Maya the Bee Movie – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

Maya the Bee Movie

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2014

48%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A forgettable CGI bee movie that makes you appreciate DreamWorks' Bee Movie—and that's saying something.

50%

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Maya the Bee Movie

movie

G, 2014

48%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

A forgettable CGI bee movie that makes you appreciate DreamWorks' Bee Movie—and that's saying something.

50%

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50%

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Screenwise Verdict

Look, Maya the Bee Movie isn't going to harm your kid, but it's not going to delight them either. The ratings tell the story: critics were lukewarm, audiences were disappointed, and that 2.6 on Letterboxd is genuinely rough.

The movie has decent themes about friendship and challenging prejudice, but the execution is so generic and the animation so forgettable that it feels like direct-to-video fare that accidentally got a theatrical release. It's the kind of movie that exists purely to occupy 89 minutes of a preschooler's day.

If your 4-year-old stumbles across it on one of the dozen free streaming services it's available on, fine. But there are so many better animated options—even for the youngest viewers—that this should be pretty far down your queue. It's not offensively bad, just aggressively mediocre.

Age Fit

Best for ages 3-6 who aren't picky about animation quality. Older kids will find it boring, and even preschoolers might zone out. This is background noise territory for a rainy afternoon when you've exhausted better options.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

Features themes of friendship, cooperation, and challenging unfair rules. Maya's rebellion is about making friends across species lines rather than destructive behavior. The tone is gentle and kid-appropriate, though the animation quality and pacing feel dated even for 2014.

Imaginative

The premise of a bee befriending a hornet and other insects has some creative potential, but execution feels formulaic. The 'rebel who doesn't fit in' trope is well-worn territory. Limited evidence of truly original storytelling or world-building that would spark kids' creativity beyond the basic concept.

Safe

Common Sense Media rates it for age 4+, and content appears to be straightforward preschool-friendly fare. No concerning content flags in any reviews. The conflict involves bees vs. hornets but handled in a cartoon-safe way. Very predictable and safe viewing with no surprise scary moments or inappropriate content.

Enriching

Touches on themes of prejudice (bees vs. hornets), friendship across differences, and questioning authority. However, with a 50% critic score and 46% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the execution appears lackluster. The educational value about bees is minimal, and the entertainment value seems equally weak based on aggregated ratings.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

Completely safe for even very young kids—no scary moments or inappropriate content
Themes about friendship across differences and questioning unfair rules are developmentally appropriate
Available on tons of free streaming platforms, so at least you won't pay for the mediocrity
Short enough that it won't feel like a life sentence if your preschooler insists on it

⚠

What to Watch For

The animation quality is pretty rough even by 2014 standards—this looks budget
With a 46% audience score, most viewers found it boring; your kid might lose interest halfway through
It's based on a classic German children's character but this adaptation has none of the charm
The 'bees vs. hornets' conflict is the main tension, though handled very mildly

Conversation Starters

"Maya makes friends with bugs that other bees say are 'enemies.' Do you have friends who are different from you?"
"Why do you think the bees and hornets don't get along? Have you ever changed your mind about someone?"
"Maya doesn't always follow the rules. When is it okay to break rules, and when isn't it?"

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