To 'Bee' or not to 'Bee'?

After his triumph doing a TV show about nothing, comedian Jerry Seinfeld returns in "Bee Movie," a big-screen animated adventure that's about next-to-nothing.

Yes, there is an ecological lesson buried in the film. And yes, it offers the typical message about following your dreams. But in the end, "Bee Movie" is less interested in being about something than it is in show business in-jokes, celebrity cameos and Seinfeldian observations -- like isn't it funny that honey is packaged in bear-shaped containers when bees do all the hard work?

Which is not to say that the movie is bad. "Bee Movie" buzzes along at a snappy pace, and it includes a few colorful flight sequences that will surely thrill the kids in the audience. The film has some big laughs in it, too, especially after the sluggish first act.

Seinfeld plays Barry B. Benson, a bee who has just finished his education and can't wait to take his place in the great honey-making machine that is the hive.

Then Barry realizes that whatever job he takes will be his for the rest of his life. Like just about every animated-movie main character since Ariel in "The Little Mermaid," Barry starts longing for something more, to see what life is like beyond the walls that make up his world.

So Barry hooks up with the Pollen Jocks, those macho, militaristic bees who actually get to fly outside the hive. In the movie's first thrilling visual sequence, Barry whizzes through Central Park, agog at all the colors and smells and sounds the real world has to offer. Unfortunately, he also has his first experience with those insane creatures known as humans. It takes last-minute intervention by Vanessa, a kind florist voiced by Renee Zellweger, to save Barry from being squashed by a work boot.

Bee Law states that it's absolutely forbidden to talk to humans. Barry disregards this and thanks Vanessa for saving him. Once she gets used to the fact that, you know, a bee is talking to her (it doesn't take as long as you might think), the two strike up a friendship.

All of this is sweet, if standard, kids movie material. "Bee Movie" gets goofier, and funnier, when Barry learns that humans sell and eat the honey that bees work so hard to produce. Angry, he decides to file a lawsuit against the entire human race. That's right: "Bee Movie" turns into what must be the first children's courtroom drama.

Surprisingly, it's the courtroom setting that includes some of the movie's biggest laughs. John Goodman plays the pompous, jowly Southern lawyer Layton T. Montgomery, who is representing humanity. His character is a masterpiece of Foghorn Leghorn-style drawling by Goodman and hilariously jiggly animation. Then there are a couple of funny celebrity cameos, including Sting (Barry accuses him of ripping off "bee culture" for a dumb stage name) and Ray Liotta, who in the movie owns his own line of honey products.

I won't reveal what happens in the case, other than to say it has a catastrophic effect on the bee and human worlds. Barry and Vanessa team up to set things right in a dizzying, muddled final act that combines messages about ecological and inter-species harmony with the wacky logic of a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Will kids like "Bee Movie"? I think so. There is enough color and action to keep the little ones entertained, if not enthralled. Much of the humor is clearly aimed at the adults in the crowd, from references to "The Graduate" to ethnic jokes. (When Barry announces that he might have a girlfriend, his friend asks "Is she bee-ish? She's not a WASP, is she?") And the movie feels a bit aimless, torn between being a character-driven adventure, a la Disney, or the kind of verbal, observational comedy that Seinfeld is known for.

In the end, "Bee Movie" gets a solid B. It doesn't take flight the way you hope it will, but it's not a stinging disappointment, either.

"Bee Movie"

3 stars

out of four

Opens tonight

Starring As

Jerry Seinfeld Barry B. Benson

Renee Zellweger Vanessa

Matthew Broderick Adam Flayman

John Goodman Layton T. Montgomery

Chris Rock Mooseblood

Written by Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Barry Marder and Andy Robin. Produced by Jerry Seinfeld and Christina Steinberg. Directed by Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner. A Dreamworks/Paramount Pictures release. Rated PG (mild suggestive humor and brief depiction of smoking). Running time: 100 minutes.