Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Maya And The Three’ On Netflix, About A Mesoamerican Teen Princess Who Fights The Forces Of Evil — And Sexism

Most of the fantasy cartoons we’ve seen in our lifetimes have been very, very white. But there are legends — including ones made up by fiction writers — that abound all over the planet, and they’re fascinating. A new animated series bases its story on Mesoamerican art depicting gods and warriors. But do any of those works have a teenage warrior princess at its center?

MAYA AND THE THREE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: An animation in the style of Southwestern drawings depicts the story of the Kingdom of Teca, and the legend that “a mighty eagle and three courageous jaguars” will defeat all the evil in the world.

The Gist: It’s the day of coronation for Princess Maya (Zoe Saldaña), but she is nowhere to be found, either by her father the King (Jorge R. Gutiérrez) or her brothers, the Jaguars (all voiced by Gael Garcia Bernal). The queen (Sandra Equihua) lets them all know that Maya has decided to spend her quinceañera elsewhere.

We then see Maya in a fighting arena taking on an opponent many times her size — and beating the snot out of him. In the process, though, she gets her shoulder dislocated and sports a shiner. One person who takes interest is an old lady named Ah Puch (Rita Moreno). Maya’s mother does her best to get her ready for her coronation, something that Maya wants no part of. Her dad seems to revel in her fighting spirit, but then backtracks when the queen shoots him a dirty look.

He tells Maya once again about “the prophecy” about the eagle and the jaguars (her brothers) defeating evil, and she doesn’t seem to buy it anymore, especially if she can’t be allowed to be the Eagle Warrior in the story. The queen declares that “Maya will never fight again.”

During her coronation ceremony, attended by royalty from faraway kingdoms, an uninvited guest arrives: Zatz, the Prince of Bats (Diego Luna), has come to take Maya back to the God of War, Lord Mictlan (Alfred Molina). Lady Micte (Kate del Castillo) is Maya’s true mother, and she wants Maya back in the underworld, where she’ll be sacrificed.

Maya wants to fight Zatz and his massive stone battlers, but the king and queen tell her to stay back while the king and the jaguars do their thing. Zatz leaves before they can finish the job, and the kingdom declares war, which plays right into Lord Mictlan’s hands.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? In a lot of ways, Maya And The Three is a Mesoamerican take on He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe.

Our Take: Maya And The Three was created by Jorge R. Gutiérrez (El Tigre) based on the Mesoamerican art that he grew up with, depicting various gods, royalty, and battles for humankind’s very existence. What he’s creating with this series is a world that blends adventure, amazing fight scenes, and just enough goofiness to keep its target audience from getting bored.

He stacks the deck with an all-star roster of voices, starting with Saldaña as Maya and Bernal taking on all three of her lunkheaded brothers. As Maya’s journey to defeat the God of Evil continues, we’ll hear Gabriel Iglesias, Queen Latifah, Danny Trejo, Allan Maldonado, Stephanie Beatriz, Wyclef Jean, Cheech Marin, Rosie Perez and more.

The roster of guest voices suggests to us that Maya will find many people to help — and hinder — her as she makes her way through the Endless Forest. And Molina is excellently creepy as the God of War, who seems to cackle at the notion that the soldiers from Teca can defeat him.

Maya And The Three takes the standard fantasy superhero story and turns it on its ear by marrying it with Mexican legends, whether they’re actual legends handed down over the millennia or ones that Gutiérrez created himself. Along with the colorful CGI animation, it lends an air of novelty to a story that has been told in one form or another — and in one culture or another — as long as stories have been told.

What Age Group Is This For?: The show is rated TV-Y7, with a lot of fantasy violence. We’re thinking that the rating is right on the money, or maybe even a little early in its assessment; kids 8 and up will enjoy it the most.

Parting Shot: Mictlan floats out of his castle, telling his “beloved” that “tonight, I meet an old acquaintance of yours”, meaning her “half-breed daughter” Maya.

Sleeper Star: We’ll give this to both Molina, who has been doing roles like this forever, and Bernal, who is always funnier than we expect him to be in any of his roles.

Most Pilot-y Line: The king’s battle cat, Chiapa, is easily distracted by a ball of yarn. Well, he is a cat, after all. It was a cute gag but a bit goofy.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Maya And The Three works on two levels: Battle scenes and colorful animation for the kids, goofy jokes and a good story for the adults.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.

Stream Maya And The Three On Netflix