Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this has been one of the most aggressively marketed animated movies in recent history. Jerry Seinfeld has left no promotional stone unturned, so chances are that if you've had NBC on in the house for more than 20 minutes, your kids have seen a commercial for this movie. The good news is that it's a film that even preschoolers can follow, and while there are a few tense moments (mostly involving Barry's pell-mell flights through Manhattan), there are no overarching villains or monsters -- or even that many pop-culture references to frighten or confuse kids. There are still a few jokes that will go over little heads, but they're mostly about things like being "Beeish" (the insect equivalent of being Jewish), Larry King, and the boredom of working too hard. Oh, and a mosquito makes a blood-sucking lawyer joke.
Sexual
Content
Barry daydreams about Vanessa; he and Vanessa spend a lot of time together, but they never have more than an interspecies friendship. Some mild innuendo that kids likely won't get (an older bee male talking about the time he dated a cricket, for example). Some jokes based on the idea of interspecies dating.
Violence
Barry imagines Vanessa crashing and blowing up. He also has a terrifying flight across Manhattan in which he's almost killed several times. Bugs on a windshield are wiped away for good (some already dead, some still alive). Bees in a honey farm are gassed with smoke by beekeepers.
Language
Mild: a mosquito makes a lawyer joke about blood-sucking parasites.
Social
Behavior
The bees at first rally together to reclaim their own honey but later realize their pivotal role in keeping the environment beautiful. Barry initially blows off his responsibilities in the hive but learns how important even the smallest job can be. Vanessa sticks up for Barry (before she even knows he can talk) and saves him from getting squashed, asserting the value of every creature's life. Ken behaves very childishly, but it's all played for laughs.
Consumerism
New York Post, Daily Variety, Timberland boots are all mentioned/featured. Lots of brand-name honey is featured, but all of the brands are fictional.
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
A passerby's unpleasant cigarette smoke inspires Barry's defense in his legal case. Billowing smoke from beekeepers' smoke guns.
