By Ryan Parsons | Images property of DreamWorks Animation
Bee Movie
I have been salivating for Bee Movie on HD DVD ever since I watched an extended clip for the film long before its theatrical release. I never had a chance to catch it in theaters, so I don't know how the film played out visually theatrically, but I could only assume that the CG-animation would be one of the best visual experiences I have seen to date in HD.
That was, however, only an assumption and I was disappointed to hear that the film would not buzz onto HD DVD or Blu-ray. So now I have my DVD version of Bee Movie and, as a last ditch effort, had to discover how well the film upconverted on my HD DVD player.
DVD Review: Bee Movie
Even on DVD, Bee Movie looks excellent when upconverted to 1080i. While there are moments where I can only imagine what the film would look like in true HD, the format comes close enough. Since I was so concerned about the presentation of the film, I had to remember to pay attention to the story as well.
To be honest, I think DreamWorks was also more concerned about how the film looked visually. Bee Movie does have a fair share of laughs, but the story unfortunately keeps with the recent trend of forgettable CG-animations. It's strange. There are moments that had me laughing out loud, but the overall vibe felt too silly. That or maybe DreamWorks just had a much younger age group in mind when coming up with the story. There were a lot of er, simple jokes that favored the single-digit generation.
I couldn't get into the DVD's extras. Of all the options available, and there are quite a few, the only worth watching were the original live-action teaser trailers that Seinfeld released early on. They are entertaining, funny, and feature some great cameos.
If you got kids at home, Bee Movie will easily satisfy a family gathering. If you are one who appreciates CG animations to the likes of The Incredibles, you might want to pass on this one.
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