Netflix And Chill: Bee Movie (2007)

Look, I am easily pleased by puns and CGI that is halfway-decent. That means that most modern movies aimed at younger viewers will tend to keep me amused. I'm not always the most mature person in the room, and I am absolutely fine with that. I am fine with being able to sit back and do my best to be open to whatever a movie is trying to provide. But that doesn't mean that I'll just sit there and give everything a free pass, even if it may seem that way sometimes when I am reviewing movies while being more charitable than some.

Bee Movie isn't as bad as you may have heard. It's also not that good. It sits squarely in the middle, hampered by some strange choices in the plotting and voice cast.

Jerry Seinfeld is the voice of Barry B. Benson, a bee who doesn't necessarily want to move straight into his working life when he is deemed ready for it. Despite the protests of his friend, Adam (Matthew Broderick), Barry heads off for a trip into the wider world outside. He then ends up befriending a human named Vanessa (Renée Zellweger), which leads to him finding out the horrible truth about just what happens to all of the honey that the bees make. Something has to be done, but what will the repercussions be?

Directed by Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner, two men who have a directorial selection composed of more shorts than features (although the latter has a much more extensive selection of projects he has worked on as an artist), this is a strange central concept that is squeezed into a fairly traditional, family-friendly, movie. A lot of people worked on the script, including Seinfeld, and it feels like all of them had a different idea of just what kind of film they were making. Ironically, that makes some of the crazier moments among the most fun, certainly for older viewers (the highlight being a moment in which Ray Liotta is called as a witness in a court case, playing himself).

As much as I like Seinfeld, his voice doesn't feel right for the lead role here, and I'd struggle to think of any animated movie that would work with his particular vocal stylings at the centre of things. Matthew Broderick is better in the role of the best friend who is happy with his lot in life. Zellweger is also good in her role, helping to sell the fact that her character can become firm friends with a bee. But the best work comes from the three people I can enjoy listening to at any time: John Goodman (as a lawyer), Chris Rock (a mosquito), and Patrick Warburton (a human who has his life turned upside down by Barry).

Children should enjoy seeing the world that is created for these bees to be living, and working, in. Adults should enjoy the more random moments, such as that Liotta highlight and a honey-steeped homage to The Graduate. Few people will enjoy the whole thing as a cohesive movie experience, but there are enough moments to amuse and help the runtime pass by painlessly enough. Oh, and the CGI is halfway-decent. Halfway.

5/10

You can buy it here.
Americans can buy it here.

The Prince Of Egypt (1998)

Be warned. I will be starting this review, as I sometimes do, with a bit of a ramble. But I do have a point. I sometimes use this blog to promote my personal views on subjects that I feel strongly about. Sometimes. The reasons I don't do it more often are that a) it's a MOVIE blog and b) I may often think I know what I'm talking about, but am wise enough to remember just how much I also don't know about any given subject. Having said that, one of my personal stances that I am happy to mention, but simply feel little need to go on about, is the fact that I'm an atheist. I have mentioned my lack of religious belief in other movie reviews, especially when the film being watched and reviewed is something with a very spiritual core, but it doesn't happen often because I don't think it really matters all that much if the movie succeeds in whatever it sets out to do. I also try not to offend people with religious beliefs because I love personal freedoms and the power to believe in anything as much as I loathe organised religion and what warped readings of ancient texts can do to certain, misguided, individuals.

Why do I need to say all this at the start of a review of an animated movie about the life of Moses? Do I need to have firm religious beliefs to enjoy this film? No, of course not. Not at all. Although it might help. The strange thing is that I have always loved the better-known biblical tales and the parables that I was taught as a young boy. I think that they're decent stories, often with a good moral to take away and think about them. Decent stories, from any source, should make for decent movies. Sadly, that's not the case here.

The life of Moses (voiced here by Val Kilmer) is an exciting one. It starts with the young boy being sent downriver in his baby basket to save him from slavery and/or death and develops into a tale that includes a burning bush, a bit of strife with Rameses (Ralph Fiennes), ten terrible plagues, the parting of the Red Sea and more.

Exciting stuff, I'm sure you'll agree. Which is why The Prince Of Egypt is so frustrating for most of its runtime. It's just far too dull. The animation is nice enough, and there are plenty of sequences full of great visuals showcasing a nice stylised take on ancient Egypt, and the vocal cast, including Sandra Bullock, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny Glover, Steve Martin and Jeff Goldblum among many others, certainly doesn't lack star power. Sadly, the film takes these elements and does nothing with them. Songs are drab and unmemorable, and set-pieces never take off in the way that they should. There are moments when things seem about to lift up, then it just crumples once again.

Philip LaZebnik is the man responsible for the lifeless script, with additional material from Nicholas Meyer, and Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner and Simon Wells are the directors failing to find any other ways to liven up the material. Having sat through this while feeling quite bored throughout, I can't imagine any kids ever being enthralled by it. Knowing how much I enjoyed these tales when I first learned of them as a youngster, that just emphasises what a failed opportunity this is.

4/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Prince-Egypt-DVD-Kilmer/dp/B000059HL2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375655130&sr=8-1&keywords=the+prince+of+egypt