TV on DVD: The Mighty B! We Got the Bee

Amy Poehler Makes a Play to
Become Queen Bee
In Nickelodeon's Animated Series
Now Available On DVD

Partially inspired by a character comedienne Amy Poehler notes that "she's been performing over the past several years at Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade," in this refreshingly girl-power oriented Nickelodeon series-- co-creator and lead voice actor Poehler plays the hyper active, overachieving nine and three quarter year old Honeybee Bessie Higgenbottom.

Eager to collect more than four thousand five hundred badges in her Girl Scouts inspired Honeybee Troop #828 which she aspires to conquer, the pint-sized ball of energy is often targeted by the resident queen bees-- namely, the pretty, older, popular, and cliquish Portia and Gwen who con young Bessie at every turn. Whether it's tricking her into babysitting a tot that bounces away like a basketball when she uses too much baby oil, sabotaging her robotic creation for the science fair, or trying to frighten her out of the requisite Happy Camper sleep-away camp badge-- the two girls never give up... but then again, neither does Bessie.



While most kids never tire of asking endless questions, Bessie proves just the opposite-- providing endless answers in the form of lists as she wears down everyone she comes into contact with in the DVD's eight episodes from the first season of the series as she tries to stretch herself one sixteenth of an inch to ride the mega roller-coaster The Punisher, win a dog show by taking on a stray dog named Happy who becomes her affable sidekick, and crashes scores of Bat Mitzvahs with her best friend Penny by reminding her friend to be cool and go with the cover that they're distant cousins from Tel Aviv.



Although her precocious nature and fondness for crafting atom smashers and joining Gwen and Portia's rock group to fit in find her a bit of an outsider in the world of Honeybees, the eager young taffy seller's perpetually optimistic nature and great group of friends including the skater Keenan and her younger worshipful brother (Andy Richter) always help her land on her feet.



Despite the fact that the DVD begins on rather annoying footing by launching us full blast into Bessie's world as the front teeth missing, lisp speaking girl's voice and obnoxious manner grate on our nerves rather quickly--the DVD grows much stronger as it continues and we become more accustomed to our heroine and some of the episodes including the inspired "Bee My Baby" (which finds a baby bouncing in and out of trouble), "Sweet Sixteenth" (as Bessie laments her short status), and especially the "Bat Mitzvah Crashers" all come highly recommended.



Having collaborated with co-creators Cynthia True of The Fairly Odd Parents (who also drew inspiration from a photo of herself at age six in the Girl Scouts) and Erik Wise of Spongebob Squarepants-- Poehler's high quality Nickelodeon production is sure to engage not only former scouts, like yours truly, but also reach the same audience who enjoy Nick's other toons and animation style of series including Rugrats or more recently-- Wayside School.

Winningly female oriented like the channel's wonderfully popular Dora the Explorer series-- while Bessie is probably the last kid you'd like your children to emulate as she always seems to be moving at a million miles an hour-- her sunny optimism, ambition to prove herself at levels far beyond her age, and constant reminder of who her real friends are, along with the visually great San Francisco setting make The Mighty B! of particular interest for this adorable child friendly roughly ninety minute disc.

Featuring a mini behind-the-scenes interview with the cast and creators-- animation junkies will also appreciate watching the original animatic for "Bat Mitzvah Crashers" to see the pencil drawings of the show alongside the phenomenal finished product and children will love the option to sing along (with or without the vocals) to Bessie's "Running With the Rainbow Unicorn" karaoke music video.



Also, conveniently closed captioned for the deaf and/or hearing impaired (or those who struggle to keep up with Poehler's breakneck toothless delivery), this full screen formatted disc utilizing its original Dolby Digital Stereo Sound may initially take a little time to get used to but soon-- just as she does for everyone in the endless quest for thousands of badges and relying on her imaginary superhero alter-ego to help her in her quest-- Bessie wins us over.

And ultimately, more channels should take a cue from Paramount's Nickelodeon by continually striving to offer non-violent, genuinely funny, quality entertainment for both genders and viewers of all backgrounds who can salute their inner bee.

Divided into eight episodes, The Mighty B! We Got the Bee includes the following titles that can be selected individually or played in one marathon viewing:

(Descriptions Courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment)

1) "We Got the Bee"

• "When Portia’s band doesn’t let Bessie join, Bessie starts rockin’ to her own beat!"

