DreamMachine Episode 17: Bee Movie

In this episode of DreamMachine, Patricia and Arun discuss about the 2007 DreamWorks animated feature, Bee Movie. The movie is about a bee named Barry B. Benson who recently graduated from college and is starting his new job at the honey-making factory. While collecting pollen, Barry ends up meeting a florist named Vanessa and learns that humans have been stealing honey for their consumption. So Barry sues humans and wins the court case where humans are forbidden to steal any more of their honey. This ends up with the factory ceasing their business because they have too much honey and the flowers dying because the bees aren't pollinating them. There's also the subplot of Vanessa's boyfriend Ken becoming jealous of Barry. There's a lot going on in this movie.   When the film premiered, it received mixed to negative reviews from critics and viewers despite making over $287 million dollars on a $150 million dollar budget. The movie was mostly forgotten until a few years ago, it became well known again thanks to memes online. Is Bee Movie an overlooked comedy gem or just fuel for meme culture and nothing more? Listen and find out.