Bee Movie
In theaters November 2nd 2007
mild suggestive humor, and a brief depiction of
smoking
Run Time: 90 min
Matt's rating - B+
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Review by Matt Mungle
Also, we sent Nathan to a "sit down" with Jerry
Seinfeld. Look for his remarks below!!
Photos TM & © 2007 by DreamWorks Animation LLC.
All Rights Reserved
There has been a lot of buzz about the new animated
film from Dreamworks, Bee Movie. You can't watch
network TV without some shameless plug from the
main voice of the film, Jerry Seinfeld. As I settled into
my weekly, reserved press seat that I neither had to
stand in line for or pay for, talk about shameless, I
was hoping for something that was kid friendly but
tolerant for adults. You know, something with snappy
wit and the classic Seinfeld sarcasm. But it had to
look good too. And I wanted voices I knew and that
would make me laugh. Plus it had to keep moving. I
didn't want another rat infested snooze fest. I was
asking a lot from this film. And hoping it would deliver.
The film is about a bee named Barry who wants more
in his life than a "work till you die" existence. He wants
adventure and the great outdoors. To find his place in
life. When Barry discovers that humans eat honey and
harvest it for themselves he decides to sue the
humans in order to reclaim the honey for the bees.
Through all of this there is a lesson to be learned of
course and though many kids could care less about
the message it is there. I learned a lot about the world
of bees in those 90 minutes and I think I appreciate
them just a little more than I did. Plus, they have a
pretty decent sense of humor.
Bee Movie is perfectly written with dialogue that is
adult savvy and delivered by bees that are cute and kid
friendly. Winning combination. The whole family has
something to like about this film. Seinfeld writes his
normal stinging liners with sarcasm that drip like,
well, honey. When you bring in voices like RenČe
Zellweger, Matthew Broderick and John Goodman,
along with cameos from Ray Liotta, Sting and Larry
King, you have a way to bring your script to spot on
animated life. This is the first voiced film in sometime
that I thought stood in the ranks of the Monsters Inc.
and Toy Story's of the Hollywood world. Simply due to
the writing.
Bee Movie is Rated PG for mild suggestive humor,
and a brief depiction of smoking. The older people
humor is so vague that your younger viewer will not
even attempt to decipher it. It is there subtly for the
adults in the audience and uses play on words that
are clean but witty. When a bees mother hopes
Barry's girlfriend is beeish and not a WASP, well that
is just funny. I give Bee movie a solid B plus. It was
laugh out loud entertainment for the entire family. So
grab your honey and your kids and check it out.
We sent our staff writer, Nathan Chandler, to a press
gig with Jerry Seinfeld. Below is what came from
BEEing there.
Rather than just target kids and families with "Bee
Movie", Jerry Seinfeld said that he, "made everything in
the movie fun," to appeal to everybody. To achieve
this, Seinfeld took more of an improvisional approach
to the dialogue by performing with each actor during
the recording session. When asked what he liked
best about the film, Seinfeld promptly replied, "Seeing
people laugh."
Seinfeld feels like the movie is his comedy mixed in
with the Dreamworks look. .
They didn't want the characters to look like the actors
voicing them, although they utilized a lot of Seinfeld's
expressions into his character.
They really had fun with the "flying" sequences and
living out those fantasies.
Q: Why was Ray Liotta in the film? A: Because he
would be the last guy you would expect to see in a Bee
movie.
Other facts from Jerry.
- The part as the mosquito on the windsheild was
totally improvised by Chris Rock
- They set the record for the most hours spent in the
recording session for an animated film.
- Had over 212 drafts of the script.
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Matt and Cindy are members of the North Texas
Film
Critics Association (NTFCA). For additional
reviews
and interview clips visit the website.
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Mungleshow Productions
Matt Mungle
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