Official Synopsis:
Acclaimed stand-up comedian and TV star Jerry Seinfeld sets the screen abuzz in this smash hit comedy that will change everything you thought you knew about bees! In Jerry's Un-BEE-lievable 2-Disc Special Edition, the comic icon presents hours of behind-the-scenes bonus content and extras from his hilarious take on life inside the hive!

  
Our Take:
Bee Movie was not, unlike seemingly every single Pixar film, a universally critically acclaimed movie. I have nothing against Pixar; in fact I love most of their films, but I do feel like they can be a bit overrated sometimes. For example, I think Ratatouille is one of the most overrated films in the past five years. I’m sure most critics would disagree with this, but I had a heck of a lot more fun watching Bee Movie than I did the overly self-important rat picture.

Bee Movie is simple and funny, and sometimes that’s all I’m looking for in a movie; especially one that is, ultimately, made to appeal to kids. The movie has a lot of fun with the “bees talking to humans” conceit, and Stephen Colbert fans will be amused by the film’s take on bears. Ultimately, though, the heart of the film is a surprisingly good Jerry Seinfeld, who plays Barry, the bee who just dreams of something more.

Jerry Seinfeld was smart to make his first big post-Seinfeld film project an animated movie. Even though he wrote it and produced it as well as starring in it, it seems as if the risk is minimal. If it’s a hit, it’s a win for him; but if it’s a flop, well, it’s just an animated movie, not the kind of bomb that kills careers. I’ll be interested to see how he follows this up.

Bee Movie comes to DVD in two formats: as a single-disc release and as a Very Jerry 2-Disc Edition. Disc 1 (“More Jerry”) is a little more behind-the-scenes and/or Seinfeld-heavy in nature, while the Disc 2 (“More Barry”) leans towards the kid-oriented side of things. The materials on disc two are what come standard on the single-disc release. Here’s what you can find in the two-disc set:

Disc 1: More Jerry
* Jerry & Filmmaker Commentary – Seinfeld discusses the film along with his co-writer, the film’s director’s editor, and producer.
* Jerry's 16 TV Juniors (7 minutes) – A collection of the promotional bits that ran on NBC when the movie was coming out.
* Alternate Endings and Lost Scenes (20 minutes) – A good amount of alternate and deleted scenes.
* Jerry's Flight Over Cannes (3 minutes) – The infamous footage of Seinfeld in a Bee costume at the Cannes Film Festival.
* Original Live-Action Trailers.
* Inside the Hive: The Cast of Bee Movie (15 minutes) – A making-of featuring on the actors and crew of the film.

Disc 2: More Barry
* The Tech of Bee Movie (7 minutes) – A CGI-focused making-of.

* "We Got the Bee" Music Video.
* Set Top Games – Four games for kids.
* The Buzz about Bees – Bee Trivia.
* Meet Barry B. Benson – An interactive interview feature with Barry.

Bee Movie probably won’t appeal much to the average film snob, but in all fairness, it’s not really trying to. It’s simply trying to be a fun, all-ages animated adventure, and to that end it succeeds extremely well.

RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:
Movie: B+
DVD: B+

- Mike Spring
Editor