How Jerry Seinfeld Tricked Chris Rock Into Starring In Bee Movie

Jerry Seinfeld's crowning achievement was not his '90s sitcom "Seinfeld," but his 2007 animated comedy film "Bee Movie," which tells the groundbreaking story of a talking honeybee who somehow seduces a human woman. Seinfeld's second-best achievement was when he tricked comedian Chris Rock into playing a mosquito named Mooseblood in that same film; it was a role that Rock didn't seem too interested in, at least if Rock's words in a 2007 interview are to be believed. 

"He told me what it was, but he actually told me [Director Steven] Spielberg was going to be in it and when I get there, there is no Spielberg," Rock explained. "So, he kind of owes me. I don't know how. I'm just gonna hold on to that chip and just figure out when I get to cash it in."

Of course, Chris Rock was just one of many celebrities who were inexplicably involved in "Bee Movie." Joining him on the film's roster were Ray Liotta and Sting playing themselves, John Goodman playing the sleazeball layer, Oprah Winfrey as Judge Bumbleton, and Patrick Warburton as the guy who gets cuckolded by a bee. It was a wild, star-studded movie, one that certainly didn't harm Chris Rock's career trajectory. It also wouldn't be the last time Seinfeld led something this silly.

"'Bee Movie' is pretty good," Rock said in that same interview. "It's like a little better than 'Shrek.'"

Mooseblood's role in "Bee Movie" is pretty brief. He meets Barry while traveling on a truck that's transporting honey. They chat for a bit before Mooseblood spots a truck transporting blood and decides to jump over to that vehicle instead. (He's greeted by a bunch of other friendly mosquitos.) Mooseblood's true contribution to the film is a thematic one: he's there to subtly lay the groundwork for the movie's main thesis, that moderation is the best policy for most issues. 

Barry will later learn that while humans exploiting bees is wrong, it's also not a good idea to cut humans off from honey altogether, as that will lead to the bees getting lazy and the flowers across the world no longer getting the pollination they need. For this scene, however, Barry is simply introduced to the life of a mosquito; whereas bees live in overly tight-knit, collectivist communities, mosquito society is a libertarian dream, with "every mosquito on his own." Neither lifestyle is completely satisfactory, the movie argues; much like a compromise between humans and bees, a middle ground between the bee and mosquito lifestyles would be best for both Mooseblood and Barry.

Mooseblood pops up later in the film for a light joke about him becoming a lawyer. "I was already a blood-sucking parasite," he tells his new client, "All I needed was the briefcase." It's a cynical joke, sure, but it's an optimistic note for Mooseblood's character to end on. Much like how Barry finds a healthy compromise between total bee subservience and total bee freedom, Mooseblood finds a way to help other people while staying true to his individualistic mosquito code. It may not be honey, but Mooseblood's ending sure is sweet.