I n 1912 in Germany, antisemitic writer Waldemar Bonsels published The Adventures of Maya the Bee, which later became a 1970s anime series in Japan called Maya the Honey Bee, and was later dubbed into English a couple of times, including for kids TV channel Nickelodeon in the 1990s and a bunch of films between 2014 and 2021 . Still with us? Recurring characters from the show include Arnie and Barney, a pair of dimwit ants, and now, at long last, they have their own spin-off movie.

The film opens very much in media res , with a young female bee flying through outer space clutching a small pig and droplet of water the size of her head. She’s being pursued aggressively by a handful of wasp-type creatures and a narrator solemnly intones: “Sometimes the most unlikely heroes … become legends.” The bee then stops next to a couple of red ants and asks what they’re doing.…