Jerry Seinfeld, whose final episode of his ever-popular comedy was watched by 75 million avid fans, has had a lesser success with his first animated film. He thought up the title, co-wrote, co-produced and stars as Barry the bee. But everything is relative, and the movie has done well enough at the box office to testify to his extraordinary power to please.

Barry, the buzzer in question, is dressed in a yellow-and-black-striped polo-necked jumper which he says is from Ralph Lauren. But despite the expensive designer clothes and equally expensive New York sneakers, he hasn't much truck with Honex Corporation where, he is told after graduating, he will work for the rest of his days.

It may be comfortable, he thinks, but the corporation seems not exactly fastidious and the workforce, who simply die in harness, very likely to be bored to tears.

But after descending upon the world at large, he doesn't find it much better. In fact, he decides to sue the human race for stealing what the hive produces, wins the case and gets all the honey taken off our shelves. The flowers don't get pollinated in Central Park either and Sting, playing his cartoon self, is admonished in court for using a stage name filched from bee culture.

All this is well-animated in CG by Dreamworks, and directed by Simon Smith and Steve Hickner with some flourish and a fast pace.

But the wit is intermittent and the conception far less imaginatively handled than in Pixar's Ratatouille, possibly because there's a strict limit to the way you can actually make bees interesting. True, it was a good idea to have their antenna used as mobile phones and Barry batted to and fro stuck to a hard-hit tennis ball. But when Chris Rock appears as a fast-talking mosquito the relief is palpable.

Others involved include Renée Zellweger as a romantically-inclined florist who sympathises with our hero, Kathy Bates and Barry Levinson as Barry's parents, Matthew Broderick as his best friend and Larry King, parodying himself as L King Bee.

Quite a cast, and they do their considerable best as voices. But what's missing is the way Seinfeld orchestrated his television show which, out of virtually nothing, created memorable moments. There are a few here, but never enough.