With his new show, Jorge Gutierrez wants Latino kids to know: 'You come from heroes'

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

A new animated series that drops today on Netflix is all about the adventures of a Latin American girl named Maya.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MAYA AND THE THREE")

ZOE SALDANA: (As Maya) Long, long ago, when magic turned the world - in a time some cannot remember but our hearts will never forget.

DETROW: "Maya And The Three" features a star-studded cast of Latino voices. And it was created by a husband-and-wife team. NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: "Maya And The Three" is set in a fictional Mesoamerican kingdom called Teca. Its 15-year-old princess, Maya, is a warrior. She even has a red stripe painted across her eyes.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MAYA AND THE THREE")

SALDANA: (As Maya) If it is to be, it is up to me.

DEL BARCO: Actress Zoe Saldana voices Maya, who goes on a quest to fulfill an ancient prophecy.

SALDANA: There are a lot of things about Maya that I remember being - independent and boisterous.

DEL BARCO: Maya's three brothers wear armor designed to look like jaguars. The triplets are voiced by actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MAYA AND THE THREE")

GAEL GARCIA BERNAL: (As The Jaguar Triplets) Lance ready. Shield ready.

(SOUNDBITE OF TIGER ROARING)

GARCIA BERNAL: (As The Jaguar Triplets) Tigers even readier.

DEL BARCO: The kingdom of Teca has pyramids an underworld and vengeful gods, including the God of war, of earthquakes, of bats and of wind and storm. They're voiced by Alfred Molina, Danny Trejo, Diego Luna, Kate del Castillo and Cheech Marin. Rosie Perez is the Goddess of Gators. And Rita Moreno is a goddess who leads Maya on her quest. It's an impressive who's who, says Saldana.

SALDANA: Oh, my God. How was he able to get so many Latinos in one room together? We should all do this more often.

DEL BARCO: It was artist, writer and director Jorge Gutierrez who brought them together for his epic story.

JORGE GUTIERREZ: I joke that it's a brown people "Lord Of The Rings." But it really is a fantasy adventure inspired by the Aztecs, the Mayans, Caribbean cultures of today and the Incas. But it's a story about this rebel girl who learns what it means to be a leader and a hero. And I've never seen, basically, a Mexican princess in movies and TV shows like this.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DEL BARCO: Gutierrez says he always loved mythology. The 46-year-old animator was born in Mexico City, where he visited the famous National Museum of Anthropology and its displays of ancient cultures.

GUTIERREZ: Being in that museum and seeing all those things as a kid, I went, we have all that. Then I remember going home, being super excited and telling my father all about it. And he said, yeah, Jorge, we come from the blood of warriors. And so that stayed with me.

DEL BARCO: Gutierrez says he was fascinated by images in the Popol Vuh, the sacred account of Mayan history and folklore. And as a teen, he visited the Machu Picchu ruins in Peru. For "Maya And The Three," Gutierrez adapted some traditional folkloric characters and created new ones. He mashed up his story with bits of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy stories and "The Wizard Of Oz." Gutierrez's wife, Sandra Equihua, designed some of the characters in "Maya And The Three." She says it's their fantasy version of ancient Latin America.

SANDRA EQUIHUA: We're not anthropologists. We're not historians. We're not trying to make a documentary. We're not going to be able to nail everything exactly on the head. So it's our love letter to it.

DEL BARCO: Gutierrez says he wanted Maya to be strong and powerful, not an object of desire, a prize or a witch, as women were depicted in some of the old myths. And Gutierrez had his own muses.

GUTIERREZ: I've been surrounded by warrior women my whole life, my sister, my mother and especially my wife, Sandra. And I met Sandra when she was a 17-year-old rebel. And so I said, this is it.

DEL BARCO: Gutierrez and Equihua met at a punk rock concert in Tijuana when they were both 17.

GUTIERREZ: One of my pitched to her was, if you and me get together, we're going to be the Diego Rivera and the Frida Kahlo of cartoons. I'm going to get super fat, and you're going to have a crazy eyebrow.

EQUIHUA: Jorge was just blasting out these zingers. And he was just funny from the start.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DEL BARCO: Together, they created cartoons for Nickelodeon. Such as "El Tigre: The Adventures Of Manny Rivera." And they both worked on Gutierrez's 2014 film "The Book Of Life."

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DEL BARCO: The Day of the Dead-themed movie featured the voices of Diego Luna and Zoe Saldana and many others who are also in "Maya And The Three." For this new series, Gutierrez and Equihua lent their voices to play Maya's parents, King and Queen Teca.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MAYA AND THE THREE")

EQUIHUA: (As Queen Teca, non-English language spoken).

GUTIERREZ: (As King Teca, Non-English language spoken). Maya's rebel fire burns bright, just like yours.

EQUIHUA: (As Queen Teca, laughter).

(SOUNDBITE OF COUPLE KISSING)

DEL BARCO: Gutierrez says "Maya And The Three" is part of their quest to represent Latinos on screen.

GUTIERREZ: Especially kids that don't get to see themselves as heroes and don't get to see themselves go on these epic quests and adventures. When you don't see that stuff growing up, you start to wonder, am I not meant for greatness? Am I not meant to be a hero? And I just hope that this is a reminder - not only are you all heroes, but you come from heroes.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MAYA AND THE THREE")

GUTIERREZ: (As King Teca) Go, Maya.

DEL BARCO: You can watch "Maya And The Three" in English, Spanish and 28 other languages.

Mandalit del Barco, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.