By MATT NEALTHE advent of computer-generated (CG) movies has opened up a new genre - the bug movie.Following in the six-legged footsteps of A Bugs Life and Antz, comes Bee Movie, the latest Hollywood adventure into the hives, nests, and burrows of the insect world.Barry B Benson (voiced by Seinfeld in his film debut) wonders if there's more to his humble bee existence than working on a honey production line until he dies.This leads Barry out of the hive and into the human world where he breaks the golden bee rule - don't talk to humans - by thanking the kindly Vanessa (Zellweger), who saves him from a certain death at the hands of her manic partner (the brilliantly excessive Patrick Warburton).But it's the discovery that people are stealing honey from bees imprisoned in ``work camps'' that sets off a chain reaction, as Barry sues the human race in an effort to get back all the honey.The plot has a disjointed charm and the humour is far from bee-grade - more in line with the subtle and sharp gags of The Incredibles than most dumbed-down kid's movies.There's a strange appeal to the story that lets you overlook the plot holes big enough to fly a whole hive through, and the animation overcomes Seinfeld's inabilities as an actor - Barry is more expressive than Jerry ever was in 175 episodes on TV.Bee Movie cleverly gets around the bee-human interaction with a simple yet effective ploy - bees can talk like humans, they're just not allowed to - and it's this straight-forward approach that adds an endearing quality.The cameos by Chris Rock, Larry King, and Sting are hilarious and the film will appeal to all ages.It's far from perfect, and not a patch on the high-end Pixar pics, but Bee Movie is far from a B-movie.
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