The animated series from Netflix Maya and the three is a rousing fantasy epic set in a Mesoamerican-inspired world. Creators and husband-and-wife team Jorge Gutiérrez and Sandra Equihua drew from a variety of Mayan, Inca, and Aztec myths and visual inspiration for their nine-episode animated epic, but from the start they wanted the film to have a modern twist bestow ancient legends of heroes who dare to venture into the underworld.
“How do I hack this myth?” Gutiérrez remembers asking. “In all of the mythology I’ve read, women were more like the sleeping princess or the victim or the witch. How can we – with all due respect for mythology – change it to reflect it today? ”
The modern update came not only in female protagonists like the warrior princess Maya and the skillful archer Chimi, but also in the specific look of the show. While Gutiérrez and Equihua drew many of the mythological figures directly from the cultures they examined – just as Gutiérrez drew on existing myths for his Animated film 2014 Book of life – Much of her character design came from popular movies, television, and video games. This gives the otherwise timeless fantasy setting a distinctly modern touch. Maya’s design, for example, was made up of Chun Li Street fighter, with a shot of the Princess out Battle for the planets when it came to their warrior armor. The hulking warrior Picchu had elements of Conan the barbarian. The rooster wizard Rico, on the other hand, was inspired by Gutiérrez ‘favorite artist Basquiat.
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Image: Netflix
However, one design really stands out among all the mighty warriors: the head witch of Rooster Island, Gran Bruja (voiced by Queen Latifah), with her twisted, immensely bulbous, discolored nose. When asked about it on a press tour, Equihua burst into cackling laughter before I even finished the question.
“We argued so much about it!” Equihua laughs.
As it turns out, Equiha and Gutiérrez worked very well together for most of the show, but this character’s nose has been a source of contention. Exaggerating Bruja’s nose was the way Gutiérrez paid homage to two of his greatest influences.
“I’m a big Looney Tunes lover. and Witch hazel, the beautifully designed witch hazel, has a crazy nose. I love this design. And ‘Gran Brujah’ literally means ‘the great witch’ ”, explains Gutiérrez. “When I designed it, I thought, ‘I’m going to make the biggest, weirdest nose I can make.’ I also love Sergio Aragones and he has one Character named Groo
“It was double the size! “Equihua interrupts him.” It was literally Hauling it and I thought ‘we are’ not will do this. We’re going to hack it! ‘ And I hacked it a little too much one day. Jorge almost threw my desk at me, he was so angry. ”She laughs. “And I was like, ‘You know what, let’s just compromise and go halfway.'”
Ultimately, the person who determined Gran Brujah’s appearance was the voice actress herself: Queen Latifah.
“I showed it to Queen Latifah and told her the whole story,” says Gutiérrez. “And she says, ‘Oh yeah, man, I love that.'”
Maya and the three is now available on Netflix.
