Maya the Bee (film)

Last updated

Maya the Bee
Maya the Bee Movie.png
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlexs Stadermann
Written byFin Edquist
Marcus Sauermann
Based on Maya the Bee
by Waldemar Bonsels
Produced byBarbara Stephen
Thorsten Wegener
Starring Jacki Weaver
Richard Roxburgh
Noah Taylor
Miriam Margolyes
Justine Clarke
Coco Jack Gillies
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Edited byAdam Smith
Music byUte Engelhardt
Production
companies
Studio 100 Film
Buzz Studios
Fish Blowing Bubbles
Flying Bark Productions
Screen Australia
Distributed by StudioCanal (Australia) [1]
Universum Film/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Germany) [2] [3]
Release dates
  • 11 September 2014 (2014-09-11)(Germany)
  • 1 November 2014 (2014-11-01)(Australia)
Running time
87 minutes [4]
CountriesGermany
Australia
LanguageEnglish
Box office$29.6 million [5] [lower-alpha 1]

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. 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.

Contents

Maya the Bee was released theatrically on 4 September 2014. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but grossed $29.6 million worldwide. [6] Two sequels to Maya the Bee were released: The Honey Games in 2018 and The Golden Orb in 2021.

Summary

Freshly hatched bee Maya is a little whirlwind and simply won't follow the rules of the hive. One of the rules, of course, she is not allowed to trust the other bugs, especially the hornets, that live beyond a camp in the meadow. Maya can't help but make friends with all kinds of other bugs, including a violin-playing grasshopper, a dung beetle and even a young hornet named Sting, who has a hatred of bees.

Voice cast

Production

Universum Film distributed all German rights of the film. [9] 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] [4] 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. [4] [8]

Reception

Maya the Bee received mixed reviews from critics, scoring a 47% in Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 5.59/10 from seventeen reviews. [6] 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. [4]

Accolades

AwardCategorySubjectResult
Asia Pacific Screen Award Best Animated Feature FilmBarbara Stephen & Thorsten WegenerNominated
Bavarian Film Award Best Animated FilmPatrick Elemendorff & Thorsten WegenerWon
Screen Producers Australia AwardBest Feature Film ProductionBarbara Stephen & Thorsten WegenerNominated
Seattle International Film Festival Youth Jury AwardAlexs StadermannNominated
Stockholm International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for Best FilmNominated

Sequel

See also

Notes

  1. As of November 2014.

Related Research Articles

<i>Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory</i> 1971 film by Mel Stuart

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 American musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart from a screenplay by Roald Dahl, based on his 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It stars Gene Wilder as chocolatier Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of a poor child named Charlie Bucket who, upon finding a Golden Ticket in a chocolate bar, wins the chance to visit Willy Wonka's chocolate factory along with four other children from around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maya the Bee</span> 1912 novel by Waldemar Bonsels

Maya the Bee is the main character in The Adventures of Maya the Bee, a German book written by Waldemar Bonsels and published in 1912. The book has been published in many other languages and adapted into different media. The first American edition was published in 1922 by Thomas Seltzer and illustrated by Homer Boss. The latter's wife Adele Szold-Seltzer (1876-1940), the daughter of Benjamin Szold and younger sister of Henrietta Szold, was the translator.

<i>Christine</i> (1983 film) 1983 film by John Carpenter

Christine is a 1983 American supernatural horror film co-scored and directed by John Carpenter and starring Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky and Harry Dean Stanton. The film also features supporting performances from Roberts Blossom and Kelly Preston.

<i>Bee Movie</i> 2007 DreamWorks Animation film

Bee Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and Columbus 81 Productions, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Directed by Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner from a screenplay by the writing team of Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Barry Marder and Andy Robin, it stars the voices of Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Patrick Warburton, and Chris Rock. The film centers on Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld), a honey bee who tries to sue the human race for exploiting bees after learning from his new florist friend Vanessa Bloome (Zellweger) that humans sell and consume honey.

<i>Maya the Honey Bee</i> Anime television series

Maya the Honey Bee is an anime television series produced first by Zuiyo Enterprise and Asahi Broadcasting Corporation of Osaka. After the first 6 episodes, Zuiyo Enterprise would split into Zuiyo Company and Nippon Animation, which retained the rights of the series. The series consisted of 52 episodes and was originally telecast from April 1975 to April 1976 on all ANN affiliates. Based on the classic children's book The Adventures of Maya the Bee by Waldemar Bonsels, the anime series has become extremely popular in Europe and has been rebroadcast in countries and languages all around the world since its premiere. A film edited from the first few episodes was released on 15 December 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kodi Smit-McPhee</span> Australian actor (born 1996)

Kodi Smit-McPhee is an Australian actor. He gained recognition as a child actor for his leading roles in The Road (2009) and Let Me In (2010). He provided the voice of the titular character in ParaNorman (2012) and appeared in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Alpha (2018), and Dark Phoenix (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wasp</span> Group of insects

A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey.

