Maya the Bee Movie (2015)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Maya the Bee is an excellent role model for little girls and boys because she teaches everyone the importance of tolerance and the fact that it's OK to be different! What a great representation of the kind of soul we all wish to be.The Australian voices were very well played; it was really nice to hear an Australian accent for the main character. Plus Richard Roxburgh was super charming as the cockney grasshopper Flip. Jacquie Weaver clearly had a lot of fun playing the villain.Kids will get a kick out of this film and their parents and grandparents will love it too!

My kids LOVED IT! By kids I mean my Niece and Nephew. They've been recently introduced to Maya the Bee through the TV show, and we were lucky enough to score some tickets to the premiere in Sydney and it was a brilliant day for us. My Niece is 5 and wanted me to find the song on YouTube which we did and she was singing it all the way home in the car - very catchy! This movie is 80 minutes long (I think) and they sat through it with great excitement and really connected to the characters.They loved the ants - won't go into any spoilers but it was a really funny movie and I could hear some cackle from all the grown ups. They went up to the front to dance to the song, although it was too short! The sad moments were quite sad, but needed to form an engaging story. I have German friends who tell me she is their Mickey Mouse and I think she's definitely a character they're growing attached to! So proud this was made in Australia - bring on the Aussie talent!

I loved this film. The story was great, the characters were lovable and I thought the message of the film (be yourself and just because someone is different from you doesn't mean you can't be friends) was a great one for little kids. It never resorted to being too corny either which I appreciated. The voice actors did a great job and the whole cinema was laughing out loud in parts (the ant soldiers played by the umbilical brothers were particularly great). I even got a little teary near the end! A movie that is enjoyable for both kids and parents a like. I think the crew and the director did a fantastic job and I would recommend this to anyone with little ones in their life. Maya the bee is this year's Finding Nemo!

I have to say I am a bit disappointed with the outcome of this new Bee Maya movie. As long as the character exists and children love her, she would have deserved a film that could also appeal to grown-ups today who appreciated the little bee when they were kids. However, this is a movie for small kids only I'd say who suck up the action and animation without asking too many questions. I watched the German version, so I cannot really comment on the English-language voice actors, but I was fairly unimpressed with the German voice actors. This looked a bit like a Hagen family project including Eva Maria (as the queen), her daughter rock singer Nina (as the villain, good villain voice, but always the same) and Nina's daughter Cosma Shiva. The only one I liked was rap musician Jan Delay whose voice seemed very fitting for Willi.Director Alexs Stadermann has mostly worked on animated TV series and sequels to famous Disney movies (Jungle Book, Lion King, Cinderella, Tarzan). His work here unfortunately reflects his body of work. There is nothing really new or impactful about this film. Pure mediocrity and I cannot recommend it. I hope it will not be too long till the next Bee Maya film and this one will be better. Finally, I am not sure if the title was intended as a B-movie wordplay, but if it was, it has been done before and it was not particularly funny there, so stop with these please.