Bumblebee: Transformers for the Whole Family

Bumblebee

Directed by Travis Knight
Written by Christina Hodson

The review:

God bless Travis Knight and Christina Hodson for creating a gem that manages to combine robot cars,* a coming of age story, lots of humor, and 80s pop cultural markers to make a delightful cross-generational film. Hailee Steinfeld is excellent as the mechanically minded Charlie, still grieving her dad’s death. But the digital artists who created Bumblebee also deserve many kudos for creating such a nuanced character.**

The verdict: Good

Cost: $1.80 via Redbox
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

• Inside Out
• Moana
• Akeelah and the Bee
• Whale Rider
• The Iron Giant

Further sentences:

*This is my first Transformers movie, and it was a good first-of-series choice.
**Bumblebee inside the house is one of the most amusing scenes of this summer’s movie watching.

Questions:

• Why could some transformers turn into vehicles that fly, but some could not?
• What’s your favorite scene with Bumblebee?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Bumblebee’s model is a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle with bumpers, available only for export. The yellow color was also only available for the export version Volkswagens as the color in Germany was used by the then-state-owned German Postal Service (Deutsche Bundespost).

Other reviews of Bumblebee:

• Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
• Liz Shannon Miller, Indiewire