Maya and the Three: Review
Jorge R. Gutierrez and his latest production, Maya and the Three, grabbed my interest since the new Netflix limited series was being covered here on Skwigly. Having heard of his previous Mexican inspired animated projects like the Nicktoon series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (2007 to 2008) and his Golden Globe nominated feature film debut The Book of Life (2014), I was excited to dive into what looked like a unique and colourful show for Netflix. I am happy to say that not only was it worth the wait, but it is easily one of my favourite shows this year.
On her coronation day, fifteen year old princess Maya (voiced by Zoe Saldana) gets an unexpected arrival from the gods of the underworld declaring that she must be sacrificed to the God of War (Alfred Molina) or otherwise the four kingdoms of their world will feel his tyrannical wrath. In order to stop the gods and their wicked plan, Maya sets out on a quest to fulfil a prophecy and unite with a warrior from each kingdom in order to save her family and humankind.
While the plot may be a simple one, it’s characters and the foes they face along their journey are given great dimensions and arcs that make them all endearing. From Maya becoming more mature as the threat to her kingdom becomes imminent to the three other warriors Rico (Allen Maldonado) , Chimi (Stephanie Beatriz) and Pichu (Gabriel Iglesias) having surprisingly dark and dramatic backstories that they must resolve, it makes the story and it’s twists along the way that much more gripping and engaging. Even if the script uses some familiar tropes we’ve seen before in other animated projects like Pichu being the strong yet naive warrior, introduction titles for each character or lines from famous films, it doesn’t hinder the series as the team of writers (including Gutierrez himself) and the voice cast do a brilliant job at making the characters likeable from the first to the last episode.
MAYA AND THE THREE (L to R) GABRIEL IGLESIAS as PICCHU, ZOE SALDAÑA as PRINCESS MAYA, ALLEN MALDONADO as RICO and STEPHANIE BEATRIZ as CHIMI in MAYA AND THE THREE Cr. NETFLIX © 2021
As for the animation, it’s just nothing but spectacular and consistent throughout the nine episode run.
The animators were able to use mythology from Aztec, Inca and Maya cultures to make each kingdom, their inhabitants and even the main cast feel unique and vibrant and they did a brilliant job at creating so much variety and spectacle that I could have easily enjoyed watching all day. They should be proud that they were able to accomplish to make series stand tall among a plethora of animated titles dominating the multiple television and streaming services and use its inspiration of Mesoamerica effectively.
As for the main characters, each one was given immaculate care to detail and the animators behind them really did pay attention to detail on the performances from the voice cast. Their facial expressions, body language and choreography made them and their personal journeys under Gutierrez’s direction that much more compelling.
MAYA AND THE THREE (L to R) ZOE SALDAÑA as PRINCESS MAYA and ALLEN MALDONADO as RICO in MAYA AND THE THREE Cr. NETFLIX © 2021
Maya and the Three is a brilliant limited series that audiences young and old will undoubtedly enjoy. The Mesoamerican inspired fantastical world is very pleasing to the eyes and I hope that Netflix and Gutierrez collaborate again as this was an enjoyable binge from start to finish.
Maya and the Three is available on Netflix from 22nd October 2021.