Maya the Bee Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Maya the Bee Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

More like C+.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 12, 2015

Die Biene Maja has been a German publishing phenomenon for well over a century now, though some American audiences may only know of it through its relatively recent matriculation to the wild and wooly world of anime, courtesy of Nippon Television’s mid-seventies effort Maya the Bee. One of two English dubbed versions managed to make it to this side of the pond in the 1990s, when it became a stalwart of Nickelodeon’s Nick, Jr. channel. The oft told joke may be that it’s the cockroach who is able to survive all sorts of external trauma and tragedy (up to and including nuclear holocaust), but despite the collapse of apian colonies worldwide, Maya seems virtually immortal as well by this point, now moving on to feature film “stardom” in this slight but enjoyable (at least for the intended demographic) offering. Mixing these by now well known characters into an ecologically themed enterprise that may remind some viewers of other, bigger budgeted, outings like Epic 3D, Maya the Bee doesn’t have any outsized ambitions, concentrating instead on smaller scale character beats rather than overwhelming young eyes and ears with an onslaught of CGI visual wizardry and sonic overkill. Inoffensive if also rather unambitious, Maya the Bee should provide decent “babysitting” fodder for parents who want to plop their toddlers down in front of the television for just a bit more than an hour or so while they attend to other pursuits.

Maya (Coco Jack Gillies) is a rule breaker from the get go, attempting to get out of her gestational niche too early for the caretakers involved. Unfortunately for Maya, she has been born into a culture ordered by rules, something that those two caretakers try to impress upon the young girl, to no avail. Though they think they’ve re-enclosed her in a honey swathed crib of sorts, Maya’s inherent curiosity has already led her outside to a world full of adventures.

Almost immediately Maya runs afoul of Buzzlina von Beena (Jacki Weaver), the main assistant to the Queen (Miriam Margolyes), and a bee who does not take kindly to rule breakers. The Queen seems both bemused and charmed by Maya, though, simply telling Buzzlina to get the little girl off to school where she belongs. Of course that doesn’t happen, and instead Maya is off on a whirlwind trek through the meadow, where she’s eventually accompanied by her friend Willy (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and perhaps troublingly Sting (Joel Franco), a young hornet. Maya has found out that hornets are supposedly the most dastardly creatures in the meadow.

In a plot point that plays rather similarly to aspects of Epic, the Queen’s life is put in peril when Buzzlina decides to withhold royal jelly from the monarch, something that will ultimately kill the Queen, leaving Buzzlina free to impose her imperious will, which includes wiping out all hornets. Of course Maya finds out about the plot and works with her friends to abort it, while at the same time trying to fend off attacks from Sting’s family, who are in their own way as misinformed about the bees as the bees are about the hornets.

Things proceed pretty much as expected, with a couple of near scrapes and Maya getting into and out of various jams (and/or royal jellies). The film is a bit unambitious from a plot perspective, retreading ideas and storylines that have been told countless times before, but there’s a sweetness to the production which helps it overcome some of its more tired elements. Younger tots especially are sure to be delighted by the incredibly bright, vivid color scheme, as well as Maya’s spunky but non-threatening demeanor. Even the hornets come off as more goonish than downright menacing, meaning even the youngest, most impressionable, kids will probably not be going to bed screaming with anticipated nightmares after having spent a bit of time with Maya and her friends.

Maya the Bee Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Maya the Bee Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with both an AVC (2D) and MVC (3D) encoded 1080p presentation in 1.85:1. (The disc is authored so that any 3D compatible player will automatically default to the 3D version. The Setup Menu offers a choice to "turn off" 3D, making the 2D version accessible.) While the animation is minimalistic at times throughout Maya the Bee Movie, the film is filled to the brim with a really beautifully realized palette, one where bright primaries collide with more subtle pastel hues to create a really enjoyably colorful presentation. There's very little texture per se throughout the film, with faces looking rubbery and even elements like plants and creatures in the meadow seeming to have been constructed out of some shiny, smooth material. That said, the imagery is precise and sharp looking and has made the transition to Blu-ray disc without many problems other than occasional banding.

The 3D presentation is enjoyable, if not quite as "in your face" as the most hyperbolic American animated productions can be at times. Dimensionality and depth are regularly achieved with foreground objects (quite regularly out of focus) establishing scale while the "real" action plays out somewhat in the background. Some of the flying scenes provide good spatial reference points that help to establish depth within the frame.

Maya the Bee Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Maya the Bee Movie has a somewhat lackluster DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that certainly provides sufficient immersion in terms of ambient environmental sounds in and around the meadow, but which fails to really "wow" listeners with any showy effects. Voice work is enjoyable, if again somewhat lightweight, but is rendered cleanly and clearly. The fairly predictable sounding score is well placed throughout the surrounds. Fidelity is excellent on this problem free track.

Maya the Bee Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• An Interview with Maya (1080p; 2:41) offers the little bee recounting some of her adventures in the movie.


• Maya the Bee: "Dancing with Bees" Episode (1080p; 12:23) is from the latest television iteration of the venerable character.


• Blooper Reel (1080p; 1:25)


• Teaser (1080p; 00:46)


• Buzz Trailer (1080p; 2:06)


• International Trailer (1080p; 1:36)

Maya the Bee Movie 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Maya the Bee Movie is bright, colorful and completely predictable. Maya is a sweet and determined young character who may well inspire little girls to be what they want to be (no matter what their addlepated parents may insist), and the storyline has just enough tension to engage kids under the age of, say, seven or so. Pleasing but hardly groundbreaking animation helps to make this visually enjoyable, while the 3D presentation is very good if similarly unambitious. Parents looking for something both immediately accessible as well as perhaps a bit lesser known than typical multiplex fare may well want to check this out, even if it's not an all time classic. Technical merits are generally strong, and with caveats noted, Maya the Bee Movie comes Recommended.