Maya the Bee

It has been suggested 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 the hive and the heroic deaths of bee officers are glorified, often in overtly militarist tones.[8]

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.

German director Wolfram Junghans made a 1924 silent version ("starring" real insects). The film was lost for a decade until the only original copy of the film was found in Finland.[9] The material was restored in 2005 with a new musical score and released on DVD in 2012, in collaboration with the KAVI and the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, and the film was screened in both Hamburg and Helsinki.[10][9]

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[11] and screened on television in various territories, including China, South Korea, Australia, Austria, Germany, Ireland, the United States, South Africa, Peru, Portugal, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Croatia, Chile, Israel, Italy, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 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.[12][13]

In 2012 Studio 100 Animation produced a 78-episode, 13-minute TV series.[14] The series was rendered in 3D CGI animation.[15] A second 52 episode season aired in 2017.

A 2014 film adaptation based upon the 2012 series was released.[16] In 2018, a sequel to the 2014 film, titled Maya the Bee: The Honey Games, released on March 1, 2018 in Germany and May 1, 2018 in United States. Then in 2021, an upcoming third film, titled Maya the Bee 3: The Golden Orb is scheduled to be released on January 7, 2021 in Australia and in Germany on January 28, 2021.

Maya the Bee also served as the basis for a children's opera written by the Croatian composer Bruno Bjelinski in 1963. In 2008 it was staged in Villach, Austria as part of their Carinthian Summer Music Festival.[17] This performance was distinguished by having the "bees" played by children and not professional opera singers as it is usually the case.[18]

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,[19] and was revived in 2012.[20]

On October 10, 2016, Belgian company Studio 100 (the current owners of the series) created a Flemish stage musical called "Maya en de Pollenbollen" based on the 2012 series that has the people dressed in costumes for the characters from the show. The show contains songs made by Studio 100 with a few news songs created exclusively for the show. The musical centers around Maya alongside Flip and Beatrice celebrating Willy's birthday. The musical later returned in the Spring of 2017.

Since 2016, live actors from the original stage show make numerous appearances at numerous stage shows and special events held by Sanrio 100. Notably Studio 100's annual "De Grote Sinterklaasshow" held from late November till early December featuring Sinterklaas and Zwarte Pieten watching various Studio 100 Characters (including Maya and friends) perform musical numbers on stage. The same actress that portrayed Maya in the musical is also the official Flemish voice of the character and reprised her role for Studio 100's "De Liedjestuin" where Maya is singing various Dutch children's songs and nursery rhymes. In The French and Walloon version "Le Jardin des Refrains", Maya is played by a different actress.