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Honey just got funny.
―Tagline

Bee Movie is a 2007 American CGI-animated comedy film starring Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Patrick Warburton, and Chris Rock. It is the ninety-third movie overall to be created by DreamWorks.

Bee Movie is the first motion-picture script to be written by Seinfeld.

It is also the second Dreamworks Animation film to star Renee Zellweger and Chris Rock. Zellweger also starred in a 2004 film Shark Tale as Angie, while Rock starred in a 2005 film Madagascar as Marty.

Plot[]

Barry B. Benson (Jerry Seinfeld) is "just an ordinary bee" in a hive located in Sheep Meadow, Central Park in New York City. Barry recently graduated from college and is about to enter the hive's Honex Industries (a division of Honesco Corporation and owned by Hexagon Group) honey-making workforce. Along with his best friend Adam Flayman (Matthew Broderick) Barry is initially very excited, but his latent, non-conformist attitude emerges upon finding out that his choice of job will never change once picked. This prompts Barry to leave the hive and see the world on a daily run with the macho, elite 'Pollen Jocks', though Adam tries to talk Barry out of it. He thoroughly enjoys his new freedom, and is impressed by the process of nectar collection and pollination, but after being stuck to a tennis ball during a game and flying through a panicky family's car he decides humans are crazy and that he should go home. Unfortunately, it begins to rain and he crash lands on a windowsill. The apartment's occupants have just come home and they close the window before Barry can escape. After freaking out the people inside and nearly being squashed, he is rescued by a female human named Vanessa Bloome (Renée Zellweger) and gently put back outside. This unexpected act of kindness intrigues Barry, who goes back in to thank the woman even though doing so would violate Bee Law #1 - "Don't talk to humans". Despite both of their expectations they develop an instant bond - bordering on attraction - and start hanging out together frequently. Of course all of their friends and family are completely upset by this relationship.

Flirty Vanessa asking Barry if he's coming

While they are going through a grocery store Barry is shocked to discover that the humans have been stealing and eating the bees' honey for centuries, and after venturing to Honey Farms and witnessing the artificial process by which the honey is gathered, he ultimately realizes that his true calling in life is to set the world right by suing the human race for stealing their precious honey. This is later shown on Bee Larry King via Hive at Five. The trial initially goes well, until the main defense lawyer (John Goodman) goads Adam into stinging him by pointing out the fact that all of the bees are siblings in order to show the less lovable side of bees, but Barry counters by producing the smoke-machine used by Honey Farms to drug and subdue their bees.

Barry wins the lawsuit, and all honey in the world is confiscated and returned to the bees. Too late, Barry and Vanessa realize that the sudden, massive stockpile of honey has put every bee out of a job, including the vitally important Pollen Jocks. Without bees pollinating the flowers, all plant life begins dying with the entire food chain close behind. To set things right, he and Vanessa find a way to save all the flowers by going to the Tournament of Roses Parade in California and bringing back with them all the pollen-filled flowers to re-pollinate the world. Barry and Vanessa fly the flowers as luggage on a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The flight begins to take a detour there going to homeward bound the incredible journey at movie theater is which would be fatal to the flowers, and in trying to intervene Barry accidentally knocks out the terrified pilots. Vanessa joins him and tries unsuccessfully to fly the plane, but in the meantime millions of bees have rallied together and arrive at the last minute to help them safely land.

Vanessa is shocked after Barry slapped her

Armed with the pollen of the last flowers, Barry and the Pollen Jocks manage to reverse the damage and save the world's flowers, also restarting the bees' beloved honey production. Nothing is mentioned about the fate of the existing honey or companies like Honey Farms, though humans and bees are seen treating each other visibly better. Barry becomes a member of the Pollen Jocks, helping to pollinate the plants while also running a law firm inside Vanessa's flower shop, as well as helping Vanessa, switching the name from "Vanessa's Flowers" to "Vanessa and Barry: Flowers; Honey; Legal Advice". As the film closes, his office door reads "Insects at Law." Mooseblood also works in his office with him, shown when Barry is interviewing a cow.

During the credits, Adam, Barry and the other bees are heard singing the song 'Thinking Bee' until Barry suddenly stops it near the end questioning the song's lyrics.