2) "So Happy Together"

• "To enter the Honeybee Dog Show and earn the Animal Appreciation badge, Bessie sets out to find a stray."

3) "Sweet Sixteenth"

• "Just the teensiest bit under minimum height to ride The Punisher, Bessie goes to extremes to measure up."

4) "Bee My Baby"

• "To dupe Bessie into babysitting, Portia and Gwen tell her about the non-existent Baby Wrangling Badge."

5) "Bee Afraid"

• "In her quest for the Happy Camper Badge, Bessie goes, well, you know. But it’s scary in the dark. Especially with Portia and Gwen around."

6) "Artificial Unintelligence"

• "Will Bessie’s entry in the science fair finally win her the Mad Scientist Badge? Or just make other people mad?"

7) "Bat Mitzvah Crashers"

• "Bessie and Penny love crashing Bat Mitzvahs, then vow to stop when the partying takes a toll. But can they resist crashing 'the Bat Mitzvah of the century?'”

8) "Super Secret Weakness"

• "The Mighty B is sure to find herself in quite a pickle if Bessie doesn’t help her ‘squash’ her only weakness."

Space Chimps

Director: Kirk DeMicco

Every monkey dance now! I’m not sure when the trend started, but by now it’s nearly become a prerequisite for all animated children’s movies to contain at least one '70s or '80s-inspired dance party sequence. In addition, the mandates seem to be doubly serious when the animated characters are animals — whether they’re penguins partying in the snow with their Happy Feet or getting jiggy with Shark Tale. Let’s just say that in the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion can’t sleep tonight because he’s breaking in his dancing shoes, much to the delight of audiences everywhere even if it only occupies a precious few moments of screen time.

And while “the few, the proud, the monkeys” in Space Chimps are a bit footloose and fancy free, they’re more preoccupied with being chosen by a slightly shady Senator (voiced to delicious effect by Stanley Tucci) to “straighten up and fly right.” In this throwback to the days when NASA utilized primates in their earliest space missions, they are being sent on a risky quest to retrieve an unmanned lost ship that has journeyed through a black hole. While the no-nonsense, NASA-trained Titan (Seinfeld’s Patrick Warburton) and Luna (Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Cheryl Hines) take their assignment seriously, they find their rank challenged when the cynical, circus-performing grandson of the first ape in space, Ham III (Andy Samberg), is recruited to join the flight by the publicity hungry senator hoping to up the mission’s coolness factor.

With his career in mind, realizing that by now NASA and scientists in general are so nerdy that if this assignment is unsuccessful, the Senator has devised a fall-back plan to turn the center into a “Paint Your Own Plate” arts and crafts emporium. His motives seem to be unapparent to everyone except Samberg’s rebellious Ham, who says he doesn’t “want to be the warm-up act for human astronauts.” Tricking Ham into believing he’s taking part in a simulated mission, the three monkeys blast off for the great beyond, sliding through the black hole to arrive alongside the missing pod only to discover an inhabited planet where an egomaniacal and tyrannical leader is threatening to sacrifice the occupants in a hubris-driven ode for supreme reign.

Although on strictly entertainment value, it’s infinitely preferable to another animals in space children’s film due out this summer (the review of which will be forthcoming), Space Chimps pales in comparison to the more polished Pixar offering WALL-E (incidentally also involving the solar system) as well as my two favorite children’s films this year so far, Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who and Kung Fu Panda. Despite this, younger kids will find Space Chimps’ skies far friendlier than the darkness of WALL-E, even if adults may find themselves looking at their watch several times throughout.

Refreshingly, keeping in mind the adults who must tow along the children in their lives, Chimps does make a genuine effort to insert clever intellect and mature humor such as a terrific sequence wherein Ham finds himself in a Freudian conflict between his Superego and Id, while chatting with Luna upon the cloud of Id as she continually asks, “How does that make you feel?” In addition references are made to David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust album, modern technology in the form of “banana-berries” as well as sky-travel classics such as Airplane, as one character notes that he’s picked the wrong day to quit eating bananas as a salute to the iconic Lloyd Bridges character.

Harmless and light — although it’s certain to vanish in the wake of The Dark Knight in its opening weekend — the lackluster but mildly entertaining interstellar Chimps will be sure to garner a bigger family friendly audience when it arrives in the DVD galaxy and can be savored in living rooms where toddlers can dance along whenever the chimps feel the obligatory need to turn the beat around.