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Maya the Bee (film)

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Not to be confused with Bee Movie.

Maya the Bee
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlexs Stadermann
Screenplay by
  • Fin Edquist
  • Marcus Sauermann
Story byAlexs Stadermann
Based onMaya the Bee
by Waldemar Bonsels
Produced by
  • Thorsten Wegener
  • Barbara Stephen
Starring
Edited byAdam Smith
Music byUte Engelhardt
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 11 September 2014 (2014-09-11) (Germany)
  • 1 November 2014 (2014-11-01) (Australia)
Running time
88 minutes[5][6]
Countries
  • Germany
  • Australia
LanguageEnglish
Box office$29.6 million[7]

Maya the Bee (promoted theatrically as Maya the Bee Movie) is a 2014 animated comedy adventure film directed by Alexs Stadermann, loosely based on the 1975 anime Maya the Bee as well as indirectly on the German children's book The Adventures of Maya the Bee by Waldemar Bonsels. The first animated film in the Maya the Bee franchise, it was produced by Studio 100 Animation and Buzz Studios, and distributed by StudioCanal in Australia and by Universum Film in Germany. It features the voices of Coco Jack Gillies, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Noah Taylor, Richard Roxburgh, Jacki Weaver, Justine Clarke, The Umbilical Brothers, and Miriam Margolyes.

Maya the Bee was released theatrically on 4 September 2014. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but grossed $29.6 million worldwide. Two sequels to Maya the Bee were released: The Honey Games in 2018 and The Golden Orb in 2021.

Plot

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Maya is born in a world of rules, but when she discovers villainous Buzzlina Von Beena's plot to steal the Queen's royal jelly, Maya is banished from the hive and into the meadow. With her best friend Willy tagging along, Maya meets a young hornet named Sting. Together they have to stop the plot and the fight between bees and hornets before it's too late.

Voice cast

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Production

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Universum Film distributed all German rights of the film.[3][1] The film is directed by Alexs Stadermann, and produced by Patrick Elmendorff and Thorsten Wegener from Studio 100 Animation in Munich; and Jim Ballantine and Barbara Stephen from Buzz Studios in Sydney.[10][5] The film was produced in association with Flying Bark Productions and the channel ZDF.[11][12] This film was Coco Jack Gillies' film debut, voicing the role of Maya. Gillies was 9 years old at the time of production.[5][9]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 47% of 17 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.6/10.[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 49 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[14]

Frank Hatherley from Screen Daily stated that "this merry movie is for young children, mainly girls (note that this is an educated opinion): step aside, Dora the Explorer!" with vivid colours and plenty of unthreatening action. He also praised Coco Jack Gillies' performance as Maya.[5] Peter Debruge of Variety felt that the film was "innocuous and uninspired as preschool animation gets" and criticised the film's character designs as "rudimentary at best". However, he considered the film a "relief to parents exhausted by the overly antic quality of all those other bug stories" and praised the target audience's interest in Maya's interaction with the other insects outside of her beehive home. Debruge would later note that as one of Shout! Factory's catalogue titles, "it should do far better bzzness [in the North American market]."[15]

Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times also questioned the film's dialogue and ending scenes. He later said the film "embodies the kind of self-consciously uplifting treacle some adults insist kids want."[16] In his review for the Sydney Morning Herald, Jake Wilson called the film's plot a "wearyingly familiar story", but praised the animation as well as Maya's characterisation.[17]

Accolades

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Award Category Subject Result
Asia Pacific Screen Award Best Animated Feature Film Barbara Stephen & Thorsten Wegener Nominated
Bavarian Film Award Best Animated Film Patrick Elemendorff & Thorsten Wegener Won
Screen Producers Australia Award Best Feature Film Production Barbara Stephen & Thorsten Wegener Nominated
Seattle International Film Festival Youth Jury Award Alexs Stadermann Nominated
Stockholm International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Best Film Nominated

Sequel

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Main article: Maya the Bee: The Honey Games

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Jennifer Wolfe (20 May 2013). "Studio 100 Launches 'Maya the Bee' Animated Feature". Animation World Network. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. ^ "Maya the Bee Movie". Screen Australia. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  3. ^ a b Zahed, Ramin (8 November 2013). "Universum Buzzes with Studio 100's 'Maya the Bee'". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 November 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  4. ^ Groves, Don (3 November 2014). "Maya the Bee Movie, Aussie WW1 movie unleashed". If Magazine. The Intermedia Group. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d Frank Hatherley (24 October 2014). "Maya The Bee Movie". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Maya The Bee". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  7. ^ "MAYA THE BEE MOVIE". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  8. ^ Scott Roxborough (5 November 2014). "AFM: Shout! Takes 'Maya The Bee' for North America". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Everyone's favourite little bee Maya makes her big screen debut in Maya the Bee Movie". Flying Bark Productions. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  10. ^ Patrick Frater (10 November 2014). "Shout! Factory Takes North America on 'Maya The Bee Movie'". Variety. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  11. ^ Jerry Beck (18 January 2015). "TRAILER: "Maya The Bee"". Indiewire. Archived from the original on 20 June 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  12. ^ Etan Vlessing (8 May 2012). "Canada's Thunderbird Films Steers 'Maya the Bee' into North America". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  13. ^ "Maya the Bee". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on 19 January 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Maya the Bee". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  15. ^ Debruge, Peter (28 April 2025). "Film Review: 'Maya the Bee Movie'". Variety. Archived from the original on 28 January 2025. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  16. ^ Solomon, Charles (1 May 2015). "Review: 'Maya the Bee Movie': Little buzz for kids or grown-ups". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  17. ^ Wilson, Jake (14 September 2014). "Maya the Bee Movie review: Animated children's tale wearying familiar". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
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