Wednesday, October 15, 2014

The Ladies of MAYA THE BEE!

http://www.shesfantastic.com/2014/10/the-ladies-of-maya-bee.html
Maya the Bee - Articulated 3.5" Figures - IMC Toys/Giochi Preziosi 2012

Welcome to my third Bee Week review!  When started to plan this series of reviews earlier this summer, the first "bee" girl I thought of was Maya.  She was originally presented in a German children's book from 1912 but really became the iconic character she is now when the animated series was created in 1975 (and was subsequently aired all over the globe for decades). These action figures are from her newest incarnation, the Studio 100 CGI animated series from 2012.  Maya is an inquisitive and adventurous little bee struggling to reign in her curiosities in a rigid and protected hive. She sneaks out of the hive to explore, makes friends, and often get into trouble.  It's a classic recipe for good children's storytelling a'la Curious George and Fraggle Rock.  I never thought I would find actual action figures for Maya.  Everything I've seen previously has been either plush or PVC.  I hit the Jackpot with these guys though.  Let's check them out in detail below!




We'll start with Maya herself.  My Maya figure came packaged in a tube with Lara.
 
 
Maya the Bee
The Adventurous Little Star of the Show


 


 







 
 
 
 
Lara the Ladybug
One of Maya's many friends from the meadow.  Lara is totally focused on her own beauty and talent.
 
 








 
 
 
 
 
 
The rest of the figures came in individual polybags
 
 
Miss Cassandra
The School Mistress at Maya's Hive.
 



 







 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Beatrice the Butterfly
Another of Maya's meadow friends
 




 







 
 
 
 
The Queen
The Monarch of the Hive (and Maya's secret exploring pal).
 




 









 







Here are an assortment of images of Maya and her Friends over the years.


 

 

 



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Time for a Group Shot!
 

 

 
 
 
Cheers!
 
 
 
 
 
 

7 comments:

  1. Those are amazing! I didn't even know there was a new cartoon, I loved the old cartoon though. Im going to have to add these to my out of control need list.

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    1. Glad you like them! I wasn't sure if this would be a popular post or not, but for me it was a no-brainer. I'm pretty sure the show is over. It's really hard to find detailed information on it which makes me think it was only popular in Europe. I found a lot of sellers from Israel sell these figures on ebay, must have been a popular show there. There was also a Movie released last month in Germany. Imdb already lists the English voices so I'm assuming it's available.

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  2. OMG, I loooove this. Must find them. Did they do the evil spider with the violin (she was called Tecla in Spain).
    Been looking for good figures of Maya. This are perfect for my cartoon nostalgia display ( with Vicky the Viking, smurfs,
    Barbapapas, Asterix, Penelope and Mutley etc.) thanx for the review!

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    1. I don't believe Tecla (or Arana) is even in the new cartoon. I believe the requisite spider character is a boy. The only good figures I've seen of Maya before these were simple PVC figures (of which I have a few displayed with my smurfs, astrosniks, and snorks). Here's a link to the Arana figure:: http://www.xescatoys.com/en/maya-the-bee/793-arana-maya-the-bee-figure.html I never heard of Vicky the Viking! She's so cool!

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    2. I was totally wrong. I thought the spider in the new cartoon was a boy, but it's "Thekla" http://www.maya.tv/en/character/thekla -- No toys though apparently.

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    3. Actually, whilst searching for this figures I found a box set that contains Thekla. It actually has all the classic characters, but not this new one from the updated version. So no snail, butterfly, etc. can't wait to get it. And it was cheap!

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    4. I saw that same auction you must have bought! very cool find. Although my bee week may be over, I still find myself looking for more potential figures.. haha I'm obsessed. I'll keep looking for Thekla loose :)

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