Maya and the Three’s big-nosed witch has a connection to Looney Tunes

Netflix animated series Maya and the three is a great fantasy epic set in a Mesoamerican-inspired world. Creators and husband and wife team Jorge Gutiérrez and Sandra Equihua were inspired by a variety of Mayan, Inca and Aztec myths and were visually inspired for their nine-episode animated epic, but from the beginning, they wanted to put a modern twist on the ancient. legends of heroes who venture into the underworld.

“How can I hack that myth?” Gutiérrez remembers asking. “In all the mythology I read, women tended to be the sleeping princess or the victim or the witch. How do we, with all due respect to mythology, change it to reflect today? ”

The modern update came not only on female leads like warrior princess Maya and skilled archer Chimi, but also on the specific aspect of the show. Although Gutiérrez and Equihua drew many of the mythological figures directly from the cultures they studied, as much as Gutiérrez drew on existing myth for his Animated film of 2014 Book of life – Much of your character design came from popular movies, television, and video games. That adds a distinctive modern twist to the otherwise timeless fantasy setting. Maya’s design, for example, was influenced by Chun Li de Street Fighter, with a splash of princess of Battle of the planets when it came to her warrior armor. The huge Picchu warrior had elements of Conan the Barbarian. Rooster Wizard Rico, meanwhile, was inspired by Gutiérrez’s favorite artist, Basquiat.

Image: Netflix

Yet one design really stands out among all mighty warriors: Gallo Island’s main witch, Grand Witch (voiced by Queen Latifah), with her twisted, immensely bulbous, and discolored nose. When asked about it during a press tour, Equihua burst out laughing before I finished asking the question.

“We had a great fight about it!” Equihua laughs.

As a result, while Equiha and Gutiérrez collaborated very well together throughout most of the show, this character’s nose ended up being a source of contention. Exaggerating Bruja’s nose was Gutiérrez’s way of paying homage to two of his biggest influences.

“I am a huge Looney Tunes lover. AND Witch hazel, the beautifully designed Witch Hazel, has a crazy nose. I love that design. And ‘Gran Brujah’ literally means ‘the great witch’ ”, explains Gutiérrez. “So when I designed it, I thought, ‘I’m going to make the biggest, craziest nose I can do.’ I also love Sergio Aragones, and he has a character named Groo. So I was basically inspired by those two things. I drew it, it was crazy. “

“Was double The size! “Equihua cuts him off.” She was literally dragging and I was like, ‘We are no I am going to do this. We are going to cut it! ‘And I cut it one day too long. Jorge almost threw my desk at me, he was so angry ”. She laughs. “And I was like, ‘You know what? Let’s get engaged and go halfway.’

In the end, the person who decided on the Grand Brujah look 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 this.’

Maya and the three is now available on Netflix.