La grande aventure de Maya l'abeille

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!

'Maya the Bee' Movie is a lovely and very sweet film for children (and children at heart) of all ages.

We are introduced to the uber colourful world of a sweet little bee called Maya. She is trying to find her way in the world, asking anyone and everyone she meets questions such as, "who am I?" and "where do I fit in?"; much the same questions as I'd imagine my 2 y.o. daughter will start asking sooner than I'd like!

Inquisitive little Maya just can't seem to stay out of trouble! Along the way, she meets all sorts of creatures in the meadow outside the hive, including Flip (voiced by the very handsome Aussie actor, Richard Roxburgh; check out the TV show 'Rake' all you mums out there ;) ), as well as an assortment of other cute, vibrant, and hilarious creatures and insects (loved the crazy-eyed ant soldiers, and the dung beetle- so funny).

I just loved this film. It's a really sweet, innocent, feel-good story, and what a treat to watch; the animation is just second to none- it really blew me away! You find yourself really immersed in the whole world that's been so deftly created and in Maya's quest to 'find herself'.

I highly recommend this film to any parents out there struggling to find movies for their kids to watch that are more than just the same-old wham-bam violent rubbish that I keep seeing around nowadays.

Go, Maya!!

A remarkably well paced beautifully animated whimsical feature with superb story progression and impeccable comedy timing, perfect for youngsters and adults alike.

I've caught snippets of the Maya TV show when my children were watching and thought it was rather sweet, but never paid much attention. Then along comes the movie. My perception of TV shows turned into feature length film's are less than stellar, often feeling like a padded out and an overly long TV episode. Maya the Bee movie firmly avoids this pitfall and feels like a stand alone tale anyone can enjoy. I frequently found myself mesmerized as though I was watching a top of their game Disney production, and I'm a 37 year old action movie loving dad!

Story: I won't dwell on it here, the IMDb covers it amply. Other than to say, though many of the topics have been covered before, it is refreshingly arranged and never feels rehashed or tiresome. There are also plenty of novel ideas making Maya a somewhat original tale.

Humour: The comedy in Maya is very slapstick and hilarious. I heard many younger and older kids in the theatre laughing over and over again (like myself) at many of the characters antics.

Violence: As another reviewer has stated there is absolutely no violence but there is threatened violence and a few mildly spooky scenes. But nothing feels out of place and any scariness is quickly exposed for what it is, misperception. The threatened violence equates to nothing more than a raised stern voice and dissatisfaction with another bug over a conflicting view or their prejudices.

Characterisation: The strong willed beautiful natured Maya. Her latently brave best friend Wily. Flip the Singing, wise, stand up comedian, Jiminy cricket channeling grass hopper. The portly fair Queen Bee. The dastardly treacherous Buzzlina Von Beena. And a slew of support cast some with prominent reoccurring roles.

Do yourself a favour, round up the kids and see this in the theatre. In a world full of violence it's great to see a movie being made which is able to tell a riveting tale of adventure, exploration,friendship, empathy, bullying, righteousness, misguided prejudice and tolerance. And still manages be absolutely riveting. It's utterly refreshing.

Maya is one of the most delightful and sparkling characters to come out of a kids film in a long time. In a way reminiscent of Miyazaki's youngest heroine's this little bee stands up to authority and keeps just asking questions.

The movie is spectacularly beautiful. There is a rich meadow world that comes alive. My two girls were spellbound for the whole film. The 4 year old can get scared easily in films (the poster of The Boxtrolls was enough to scare her) but she was happily cheering Maya on. The whole bug world comes alive in song and dance that is so charming - the girls were singing all afternoon.

There was enough humour for grownups too. There are a couple of ants (voiced by the Umbilical Bros) that really steal the show. Jackie Weaver as evil Buzzlina had just the right amount of scare and fun in her portrayal. The other voices, Richard Roxburgh and Noah Taylor, etc. did such a great job.

Take your kids, it's a great time at the movies.

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!