. Bee Movie seems more interested in quickly throwing out the rules they establish in their universe rather than finding clever ways to work within them. If something presents a conflict in logic, the film attempts to breeze past it as fast as possible. For example, the fact that humans don't know bees can talk quickly becomes an afterthought after Barry's first interaction with Vanessa. For the rest of the film, humans find it more annoying that insects have the ability to speak than shocking. Contrast this against Ratatouille's ingeniously clever human-rat communication subplot, and you can't help but notice the shortcomings here. Meanwhile, some choices just seem pointless; why make Barry's interest in Vanessa romantic when there's no logical way to pay them off as a couple? There are a lot of odd choices like this that just don't make a lot of sense from a storytelling standpoint, and they start to add up.
The comedy is hit-or-miss, with the majority being agreeable but not standout. The plentiful bee-puns and sight gags are generally chucklesome, but the strongest jokes come from the observational banter delivered by Barry. This dialogue in particular lives up to the inherent potential of a Seinfeld-voiced cartoon character, melding the comic's trademarked critique of the world around him with Barry's unique insect perspective. Some of the humor does fall flat, though, especially in the jokes aimed more squarely at an adult audience. Many pop-culture references seem to be made just for the sake of making them, without there being much of an actual gag there to support them (such as the logical but uninspired use of British rock star Sting).
However, many of the film's issues are unlikely to bother younger kids, and there are certainly good things about Bee Movie that will specifically appeal to them. The animation from DreamWorks' team is lush and gorgeous. The textures and bright colors in both the amusement-park-inspired beehives and the massive, detailed human world are both a pleasure to soak in. The film features some inventive and memorable set pieces, including Barry's first flight through the kite-filled skies above Central Park, and an unfortunate incident with a tennis ball. The character animation for the bees is also particularly appealing; the designs are simple and cute, but with expressive faces that allow the personalities of the talented voice cast to shine through. And composer Rupert Gregson-Williams provides a peppy and charismatic score that fits well with the tone of the film. From a visceral standpoint, the film does deliver with its fast-paced energy and clean, attractive look.
While it's disappointing that a film with so many promising elements doesn't come together quite right, as family entertainment goes, Bee Movie is an enjoyable enough ride. It doesn't make a lot of sense, and it's not likely to wow adults, but it is an upbeat and well-meaning animated feature, and it should play well to the younger crowd in spite of its flaws.
INTERVIEWS
Q: Was it challenging for you to discover your inner-bee when creating this character?
A: I really attempted to create nothing but what I've always done, which is to just do another version of myself. People say, 'what was it like acting in the movie?' I don't even know what they're talking about. It is [a little bit of a different side of me]. Slightly adjusted.
Q: For a while there it looked like you were trying to remake The Graduate with bees...
A: I was, I was at first. I was gonna make the whole thing be The Graduate in the beginning, because I love The Graduate and I just thought it'd be funny to do a Graduate with bees. But, y'know. You can't do that.
Q: Your producer was saying that you evolved as a writer throughout this process, learning the difference between TV writing and screenwriting. Was that a challenge for you?
A: It was very much a challenge, yeah. I realized making this movie why all those Marx Brothers movies had musical numbers and long chase scenes. It's very hard to sustain comedy throughout a full-length movie, and so that's why they came up with those things in the old days, because it just starts to run out of gas. I mean, we could all sit here and name comedies where we love the first half. And then, what happens? So that just seems to be a pitfall of the craft itself, or the form, I should say. I just didn't want it to be one of those movies where you say, "I liked it, and then it just kinda ran out of gas. "
Q: It seems like in this movie, the comedy embellished the plot as opposed to driving it...
A: The comedy and the plot, it's a wedding. If you just make jokes, which I could do forever, and I did in some versions of the script [laughter], it gets so boring after a while. But if you just have plot and no one's making jokes, that gets boring. And so it becomes kind of a dance between the two. Forward action, and funny dialogue, forward action, funny dialogue. And that's really the thing that I had to learn a little differently in this form than from a sitcom, and how to work that.
Q: Where did you find the balance between those two extremes?
A: It's just a hit and miss, trial and error. We would just do endless versions. 'This feels like it's not funny enough', and 'this feels like they're just talking and nothing's happening'. So you get one of those two feelings. And they're both bad. And then you go do it again.
