By Izzie James.
Bee Movie, released in 2007, was easily one of my favourite childhood movies. The silly puns always made me giggle, and for some reason, I accepted the romantic relationship between the main character Barry B. Benson (yes, the bee), and his human girlfriend Vanessa. When my housemates decided to re-watch Bee Movie the other day, I thought it would have the same effect on me as it did when I was younger. However, despite how humorous I still find it, I couldn’t help but think about its deeper themes and message, namely, its exploration of consumerism, exploitation, and society.
Just to clarify, I’m not trying to make Bee Movie boring. Along with being well-written, it’s colourful, cheerful, and has a great plot arc. However, I find it interesting that children’s films are often used to explore such deep and controversial themes. Bee Movie explores Barry’s journey of suing the human race, once he finds out that they are exploiting bees for their honey. There is much detail on the bees being ‘worked to death’ when making honey, as they are told they must stay in their job for the rest of their lives. Barry is disturbed by this idea, and therefore he leaves the hive to see what lies beyond it. When he meets Vanessa, he sees that honey is a commodity consumed daily by humans, with no credit nor profits going to the bees. He also sees bees being exploited outside the hive, as they are subject to being smoked in bee farms. Barry hears the beekeepers boast, “They make the honey, and we make the money.”
Barry then successfully sues the human race, meaning the big companies stop honey production, and the bees no longer have to work. They become lazy and bored, and eventually, the world’s flowers die as they are no longer being pollinated. Luckily, there’s a happy ending, where the last remaining flowers are brought back to New York City on a plane, which the bees help to land, and they save the day by pollinating the flowers again (the cinematography and choice of music here is phenomenal).
We see the bees battle a consumerist society here, as well as fight against their exploitation. We see a revolution against work conditions and a fight against capitalism. If you read into it, Bee Movie has an array of political messages. Even the supposedly happy ending is debunked by some, such as Daily Arts Writer Darby Williams, who wrote of the bees: ‘They remain enslaved to the humans, producing honey with the efficiency of a disgruntled union worker, only this time with marginal improvements to their working conditions… In his attempt to spearhead a proletariat revolution, my childhood idol finds himself trapped in the very system he sought to overturn.’1 Williams’ dismal summary emphasises a critical and depressing way in which the Bee Movie can be viewed.
Surprisingly, this pattern of deeper commentary is one that many children’s films follow; for example, Shrek is seen to comment on society’s superficiality and obsession with beauty, Shark Take is about the struggle of debt, lying and the desperation to be rich and Happy Feet is about environmental decline, human greed, and exploitation. Re-watching these movies as an adult can be enlightening, as you realise the real issues that are brought up behind the colourful façade of humour and animations. I will say though, if you want to re-watch these movies without thinking about their commentary on society and, instead, to just enjoy the jokes, soundtracks, and characters- that is just as worthwhile.
1Darby Williams, ‘Capitalism’s cautionary tale: The fall of Barry B.Benson.’ The Michigan Daily, https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/capitalisms-cautionary-tale-the-fall-of-barry-b-benson/ (2021)