Maya the Bee

Maya the Bee (German: Die Biene Maja) is the main character in The Adventures of Maya the Bee, a German book, comic book series and animated television series, first written by Waldemar Bonsels and published in 1912. The book has been published in many other languages.

The stories revolve around a little bee named Maya and her friends Willy the bee, Flip the grasshopper (referred to as "Maja", "Willi" and "Philip" respectively in some versions), Mrs. Cassandra (Maya's teacher), and many other insects and other creatures. The book depicts Maya's development from an adventurous youngster to a responsible adult member of bee society.

Plot

Bonsels' original book contains fewer than 200 pages. The storyline is centered on the relation of Maya and her many adventures.

Maya is a bee born in a bee hive during internal unrest: the hive is dividing itself into two new colonies. Maya is raised by her teacher, Mrs. Cassandra. Despite Mrs. Cassandra's warnings, Maya wants to explore the wide world and commits the unforgivable crime of leaving the hive. During her adventures, Maya, now in exile, befriends other insects and braves dangers with them. In the climax of the book, Maya is taken prisoner by hornets, the bees' sworn enemies.

Prisoner of the hornets, Maya learns of a hornet plan to attack her native hive. Maya is faced with the decision to either return to hive and suffer her due punishment, saving the hive, or leaving the plan unannounced, saving herself but destroying the hive. As may be expected, Maya, after severe pondering, makes the decision to return. In the hive, she announces the coming attack and is, totally unexpectedly, pardoned. The forewarned bees triumph over the hornet attack force. Maya, now a heroine of the hive, becomes a teacher, like Mrs. Cassandra and shares her experiences and wisdom with the future generation.

Analysis of the book

It has been suggested by a modern critic that the book may have carried a political message, analogous to Jean de La Fontaine's or Ivan Krylov's work. According to this view, Maya represents the ideal citizen, and the beehive represents a well-organised militarist society. It has also elements of nationalism and speciesism. Maya gets angry in two instances. First, a grasshopper fails to distinguish between bees and wasps. Maya's verbal response includes calling the wasps "a useless gang of bandits" [Räubergeschlecht] that have no "home or faith" [Heimat und Glauben]. Second, a fly calls Maya an idiot, which prompts Maya to shout that she's going to teach "respect for bees" and to threaten the fly with her stinger. The critic interprets this to mean that respect is based on the threat of violence. Collectivism versus individualism is also a theme. Maya's independence and departure from the beehive is seen as reproachable, but it is atoned by her warning of the hornets' attack. This show of loyalty restores her position in the society. In the hornet attack part of the story, the bees' will to defend and the heroic deaths of bee officers are glorified, often in overtly militarist tones.^[1]

In the post-WWII adaptations, the militarist element was toned down considerably, the hornets' role reduced, and the character of Willy, a lazy and quite un-warlike drone bee, was introduced (he does not appear in the novel). In the cartoon series, the briskly marching, but ridiculously incompetent ant armies provide a parody of militarism.

Main characters

• Maya (or Maja) - Bee. The series main protagonist. She loves freedom, living in the meadow by herself unlike other bees who live in the hive. She is good, fair, happy and willing to help everybody. She was born in a bee hive. At the beginning of the third season Beeswax wanted Maya ejected from the hive, because he was worried that other bees would copy her behaviour. The Queen of the hive dissuaded him, after Maya saved her teacher Cassandra. Maya is very adventurous, and this often causes problems. For example, Maya got lost in underground corridors. Her appearance, in contrast to other anime characters, varies. In first season her head is rounded, but in second season it is oval. In the third season she is very slim, her head is rounded and she has longer antennae. Although Maya is a bee, she has wasp colours (yellow-black). Maya is the most popular and most influential person on the meadow. Her best friend is Willy and she does not like the spider Thekla. Her main enemies are wasps (mainly in third season) and hornets.
• Willy (or Willi) - Drone bee. Lazy, clumsy, and cowardly, sometimes a showoff, but generally good-natured - not featured in the original Bonsels story, but a major character in all spin-off media. His relationship to Maya is depicted inconsistently: in most adaptations, he's her best friend, who is in love with her, prone to jealousy when Maya's attentions turn to others. Often reluctantly dragged into adventures by Maya
• Flip (or Philip) - Grasshopper. A wise friend of Maya and Willi. Introduced first in the animated series. Whether he is meant to be identical with the unnamed grasshopper of the books is unclear.
• Alexander - mouse. Intellectual, whose level of respect among the other creatures, and close friendship with Maya, often sends Willy into jealous rages. Appears only in the second season of the older animated series (1978).
• Kurt - Dungbeetle who likes to be a "rose-beetle." His name is inconsistent in the English adaptation, as he's often referred to by the name Beasley in some episodes, and Kurt in others.
• Puck - Fly, who often educates the other insects about human lifestyles and behavior.
• Kassandra - Bee, Teacher at the Bee-School
• Thekla - spider and occasional villain. Referred to as Gremilda in some episodes of the English adaptation, and Grimelda in others.

