As a parent, I find myself watching a lot of kids movies. The lessons involved normally fall within two categories. The first are life lessons aimed straight at the kid’s age. Normally preparing the kids for coping skills when they have to give up a pacifier or dealing a new baby in the house. You can call it kid stuff. The second category is preparing kids to understand bigger issues about society. This pretty much covers everything outside of the house and schoolyard. Maya the Bee2: The Honey Games gives little ones a sense of a large picture where a person can risk the community’s security in order to compete on a larger stage.
Turns out that this year’s harvest season hasn’t been great and there’s a chance that things won’t work out for Maya’s hive. They are going to have to eat light to make the stock last until the next harvest. Things seem on track when she gets to meet the Empress. Except instead of help, the Empress offers to let Maya and others participate in the Honey Games. This kinda sounds good except it requires risking a big chunk of the summer honey as the entry fee. Can Maya really risk the food security of the hive? If she doesn’t win, there’s a big chance the hive fails. If they do win, the bees will be sitting pretty for a while. What makes things extra risky is that Maya and her pals aren’t a threat to win. But she has a can do spirit and the reward is so great.
Maya The Bee 2: The Honey Games really does open up the subject of things a city or town does to survive and get noticed. Think of how many cities get tempted into building billion dollar sports stadiums for the sake of luring an NFL or baseball team to their city? Look today at how much money cities are spending to be the home of Amazon’s second headquarters. And how they’re willing to risk their financial stability to subsidize the project if they’re the “winners.” Is the risk really that great of a reward? There’s even a little subplot about how even if you’re the ultimate judge of an event, you need to reward the team that won and not just be arbitrary in declaring a victory to the team you like better. These are important real life issues that can be approached through the buzz of a bee.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic. The high resolution makes the bees look well rounded in their hive city. The audio is DTS-HD MA 5.1 with a buzz going around the sound system. The movie is subtitled.
Making of Maya The Bee 2 (14:47) lets kids know how much work it takes to make Maya fly around the screen. The cast and crew discuss their role in the cinematic magic.
Teaser Trailers (2:45) are the bugs and bees wanting to join Maya’s team for the Honey Games.
Theatrical Trailer (2:26) sets up the film for small kids.
DVD and Digital versions of the film.
Shout! Factory presents Maya The Bee 2: The Honey Games.. Directed by: Alexs Stadermann. Starring: Coco Jack Gillies & Richard Roxburgh. Running Time: 85 minutes. Rated: Not Rated. Released: May 1, 2018.
