Bee Movie, As Good for your Child’s Brain as the Paint on a Toy Made in China

November 10, 2007 at 10:12 am | Posted in Bad Media | 5 Comments

I love honeybees. I have for years. I’ve studied a lot about bee biology and bee society. I’ve had my hand in a few hives. Whenever I can, I advocate bee tolerance and appreciation, because, as pollinators, they’re better friends to us than dogs have ever been.

Naturally, I was excited when Jerry Seinfeld’s punnily* titled Bee Movie came out. The movie is beautifully colored, and several giants of the entertainment industry were involved. But sadly, major deviations this film makes from reality cause the pun of its title work on a different level. Namely, the one about quality.

First of all, and the most obvious, the bees in the movie only have four legs. I suppose the midlegs of real bees are hidden under the movie bee’s sweater. There are many problems with the anatomy of bees in the movie from real bees, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to get the number of legs right. Also, never would you find a real beehive with so many males.

It’s unfortunate that such all this effort was made to make this film as attractive as it is, and that this film is a commercial success. Overall, the film’s story would not have been sacrificed if it mirrored reality a little more closely, and instead we have a generation of children who think that bees only have four legs. That may not seem like a big deal, but these things mount.

I don’t understand why reality loses out so often with projects like these. If it didn’t then maybe we all wouldn’t be brainwashed by the bullshit that assaults us from all angles.

Boo!

* Neologism. Mix between pun and funny.