It has been almost a decade since comedian Jerry Seinfeld ended his mega successful sit com while at its peak, so expectations are understandably high for his first post-Seinfeld outing, the animated feature Bee Movie.

Seinfeld stars as the voice of Barry B. Bee, a recent college graduate sent to work in the slavish honey trade within his hive. In a desperate attempt to break free from his rigid confines, Barry ventures into the outside world where he breaks a bee law to never talk to humans (being a children’s animation film the animals of course talk), and strikes up a relationship with florist Vanessa (Renee Zelwegger).

Soon, his bliss turns into horror when he finds that honey is consumed by the human race on a mass level. In turn, he sues the humans on behalf of the bee population.   

Seinfeld (who also co-produced and co-wrote the film) is in top form, his sarcastic wit not skipping a beat (even though his strained panicky voice can irritate). Renee Zelwegger plays the straight role as well as can be expected, whilst the made for animation talents of Patrick Warburton and his nonchalant macho draw is put to good use as Vanessa’s jealous boyfriend. Cameos by Chris Rock and Oprah Winfrey, along with Ray Liotta and Sting (who play themselves) round out an impressionable cast of voice talent.   

Visually, Bee Movie is a treat. Its bright colours and simple yet effective animation gives the film a warm, fuzzy glow. Much fun is had playing around with the existence of the bee (even when they are dodging rolled up newspapers and brooms left to right), and with the bee hive universe which they inhabit in the film.

In turn laughs are had, especially when they take the mickey out of pop culture and absurd human behaviour (a speciality of Seinfeld’s). A couple of key comedic moments are found during a scene when Barry is stuck on a tennis ball during a tennis match, and when Winnie the Pooh is finally taken down for stealing homey.  

However, a patchy script means that many of these moments are few and far between. In some instances, long stretches of film go by without a chuckle uttered from this viewer (and it is not without a lack of trying). Perhaps this may have to do with the large amount of script writers (6 to be exact) that were a part of this production, which is absurd since Seinfeld could have written the script all on his own when considering his talent for comedy. 

Bee Movie is a solid animation film, and a decent effort from Seinfeld and co., but it just does not match up to the high calibre work of Ratatouille or The Incredibles, even though it had the potential to do so.  

Its moral that even the smallest creature can make a world of difference is one to be appreciated, and is a good message to share with its target audience (children). It is a shame, however, that it could not keep up its energetic and fun pace established within its first act.