Barry B. Benson

“	Ya like Jazz?	„
	― Barry Benson's iconic quote.

Barry B. Benson is the main character of Bee Movie, living in a hive located in Sheep Meadow, Central Park, New York City. Voiced by Jerry Seinfeld, Barry stands out as a unique bee with his ability to surf and his signature style: a black-and-yellow striped turtleneck sweater and shoes resembling Converse sneakers. His character embodies a mix of adventurous spirit and humor, making him both relatable and distinct in the bee world. He is the son of Janet and Martin Benson.

Names	Bartholomew Bailey Benson, Barry
Gender	Male
Race	European Honeybee
Occupation	Lawyer, Pollen Jock
Origin	Bee Movie (October 25, 2007 (New York City))
Alignment	Good
Age	Likely 21 days old (Physically a young adult at the start of the movie, became a Pollen Jock at the end of the movie)
Created By	Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Barry Marder, Andy Robin
Height	1.27- 1.524cm (0.5-0.6in)
Weight	0.16 grams (0.00564383 oz)

Appearance

Barry has the typical black-and-yellow bee coloration but adds his own flair to his look. He wears a striped black-and-yellow turtleneck sweater that emphasizes his personality, along with distinctive shoes resembling Converse sneakers, setting him apart from the usual bee appearance. His expressive face, with large eyes and a cheerful smile, adds to his friendly and approachable vibe.

Personality

Barry is curious, adventurous, and questions the status quo, particularly the monotonous life of a worker bee. He’s brave, daring to explore outside the hive, and also witty, often showing a playful sense of humor. Though sometimes naïve, he’s open-minded and willing to learn from new experiences, especially after meeting humans. His passion for fairness and justice ultimately leads him to take on a groundbreaking lawsuit against humanity to protect his fellow bees, showing his strong sense of responsibility and loyalty to his kind.

Biography

Barry’s education consists of a unique three-day journey at each level: grade school, high school, and college. This brief yet comprehensive schooling grants him the highest degree a bee can attain. He even took a “gap day” to hitchhike around the hive, an experience that seemed to broaden his perspective, as noted by his close friend Adam Flayman, who remarked, “You did come back different.”

Right after graduation, Barry and Adam toured Honex Industries, where they were introduced to the reality of a bee's life: choosing a single job to perform for the rest of their lives. Faced with this expectation of lifelong work, Barry began to question whether there was more to life beyond the confines of pre-defined, unchanging roles.

Later that day, Barry and Adam observed the Pollen Jocks returning from a mission, impressing the onlookers with their pollen-laden return. Intrigued, Barry approached the group to impress two onlooking ladies, only to be playfully teased by the Pollen Jocks. That evening, Barry’s father, proud of his role as a honey stirrer, tried to instill in Barry the importance of choosing a job soon, adding to Barry's sense of pressure.

The next morning, Barry and Adam returned to Honex to select their roles, but Barry impulsively slipped away to the flight deck and joined the Pollen Jocks on a mission outside the hive. Amazed by the vast world and exhilarated by the freedom of flight, Barry realized he’d only glimpsed a fraction of what life had to offer.

During the mission, Barry’s curiosity led him to investigate what he thought were yellow daisies, only to discover they were tennis balls. Barry got stuck on one, which happened to be in use by Vanessa Bloome and her boyfriend, Ken. Despite the chaos as the ball was batted around, Barry survived the ordeal, narrowly escaping being squashed. A missed swing sent Barry and the ball flying into traffic, where he narrowly avoided danger yet again—first by being sucked through a car engine, then by encountering hostile humans inside the car.

Finally escaping, Barry found himself in awe of the towering buildings around him. But before he could fully absorb the wonders of this new environment, the forecasted rain began, marking another challenge in his adventure.

