Maya the Bee (2014 film)

Maya the Bee (promoted theatrically as Maya the Bee Movie) is a 2014 3D German-Australian computer-animated comedy adventure film directed by Alexs Stadermann, loosely based on the 1975 anime Maya the Honey Bee as well as indirectly the German children's book The Adventures of Maya the Bee by Waldemar Bonsels. It features the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, Noah Taylor, Richard Roxburgh, Jacki Weaver, The Umbilical Brothers, and Miriam Margolyes. It was released theatrically in Australia on 1 November 2014, and also in United States and Canada on 8 March 2015.

Summary
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

 * Coco Jack Gillies as Maya, a cute and tomboyish young bee girl.
 * Kodi Smit-McPhee as Willy, Maya's best friend.
 * Joel Franco as Sting, a young Hornet, Maya and Willy's best friend and sidekick
 * Richard Roxburgh as Flip, a grasshopper
 * Justine Clarke as Miss Cassandra, teacher at the bee school and Maya's mother figure
 * Jacki Weaver as Buzzlina Von Beena, the royal counselor of the beehive, Maya's arch-enemy.
 * Andy McPhee as Hank, the leader of hornets, Sting's father, Bees friends and former arch-rivals
 * Miriam Margolyes as The Queen, the leader of Bees (and current Hornets later on).
 * David Collins as Arnie, an ant soldier, Paul's right-hand
 * Shane Dundas as Barney, an ant soldier, Arnie's partner and Paul's right-hand
 * Jimmy James Eaton as Paul, an ant colonel, the leader of ants
 * Heather Mitchell as The Nurse, chief of the worker bees
 * Noah Taylor as Crawley, the hilariously bumbling of the beehive, The Queen's loyal assistant and Buzzlina's former henchman
 * Cameron Ralph as Momo, a moth
 * Glenn Fraser as Kurt, a dung beetle
 * Heather Mitchell as Thekla, a spider
 * Stavroula Mountzouris as Lara, a ladybug, Willy's love interest
 * Sam Haft as Drago, a dragonfly
 * Uncredited as Big Tongue, a Green Frog
 * Uncredited as Eek, a Bat

Production
Animation World Network announced in May 2013 that Universum Film would distribute all German rights of the film. The film is directed by Alexs Stadermann, and produced by Patrick Elmendorff and Thorsten Wegener from Studio 100 Animation; Jim Ballantine and Barbara Stephen from Buzz Studios. The film was produced in association with Flying Bark Productions and ZDF. This film was Coco Jack Gillies film debut as she voiced the role of Maya. Gillies was 9 years old at the time of production.

Reception
Maya the Bee received mixed reviews from critics, scoring a 44% in Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 5.6/10 as of May 2015. Frank Hatherley from Screen Daily stated that "this merry movie is for young children, mainly girls: step aside, Dora the Explorer!" with vivid colours and plenty of unthreatening action.