Q: Did you find this an easy fit with your type of comedy?
A: Oh yeah. For me it was, because I don't have any inclinations towards sexual comedic tone or profanity or things like that, so I was just writing the way I always write, I felt very comfortable doing it.
Q: Are you aware of your own evolution as a writer from the beginning of your days as a stand-up comic to now?
A: Yeah, I have learned a few tricks over the years. I certainly couldn't have done this. [Seinfeld] taught me how to write stories and scenes, and when to have characters enter, and exit, and blocking, and all those things, I learned all that on the show. How to have people move. This whole thing is a gigantic puppet show. That's all it is, just puppets. These things don't do anything. You have to move them and turn their heads and move their eyes, it's a marionette show.
Q: Were you involved in the characters and the subtleties of the expressions in the actual animation?
A: Yeah, I sat with every animator for every single shot for over fourteen hundred different shots, a shot being from cut to cut. And I did every single one.
Q: What was the casting process like? Did you have actors in mind while you were working on the screenplay?
A: I had Rene [Zellweger] in mind from the beginning. And John Goodman was also my first choice for that role. Just cause I've seen him do that Southern, blustering guy, which I love. The arrogant, 'Inherit the Wind' type lawyer. But a lot of the other ones were people I've wanted to work with. I've always wanted to work with Matthew [Broderick], very long time fan of his. Chris [Rock] is just a great friend. And it's really fun to have a friend and then to be able to do a scene in a movie with them, it's just the most fun thing.
Q: What do you do now that this movie is behind you?
A: Well, we'll see. Y'know, it's not done yet. It's not done yet. It's not out there. I don't even know what people think of it. I don't even know if it's a hit or a bomb. So there's no way I could possibly know how I'm gonna feel or what I'm gonna think. So I'm afraid I can't answer that.
Q: How do your kids feel about the movie?
A: They are crazy. They're nuts. But I don't know why. I don't know if they like it, I don't know if they just like hearing my voice. They're very excited.
Q: How staggered were you by the marketing process for this movie? Your return to NBC was essentially a ploy to promote this movie, was it not?
A: [Laughs] It is pretty amazing, isn't it? I mean if you made a list of everything I've done and they've done, it's kind of awesome, isn't it? I mean, it's a ridiculous avalanche of stuff! But some of it's been weird, though, which I'm grateful for...I mean, the live-action trailers, which nobody ever did for an animated movie, and then the NBC TV-juniors, which was...I dunno what that was [laughter]...But it was just fun, and silly. Anyone tells me, 'we'll let you be silly, take the camera and you've got a minute long', I'm there.
Q: Did your guest appearance on 30 Rock give you any taste of an interest in returning to television?
A: No. I tried to talk to Tina [Fey], and I saw what she was going through, and I said, 'Y'know what, you, and Gary Shandling and I are the only people who have walked in those shoes, to star, write and executive produce'. Very few people...those are the only three in fact you could name that have done it. And to do it on a network...Gary did it on HBO, he didn't have as many episodes. I don't know how many he did a year, but it was 15 or 16. Doing 22 a year, and it's all yours, that's a tall order.
Q: How do you feel about the fact that Seinfeld has stood the test of time and become so iconic?
A: I'm enormously gratified, pleased, flattered. It kind of overwhelms me.
Q: Why do you think it reached that status?
A: I'll give you the same answer Jackie Gleason used to give when they would ask him about The Honeymooners, why is it on, why are people still watching this show: it's funny.
Q: Would you do it again?
A: Oh, it couldn't be done again. Couldn't be done again. It's like asking Neil Armstrong, 'could you land on the moon for us? One more time? Be the first man on the moon one more time for us? Please?' That's the best answer I ever came up with for that question.
Q: There's a new Seinfeld DVD box set coming out. How much more can you milk this?
A: Hey, I'm not milkin' it! They're doing it! Talk to Sony distribution, they just keep telling me the market is there, people want it. There's giant buildings filled with people working on this! They never call me or ask me anything. They just say, 'here's what we're doing now', and I say, 'ok, go ahead!' They do the research, and y'know...I was finished May 14th, 1998. That was the last I had to do with it.
Q: Have they offered you a small fortune for a Seinfeld reunion?
A: Here's the beauty of being me - they can't buy me [laughter].
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