<i>Dead Europe</i> 2012 film

Dead Europe is a 2012 Australian drama film directed by Tony Krawitz. It is an adaptation of the 2005 novel by Christos Tsiolkas of the same name. The film has received mixed reviews.

<i>Young Ones</i> (film) 2014 film

Young Ones is a 2014 action science fiction film directed and written by Jake Paltrow. The film stars Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning, Michael Shannon and Kodi Smit-McPhee. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on 18 January 2014. The film was released on 17 October 2014 in the United States.

<i>Slow West</i> 2015 film by John Maclean

Slow West is a 2015 revisionist Western film written and directed by John Maclean in his directorial debut. It stars Kodi Smit-McPhee as a young Scotsman searching for his lost love in the American West, accompanied by a bounty hunter played by Michael Fassbender. It premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on 24 January 2015, where it was awarded the Sundance Institute's World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic Winner.

<i>A Birders Guide to Everything</i> 2013 American film

A Birder's Guide to Everything is a 2013 independent film starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alex Wolff, Michael Chen, Katie Chang, James Le Gros, Daniela Lavender and Sir Ben Kingsley. It was written by Rob Meyer and Luke Matheny and directed by Rob Meyer. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2013, and was released in a limited release and through video on demand on March 21, 2014, by Screen Media Films and Focus Features.

<i>The Wonders</i> (film) 2014 film

The Wonders is a 2014 internationally co-produced drama film directed by Alice Rohrwacher. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival; it won the Grand Prix.

<i>All the Wilderness</i> 2014 drama film directed by Michael Johnson

All the Wilderness is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Michael Johnson. The film stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, Virginia Madsen, Isabelle Fuhrman, Evan Ross and Danny DeVito. The film was released on February 20, 2015, by Screen Media Films.

<i>Blinky Bill the Movie</i> 2015 Australian film

Blinky Bill the Movie is a 2015 animated adventure comedy film based on the Blinky Bill character created by Dorothy Wall for a children's book series in 1933. The film was produced by Flying Bark Productions and partly distributed and co-produced by Assemblage Entertainment and Telegael.

<i>Maya the Bee: The Honey Games</i> 2018 animated film

Maya the Bee: The Honey Games is a 2018 animated comedy sports film directed by Noel Cleary, Sergio Delfino & Alexs Stadermann. Loosely based on characters from the 1975 anime Maya the Honey Bee and the German children's book The Adventures of Maya the Bee by Waldemar Bonsels, the film is a sequel to the 2014 film Maya the Bee and stars the original voice cast reprising their roles from the first film, with newcomers including Rupert Degas.

<i>Maya the Bee: The Golden Orb</i> 2021 animated film

Maya the Bee: The Golden Orb is a 2021 animated adventure comedy film directed by Noel Cleary.

<i>Memoir of a Snail</i> 2024 Australian film

Memoir of a Snail is a 2024 Australian adult stop-motion animated tragicomedy film written, produced and directed by Adam Elliot. It stars the voices of Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Eric Bana, Magda Szubanski, Dominique Pinon, Tony Armstrong, Nick Cave, and Jacki Weaver.

References

  1. Groves, Don (3 November 2014). "Maya the Bee Movie, Aussie WW1 movie unleashed". If Magazine . The Intermedia Group. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  2. "Maya the Bee Movie". Lumiere . European Audiovisual Observatory . Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  3. "Die Biene Maja - der Kinofilm (Die Biene...- 2014".
  4. 1 2 3 4 Frank Hatherley (24 October 2014). "Maya The Bee Movie". Screen Daily . Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  5. "MAYA THE BEE MOVIE". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Maya The Bee Movie (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  7. Scott Roxborough (5 November 2014). "AFM: Shout! Takes 'Maya The Bee' for North America". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "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.
  9. Jennifer Wolfe (20 May 2013). "Studio 100 Launches 'Maya the Bee' Animated Feature". Animation World Network . Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  10. Patrick Frater (10 November 2014). "Shout! Factory Takes North America on 'Maya The Bee Movie'". Variety . 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. Retrieved 21 January 2015.