As rain begins to fall, Barry scrambles for shelter and crash-lands inside an open window, finding himself in unfamiliar human territory. Coincidentally, he’s landed in the apartment of Vanessa Bloome, the same woman he encountered during the tennis incident. Vanessa’s boyfriend, Ken, unknowingly traps Barry inside by closing the window. Distracted by Ken’s odd resume, Barry is puzzled by human behavior but focuses on finding an escape. Mistaking a lightbulb for the sun, Barry accidentally flies into it and ends up in a bowl of guacamole.

One of Ken's friends nearly eats Barry, scooping him up with a chip. Ken spots Barry just in time and yells, "Wait! Stop! Bee!" In an attempt to be heroic, Ken tries to kill Barry with his Timberland boots, but Vanessa intervenes, scolding Ken and trapping Barry under a glass. She then uses a piece of Ken's resume to release Barry outside, sparing his life. During this brief interaction, Barry finds himself unexpectedly drawn to Vanessa, sparking his fascination with humans.

After this encounter, Barry and Vanessa share a conversation over coffee on her rooftop, leading to a unique friendship. This conversation reveals Barry's extraordinary ability to communicate with humans, opening a new chapter in his life.

While exploring the human world, Barry is shocked to see honey being sold in stores and learns that bees were never consulted or informed about this exploitation. Outraged, he decides to sue the human race for years of honey theft and abuse.

Barry wins the lawsuit, but the victory leads to unexpected consequences. The bees now have a massive stockpile of honey and stop production entirely, leading to a halt in pollination. Without bees spreading pollen, plants around the world begin to wither. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Barry feels responsible and teams up with Vanessa to save the planet's plant life. They hatch a plan to transport the last remaining flowers from the Tournament of Roses to the Pollen Jocks so they can resume pollination and revive the world's flora.

By the end, Barry finds a new calling as both a Pollen Jock and an advocate for other animals exploited for their products, such as cows for milk. His journey not only reshapes his view of the human world but also his role within it, blending his love for adventure with a newfound purpose.

Powers and Statistics

Tier: 11-A

Powers and Abilities: Small Size (Type 2), Flight, Bodlily Weaponry, Poison Manipulation (Can inject poison with his stinger), Weapon Mastery (Can use his stinger like a sword), Enhanced Senses (Can wield special glasses to easily detect pollen and other bees)

Attack Potency: Insect level (Can harm others that can harm him, likely comparable to real-life bees)

Speed: Superhuman (Can keep up with cars)

Lifting Strength: Insect level (Can fly while carrying up to his whole body weight and pollen)

Striking Strength: Insect level

Durability: Insect level (Stated that he can survive up to about 70-paged rolled paper flicks from humans, likely comparable to real-life bees)

Stamina: Superhuman (Helped carry pollen across the US to regrow all of the plants in a short amount of time, possibly carried pollen across the whole world as well)

Range: Below Standard Melee Range

Standard Equipment: Pollen Jock uniform

Intelligence: Gifted (Bees are just as intelligent as humans and they also hold the secret formula to the creation of honey. Graduated grade school, high school, and college all in nine days. After discovering the truth of humanity's thousand-year enslavement of bees, mistreatment of his species, and theft of their honey, he teamed up with Vanessa and Adam, and together they won the lawsuit against humanity. He later became an attorney for other animals who have been duped out of their products by humans)

Weaknesses: His wings are easily weighed down by water and will likely die shortly after his stinger is removed.

Trivia

• In the movie, several aspects of bee biology are adjusted for storytelling. While Barry and most male bees in the film have stingers, only female bees have stingers in real life, with male bees (or drones) typically focused on two jobs: mating with the queen and then dying, while female workers handle pollination and gathering nectar.
• Barry’s humorous remark about his black-and-yellow wardrobe, despite all the clothes looking identical, adds to the film's playful take on bee culture.
• In the video game adaptation, players can see Barry reimagined in forms other than a bee, such as a fly, dragonfly, wasp, and hornet, showcasing alternative insect designs that add a fun twist to his character beyond his bee identity.