Film and television series

1924 film

German director Wolfram Junghans made a 1924 silent version (“starring” real insects). It was restored in 2005.

1975 anime

Perhaps the most popular and widely known adaptation of the story is the Japanese anime Maya the Honey Bee (みつばちマーヤの冒険, Mitsubachi Māya no Bōken, "The Adventures of Maya the Honeybee"). Originally aired on Japanese TV in 1975, the anime has been dubbed into 42 languages^[2] and screened on television in various territories, including China, South Korea, Australia, Germany, Ireland, the United States, South Africa, Peru, Portugal, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Croatia, Chile, Israel, Iran, Italy, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia, Slovakia, Spain, Serbia, Finland, Poland, Ecuador, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Lebanon as "Zena", and Iran as "Nikoo" (نیکو). The Japanese TV series was preceded by Tokyo Kodomo Club's musical play based on the short story, presented as Mitsubachi Māya ("Maya the Honeybee"), distributed on a LP album.

The original theme was composed by Karel Svoboda and sung by Karel Gott in the German, Czech and Slovak versions; Zbigniew Wodecki in the Polish version.^[3][4]

2012 TV series / 2014 movie

In 2012 Studio 100 Animation produced a 78-episode, 13-minute TV series.^[5] The series was rendered in 3D CGI animation,^[6] and a 2014 film adaptation based upon the 2012 series was released.^[7]

Stage performances

Opera

Maya the Bee also served as the basis for a children's opera written by the Croatian composer Bruno Bjelinski in 1963. It was recently staged in Villach, Austria as part of their Carinthian Summer Music Festival.^[8] This performance was distinguished by having the "bees" played by children and not professional opera singers as it is usually the case.^[9]

Puppet musical

Singer-songwriter Nancy Harrow created a jazz-musical version of the story, called The Adventures of Maya the Bee, that featured puppets by Zofia Czechlewska. Harrow's adaptation was produced in New York City by The Culture Project in 2000,^[10] and was revived in 2012.^[11]

Video games

• Maya the Bee & Her Friends (Game Boy Color - 1999)

Developed by Crawfish, published by Acclaim.

• Maya the Bee - Garden Adventures (Game Boy Color - 2000)^[12]

Developed by Neon Studios, published by Acclaim.

• Maya the Bee and Friends (mobile – 2006)^[13]

Developed by Kiloo and co-published by Plan-B Media.

• Maya the Bee: The Great Adventure (Game Boy Advance – 2002)^[14]

Developed by Shin'en Multimedia, published by Acclaim.

• Maya the Bee: Sweet Gold (Game Boy Advance – 2005)^[15]

Developed by Shin'en Multimedia, published by Midway.

• The Bee Game (Game Boy Advance,^[16] Nintendo DS^[17] – 2007)^[18]

Developed by Independent Arts Software GmbH, published by Midway (based on previous work by Shin'en).

• Maya (Nintendo DS - 2013)

Developed by Studio 100, published by Bandai Namco Games Europe.

Merchandising

Many companies contributed worldwide to the success of the character by producing and selling merchandising. Most of them were drawn between 1976 and 1986 by the French licensed characters specialist André Roche.^[19] His works have included motifs for textiles, porcelain, books, comics and games, including a campaign for Kinder Surprise Eggs.

See also

• Maya the Honey Bee

References

External links

• Official website
• The Finnish Film Archive (November 23, 2005). "Esitykset: Maija Mehiläinen" (in Finnish). Retrieved Jan. 20, 2006.
• cinefest – International Festival of German Film Heritage. Retrieved Jan. 20, 2006.