Jerry Seinfeld isn't really known for being anything BUT Jerry Seinfeld,so when I first became aware of this movie(sometime in early summer of 2005,and they were doing preview trailers BACK THEN!)I was quite intrigued to see this,since this was a project that was going to be a combination of two elements that interest me:animation and Seinfeld(both the show and his stand-up). I wasn't going to be deterred,as this show neared,then opened,by the criticisms of the show,steeling myself to think that I would catch this show out of curiosity and moderately low expectations.

That was probably the right move.

Don't get me wrong:for the most part,I thought this movie was an entertaining diversion. Seinfeld is BArry B.Benson,a seemingly average young bee who graduates schooling and is readying to go into the hive workforce when it occurs to him that he might want more out of his life than being an average worker bee. When he travels into the world outside the hive,he is awed by the larger,mostly human-dominated world,but later comes to realize that the very product he and his fellow bees make(take a wild guess what that is)is being exploited by humans for large profit. With the help of a charming,friendly(and reasonably sexy for a "family"film)florist named VAnessa(voice of Renee Zellweger),he endeavors to sue humanity for abuse and misuse of his kind and the honey they make.

With enough biological inaccuracies to cause buzzing(sorry for the pun)among a number of viewers and non-viewers,and perhaps a little TOO ambitious in scope for its own good(though not as off-the-tracks in that regard as,say,HAppy Feet),this show's strength really IS in Seinfeld,his gift of gab,smart,fast humor and his interplay with other bees(notably his parents and his brother Adam,voiced by MAtthew Broderick)and the human element he encounters(most of it being with Vanessa),I'm afraid that the main strength of this film is the exact thing that could be identified as its weakness:namely,that this film is going to be too over-the-heads of kids in verbal humor,too simplistic and cutesy(thought that's forgivable for animation,I suppose)for many,if not most,adults. THerein lies my summary line.

Co-written by Seinfeld and "Seinfeld"co-producer and scribe Spike Feresten,this movie seems to have a little too much adult sensibility to be considered easy family fare,but just enough eye candy animation to keep it in that park. The animation is technically sound and the colors are brilliant,but the entirely computerized(by HP,which is even noted in the credits)images seem to lack some warmth. Directors Steve Hickman and Simon J.Smith have great eyes for visual chase and proportion,but I don't think they gave much thought to how much plausibility would be divined out of this show. I suppose one,going into or(eventually)renting this film has to approach this as a hybrid curiosity of a film:a film for the whole family that is going to be understood and appreciated at different levels for each member(assuming its appreciated at all). I hope Jerry tries more endeavors,maybe even like this one,but hopefully with a better idea of what level it can settle at.