Intro: According to all known opinions on the internet, a licensed game based on a memeable DreamWorks movie should have no chance of being good. The Bee Movie video game, of course, exists anyway, and one critic in particular has fond nostalgia for the game despite what the rest of the internet considers just another dumbed-down license-based game for kids. Hello there, my fellow readers. One of my favorite guilty pleasures is playing old, cheap licensed games, despite most of them being rushed attempts to capitalize on their movie or show. The Bee Movie game is one I still admire despite its many shortcomings. It may lack polish, but it holds a special place in my heart.
Summary: Following the events of the movie, Barry B. Benson recounts his life story on a reality television program called New Hive Tonight, hosted by Jeanette Chung. During the interview, Barry looks back on his time as an ordinary bee struggling to find his place in the hive. He recalls his friendship with a human named Vanessa and his discovery that humans have been stealing and selling the bees’ honey. However, Barry also reveals a larger conspiracy unfolding behind the scenes. Barry exposes Montgomery’s secret scheme and gives viewers an inside look at what was really happening during the honey crisis.
Story: Much like Shark Tale Video Game, the story is presented through a reality-show-style framing device. Barry B. Benson recounts the events of the game while being interviewed on a television set by a bee named Jeanette Chung. These interview segments provide some decent laughs and occasionally offer a different perspective on familiar moments from the film. The game’s original storylines also receive more attention than the movie’s central honey crisis. In particular, the plot places greater emphasis on Montgomery’s secret scheme, turning him into a more active threat than he was in the film. This gives the game a slightly different focus, even though most of the remaining story is copied directly from the movie. Ultimately, the game’s story does not change the way I view Bee Movie, nor does it offer a particularly deep reinterpretation of its source material. Still, the reality-show framing and expanded side plots make it entertaining enough for a licensed game. It is serviceable, occasionally funny, and just unusual enough to remain memorable.
Characters: Most of the film’s cast returns to reprise their roles in the game, including Patrick Warburton, Renée Zellweger, John Goodman, Matthew Broderick, and, of course, Jerry Seinfeld as Barry B. Benson. Their performances remain faithful to the personalities established in the movie, which helps the game feel like a genuine extension of its source material. The biggest surprise is Jeanette Chung, a minor background character from the film who receives a much larger role here. In the game, she develops a distinct personality of her own, serving as a delightful parody of reality television hosts who are constantly chasing fame, attention, and dramatic reactions. Her exchanges with Barry are among the funniest parts of the story. Their clashing personalities create an entertaining dynamic, with Jeanette’s exaggerated enthusiasm playing well against Barry’s more sarcastic and impatient attitude. Although Barry and Jeanette receive most of my attention. I do have to applaud the rest of the cast for doing their part in making the game feel like an extension of the movie.
Gameplay: There is a surprising amount of variety in The Bee Movie Game, perhaps even too much. To understand why, it helps to divide the gameplay into two main categories: the jobs and minigames found throughout New Hive City, and the story missions that take place outside the hive. New Hive City serves as the game’s central hub. Between missions, Barry can drive different vehicles, search for hidden collectibles, and play arcade games at the local arcade. Most of your time in the city, however, will be spent completing jobs and minigames located either around the hub or inside Honex Industries. These activities represent different careers within the hive, including racing, mechanical work, taxi driving, honeycomb collecting, and crane operating. The variety is appreciated, but many of the jobs feel fairly conventional and can become repetitive after a while. This is especially noticeable because players are required to complete a certain number of tasks before unlocking the next story mission outside the hive. Finishing every task in a job rewards the player with the maximum amount of honey currency or, in some cases, special prizes. This gives completionists an extra incentive to keep playing, even when some of the activities begin to wear out their welcome. The missions outside the hive are generally more adventurous. Barry must navigate the much larger human world while avoiding environmental hazards, surviving rainstorms, and battling hostile humans and insects. These levels also include optional activities, such as pollinating flowers, along with hidden collectibles scattered throughout the environments. Among the most interesting collectibles are museum artifacts. These can be displayed in the New Hive City Museum, where they unlock characters, scenes, and other material from the film and even the game itself. Some parts of the gameplay have aged better than others. The hub world and outdoor missions still offer a surprising amount of freedom, while several of the jobs feel repetitive and overly simple. Even so, my nostalgia continues to remind me why I enjoyed the game so much in the first place. Its rough patches are impossible to ignore, but so is the strange charm created by its constant variety.
Graphics: For this review, I played the PlayStation 2 version of The Bee Movie Game. I am aware that it is not the best-looking version available, but it still gives a clear idea of what the game is trying to achieve visually, even if the graphics look noticeably cheaper than those of its higher-end counterparts. By PlayStation 2 standards, the character models are surprisingly expressive. Both the bees and the human characters display a decent range of emotions, which helps the cutscenes retain some of the personality and energy of the film. The game also makes strong use of color, with each location using its palette to establish a distinct mood and atmosphere. The sense of scale is another highlight. New Hive City is designed around the size of its bee inhabitants. Once Barry ventures outside the hive, the environments become even larger and more imposing, emphasizing how dangerous the human world can be for such a small character. Unfortunately, the PlayStation 2 version has one major problem: it is incredibly glitchy. Frame-rate drops are common, and characters or objects occasionally clip through one another. These technical issues can be distracting and would likely frustrate many players. Still, as someone who has returned to this game several times, I have learned to accept its rough edges. The glitches may hurt the presentation, but they are a small price to pay for the colorful environments, expressive characters, and surprisingly effective sense of scale.
Music: Rupert Gregson-Williams composed the score for both Bee Movie and its video game adaptation. Considering that the film’s music was one of its strongest qualities, bringing him back for the game must have seemed like an obvious choice. The soundtrack is lively, playful, and heavily influenced by jazz, with saxophone melodies often taking center stage. It also has an impressive range, shifting naturally between lighthearted, relaxing, tense, and dramatic moments without ever feeling inconsistent. Every track sounds as though it belongs within the same musical world. Even today, I still catch myself humming several of these melodies. I would even argue that some of the game’s tracks are more memorable than those featured in the film itself. The soundtrack proves that when an element works well in the original movie, it can be just as effective in a video game. Gregson-Williams’s return gives the adaptation a stronger connection to the film while also allowing the game to develop a musical identity of its own.
Conclusion: By all accounts, I should dislike The Bee Movie Game as much as many other people seem to. Surprisingly, I do not. In fact, I would argue that this is one of those rare cases where the video game is more entertaining than the movie on which it is based. Nostalgia certainly plays a role in my appreciation for it, but it is not the only reason I continue to enjoy the game. It is far from perfect, with repetitive tasks, technical problems, and plenty of rough edges. Even so, its wide variety of activities, adventurous missions outside the hive, and charming reinterpretation of the film’s events give it an identity beyond that of a typical licensed tie-in. I completely understand why some players dismiss it as another disposable game made for children. It is not a hidden masterpiece, nor is it a game I would recommend without acknowledging its many flaws. However, when all is said and done, Bee Movie Game remains a simple, nostalgic favorite that I am always happy to revisit.
(Final Grade: B)