Die Biene Maja – Der Kinofilm (2014)

Die Biene Maja – Der Kinofilm: Directed by Alexs Stadermann. With Richard Roxburgh, Noah Taylor, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jacki Weaver. Maya is a little bee with a big heart! Join her on an epic adventure.

“Itu0026#39;s hard for an small animation studio to compete with the likes of Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Universal and Warner Bros. You can either give your best shot at CG or go back to basics and try to impress with 2D or stop-motion. Director Alexs Stadermann, Studio 100 Animation and Buzz Studios chose the former. Based on a 78-episode TV series they released in 2012, the filmu0026#39;s budget is spread between countless characters and locations rather than cinematic detail to make it burst on the big screen. This is cookie cutter stuff. At least itu0026#39;s not bad choice for material, 100 year-old German literature figure Maya the Bee is well known and highly regarded – admittedly not to me until recently – but put to film it invites endless comparisons to the other CG bug movies such as A Bugu0026#39;s Life, Bee Movie, Antz and so on. This is familiar territory, and itu0026#39;s dead territory by now. Though in hindsight, these films were most likely inspired by the original Maya the Bee.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo, we have a precocious little bee called Maya exploring her hive and the outside world for the first time with inquisitive gleeful wonder. Unfortunately, this hive is a totalitarian society of militaristic conformism. Of course, Maya is the antithesis of them and the chosen one to ultimately change the attitudes of everyone simultaneously. Meanwhile, The Queenu0026#39;s adviser is trying to take over the throne by starving the Queen while sparking a turf war between a generations long conflict with bees and hornets. Also Maya befriends another bee eager to make friends and overcome his nerves, and they stumble upon a young hornet who has yet to learn his prejudices through propaganda. Then there are parties in the forest with other insects where they sing a random song about belonging lead by Maya the Beeu0026#39;s own Jiminy Cricket because why not at this point?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s bloated with subplots and relentless introductions of new characters. Itu0026#39;s not difficult to follow, and to writeru0026#39;s credit that despite the very liberal contrivances in the progressions, the story, themes and characters arcs flow fine if simply. The film is just an overload of clichés at a relentless pace. Every peril seems to last 15 seconds before itu0026#39;s overcome and we jump to the next plot line. It covers every cliché in the book without an original thought or personality of its own. All the comedy comes from dopey characters being dopey – or abysmal puns. While the stories do mesh together eventually, none of them have any impact or involvement. They could have benefited with some trimming and focusing. Perhaps The Fox and the Hound-esque one where the young Hornet and Maya learn hate is only taught would have been the most interesting and thoughtful to follow.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAt least it is a film – outside of that musical number – that takes itself seriously. But maybe thatu0026#39;s too seriously for its target market. Unfortunately, thereu0026#39;s no atmosphere in the animation. Yes, bug worlds give a good space for simple shapes and movements to animate. Photorealistic textures arenu0026#39;t 100% essential, A Bugu0026#39;s Life didnu0026#39;t try for it outside of landscapes, but Maya the Bee is so sterile. Itu0026#39;s the quality of a video game cut scene – from 10 years ago. Characters talk like theyu0026#39;re chewing on tough steak. The voice acting from notable stars such as Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jacki Weaver and Noah Taylor are serviceable and theyu0026#39;re definitely just names just to draw attention to the project. You wouldnu0026#39;t know it was them if you hadnu0026#39;t read the credits on the box. Kids will enjoy it and itu0026#39;ll keep their attention for all of its 80 minutes, if not be anything memorable. The brisk pace will make it an easy tune-out viewing for parents inflicted by the film, but most likely Maya the Bee will play better put back on television.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e5/10u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRead more @ The Awards Circuit (http://www.awardscircuit.com/)”