Bee Movie (PG, 2007)

Barry Benson (Jerry Seinfeld), who has just graduated from bee college, is horrified to learn that he must pick his life-long job as a worker bee and will never get a day off. But then he gets the chance to leave the hive and ends up flying into the apartment of sweet-natured florist Vanessa Bloome (Renee Zellweger), who saves him from being smooshed by her cocky boyfriend (Seinfeld vet Patrick Warburton). In addition to the interspecies crush that Barry develops on Vanessa, he finds out, to his disgust, that humans flagrantly consume honey -- the nectar his kind toil their entire lives to produce -- in everything from lip balm to tea sweeteners. At that point the comedy takes a slight backseat to a bit of courtroom drama (presided by an Oprah Winfrey-voiced judge), wherein the bees sue the honey corporations.

Anyone who watches NBC, occasionally eats at McDonald's, or glances at a newspaper's arts and leisure section knows that BEE MOVIE is Jerry Seinfeld's labor of love. He's worked hard promoting the honey out of the picture. But because Seinfeld has left no marketing tool unused, the film falls slightly below expectations. The humor is there (Seinfeld is a gifted comedian, even in the form of his alter ego, animated bee Barry Benson), and the story is original, but the animation isn't nearly as amazing as Pixar's, and only a couple of characters get major laughs.

If you're looking for a sweet and easy film that even the youngest member of your tribe will enjoy, this is a safe bet. But if you're expecting a Seinfeld-like laughfest with out-of-this-world animation and a catchy soundtrack, it's not quite that buzzworthy.