Technical Artist Nicholas Silveira shares a Maya freeWare script that he created in Python that allows you to create and animate groups of cubes in a fashion that is similar to the types of things you would see in Cinema 4D. The Anim Block Tool will create any number of columns and rows of blocks and uses a measure of the distance between the main controller and the base of each block for moving the blocks up and down easily. The Anim Block Tool for Maya also has a collision option for rigid body animations.
Check out the Anim Block Tool for Maya Creates and Animates Motion-Graphic Like Blocks here.