Maya the Bee (film)

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Maya the Bee
Maya the Bee Movie.png
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlexs Stadermann
Written by
  • Fin Edquist
  • Marcus Sauermann
Based on Maya the Bee
by Waldemar Bonsels
Produced by
  • Barbara Stephen
  • Thorsten Wegener
Starring
Edited byAdam Smith
Music byUte Engelhardt
Production
companies
Studio 100 Film
Distributed by
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]

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

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Apocrita</span> Suborder of insects containing wasps, bees, and ants

    Apocrita is a suborder of insects in the order Hymenoptera. It includes wasps, bees, and ants, and consists of many families. It contains the most advanced hymenopterans and is distinguished from Symphyta by the narrow "waist" (petiole) formed between the first two segments of the actual abdomen; the first abdominal segment is fused to the thorax, and is called the propodeum. Therefore, it is general practice, when discussing the body of an apocritan in a technical sense, to refer to the mesosoma and metasoma rather than the "thorax" and "abdomen", respectively. The evolution of a constricted waist was an important adaption for the parasitoid lifestyle of the ancestral apocritan, allowing more maneuverability of the female's ovipositor. The ovipositor either extends freely or is retracted, and may be developed into a stinger for both defense and paralyzing prey. Larvae are legless and blind, and either feed inside a host or in a nest cell provisioned by their mothers.

    <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.

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    References

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    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.