Voice Cast[]

Cast Notes[]

Megan Mullally was originally going to voice Trudy and had even recorded her lines, but this character was cut from the film. Seinfeld still wanted her to have a part in the movie, so he gave her the role of the Honex Tour Guide. At one point, Uma Thurman, Rebecca Soler, Lisa Kudrow, David Letterman, and Raven Symone were all attached to the film, but they dropped out for various reasons.

Gallery[]

Wiki
DreamWorks Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Bee Movie.

Production[]

Production on the project began when Jerry Seinfeld sat down to have dinner with acclaimed director Steven Spielberg. Over dinner Seinfeld joked about making a movie about bees. Spielberg, however, took the idea very seriously and prompted Seinfeld to pursue the joke. Eventually, Seinfeld was sold and thus began a script, but Seinfeld did not envision it as the CGI film it became; Seinfeld actually released two trailers for the movie, but in live action. After widespread disgust, Spielberg suggested to "make it a cartoon".

Reception[]

Though Bee Movie was nominated for a Golden Globe, reviews were mostly mixed. Many critics claimed it had its funny moments, but never delivered any true memorable moments. The film holds a 51% approval rating on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. IMDb gives it a more sympathetic 6.2 rating for the movies efforts. Bee Movie, along with Shrek the Third, were both nominated for "Favorite Animated Movie" at the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards, but both lost to Disney-Pixar's Ratatouille.

Trivia[]

  • This is the third computer-animated film by DreamWorks Animation to be produced solely at their Glendale studio, following Shark Tale and Over the Hedge.
  • This is the first time (and first use in the film) the clouds was fully rendered instead being a still image on background.
  • When Bee Movie was released in the UK, during the bathroom brawl scene between Barry and Kenneth, the scene where Kenneth fires the air freshener at Barry before using his cigarette lighter to turn it into a flame thrower in an attempt to kill Barry was cut. This was because the BBFC required DreamWorks to make this cut due to concerns that this dangerous behavior could be too easily imitated by children, since the film is aimed at a young audience.
  • In one scene, Barry and an FBI agent tranquilize Winnie the Pooh to get his honey while trying to give some to Piglet (both of which were property of Disney Animation Studios at the time). This is a possible reference to the ongoing rivalry between Disney and DreamWorks.
  • This is the sixth DreamWorks Animation film to be promoted by mentioning Shrek in the advertisements, following Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Over the Hedge, & Flushed Away.

Possible Sequel[]

In June 2016, a fan asked if a Bee Movie 2 would be made. In response, Seinfeld stated, “I considered it this spring for a solid six hours. There's a fantastic energy now for some reason, on the internet particularly. Tumblr, people brought my attention to. I actually did consider it, but then I realized it would make Bee Movie 1 less iconic. But my kids want me to do it, a lot of people want me to do it. A lot of people that don't know what animation is want me to do it. If you have any idea what animation is, you'd never do it.”[1]

External Links[]

Navigation[]

v - e - d
Bee-movie-51f1654860458
Media
Films: Bee Movie
Characters
Main Characters: Barry B. BensonVanessa BloomeAdam FlaymanKen

Minor Characters: MoosebloodLayton T. MontgomeryMartin BensonJanet BensonLou Lo DucaPollen JocksJudge BumbletonDean BuzzwellJeanette ChungBee Larry KingHectorRay LiottaStingBud DitchwaterBear

See also
Locations: New York CityNew Hive CityHonexVanessa's Flower Shop


v - e - d
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Cinema
Feature Films: Antz (1998) • The Prince of Egypt (1998) • The Road to El Dorado (2000) • Shrek (2001) • Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) • Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) • Shrek 2 (2004) • Shark Tale (2004) • Madagascar (2005) • Over the Hedge (2006) • Shrek the Third (2007) • Bee Movie (2007) • Kung Fu Panda (2008) • Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) • Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) • How to Train Your Dragon (2010) • Shrek Forever After (2010) • Megamind (2010) • Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) • Puss in Boots (2011) • Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) • Rise of the Guardians (2012) • The Croods (2013) • Turbo (2013) • Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014) • How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) • Penguins of Madagascar (2014) • Home (2015) • Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) • Trolls (2016) • The Boss Baby (2017) • Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017) • How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) • Abominable (2019) • Trolls World Tour (2020) • The Croods: A New Age (2020) • Spirit Untamed (2021) • The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021) • The Bad Guys (2022) • Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) • Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023) • Trolls Band Together (2023) • Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)

