Maya the Bee (film)

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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
Edited byAdam Smith
Music byUte Engelhardt
Production
companies
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 computer-animated comedy adventure film directed by Alexs Stadermann, loosely based on the 1975 anime Maya the Bee as well as indirectly 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. But cute sweet little 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

Animation World Network announced in May 2013 that Universum Film would distribute 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; 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

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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.

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<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 the NET network, with which ABC is affiliated. 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.

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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.