Maya the Bee (film) should not be confused with Bee Movie.
| Maya the Bee | |
| Director: | Alexs Stadermann |
| Producer: | Barbara Stephen Thorsten Wegener |
| Based On: | Maya the Bee by Waldemar Bonsels |
| Starring: | Jacki Weaver Richard Roxburgh Noah Taylor Miriam Margolyes Justine Clarke Coco Jack Gillies Kodi Smit-McPhee |
| Music: | Ute Engelhardt |
| Editing: | Adam Smith |
| Studio: | Studio 100 Film Buzz Studios Fish Blowing Bubbles Flying Bark Productions Screen Australia |
| Distributor: | StudioCanal (Australia)[1] Universum Film/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Germany)[2] [3] |
| Runtime: | 87 minutes |
| Country: | Germany Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Gross: | $29.6 million |
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.
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.
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.
Universum Film distributed all German rights of the film.[5] 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.[6] [7] The film was produced in association with Flying Bark Productions and the channel ZDF.[8] [9] This film was Coco Jack Gillies' film debut, voicing the role of Maya. Gillies was 9 years old at the time of production.[10]
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.[11] 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.
| Award | Category | Subject | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia Pacific Screen Award | Best Animated Feature Film | Barbara Stephen & Thorsten Wegener | |
| Bavarian Film Award | Best Animated Film | Patrick Elemendorff & Thorsten Wegener | |
| Screen Producers Australia Award | Best Feature Film Production | Barbara Stephen & Thorsten Wegener | |
| Seattle International Film Festival | Youth Jury Award | Alexs Stadermann | |
| Stockholm International Film Festival | Grand Jury Prize for Best Film | ||
See main article: Maya the Bee: The Honey Games.