Co-produced Films: Chicken Run (2000) • Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) • Flushed Away (2006)
Upcoming Films: The Wild Robot (2024) • Dog Man (2025)
Feature Films in Development: Mice & MysticsShrek 5
Direct-to-Video Films: Joseph: King of Dreams (2000)
Digital films: Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (2021) • Orion and the Dark (2024) • Megamind vs. The Doom Syndicate (2024)
Canceled Films: TuskerThe WandererTortoise vs. HareTruckersMe & My ShadowMonkeys of MumbaiRumblewickB.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly OperationsGiants: Forces of NatureLarrikinsZodiacSpooky Jack

Television
TV Specials: Shrek the Halls (2007) • Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space (2009) • Merry Madagascar (2009) • Scared Shrekless (2010) • Kung Fu Panda Holiday (2010) • Gift of the Night Fury (2011) • Madly Madagascar (2013) • Trolls Holiday (2017) • How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019) • Trolls: Holiday in Harmony (2021)

Shorts: Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party! (2001) • Shrek 4-D (2003) • Sinbad and the Cyclops Island (2003) • Far Far Away Idol (2004) • Club Oscar (2005) • The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (2005) • First Flight (2006) • Hammy's Boomerang Adventure (2006) • Secrets of the Furious Five (2008) • B.O.B.'s Big Break (2009) • Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010) • Donkey's Caroling Christmas-tacular (2010) • Megamind: The Button of Doom (2011) • Thriller Night (2011) • The Pig Who Cried Werewolf (2011) • Night of the Living Carrots (2011) Book of Dragons (2011) • Gift of the Night Fury (2011) • Secrets of the Masters (2011) • Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos (2012) • Almost Home (2014) • Rocky and Bullwinkle (2014) • Dawn of the Dragon Racers (2014) • Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Scroll (2016) • Bird Karma (2018) • Bilby (2018) • Marooned (2019) • To: Gerard (2020)
TV Series: Toonsylvania (1998) • Invasion America (1998) • Alienators: Evolution Continues (2001–2002) • Father of the Pride (2004–2005) • The Penguins of Madagascar (2008–15) • Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (2011–2016) • DreamWorks Dragons (2012-2018) • Monsters vs. Aliens (2013-2014) • Turbo FAST (2013–2016) • VeggieTales in the House (2014-2016) • All Hail King Julien (2014-2017) • The Adventures of Puss in Boots (2015-2018) • Dinotrux (2015-2018) • The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show (2015-2017) • Dawn of the Croods (2015-2017) • Noddy, Toyland Detective (2016-present) • Voltron: Legendary Defender (2016-2018) • Home: Adventures with Tip and Oh (2016-2018) • Trollhunters (2016-2018) • VeggieTales in the City (2017) • Spirit Riding Free (2017-2020) • Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (2018-2019) • The Boss Baby: Back in Business (2018-2020) • The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (TV series) (2018-2019) • Harvey Street Kids (2018-2020) • The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants (2018-2020) • She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020) • Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny (2018-2019) • 3Below (2018-2019) • Where's Waldo? (2019-2020) • Archibald's Next Big Thing (2019-present) • Dragons: Rescue Riders (2019-2022) • Fast & Furious: Spy Racers (2019-2021) • Cleopatra in Space (2020-present) • Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (2020) • Rhyme Time Town (2020-2021) • Madagascar: A Little Wild (2020-2022) • Wizards (2020) • Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020-2022) • The Mighty Ones (2020-2022) • Doug Unplugs (2020-2022) • Trolls: TrollsTopia (2020-2022) • Gabby’s Dollhouse (2021-present) • Go, Dog. Go! (2021-2022) • The Croods: Family Tree (2021-2023) • Dragons: The Nine Realms (2021-2023) • The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib (2022-2023) • Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight (2022-2023) • Abominable and the Invisible City (2022-2023) • Megamind Rules! (2024-present) • Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024-present)
Upcoming TV Series: Felix the Cat (TBA) • Bearbrick (TBA)

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