And we will support that vision.’ Earlier in our career, it was always, ‘Whatever you guys make has to work for the U.S. “What Netflix has done with people like us is that they’re saying, ‘You can now make something authentic from your culture, and it’s for the whole world. This is “a golden time” for people working in animation, according to Gutiérrez, who credits Netflix with giving creators a global platform for telling their stories. And, through the power of Grayskull, we figured it out, and it’s flawless.” “Secretly, when I saw him,” Equihua said, “I was like, ‘I don’t know how that thing is going to move,’ but he had faith in it from the start and we had a really good team helping us out.

“Maya and the Three” villain Lord Mictlan (Alfred Molina) is a perfect example of Gutiérrez’s excess. “My philosophy on design is less is more, whereas Jorge’s is more is better - as you can clearly see from the series - but that juxtaposition really helps each other’s characters in development.” The pair has integrated “all the back-and-forth,” Equihua said. And my strength is females, cute kids… and Jorge is more about the men, the monsters, big, gnarly-looking creatures.” “Through a series of steps, we figured out that we should work with each other’s strengths. “It’s been trial and error with Jorge ever since we started working together,” she said. Now I want to do this all the time.”Įquihua and Gutiérrez divvied up the myriad character designs, including an entire pantheon of gods, for “Maya and the Three,” with Equihua taking on the children and female characters. This included playing with framing and aspect ratio in order to underscore big moments: a technique he had wanted to employ on “The Book of Life.” Extending the frame had become another tool in Gutiérrez’s arsenal, “just like we use music and sound and color to give the audience a little something extra, we use that too,” he added.

However, “Maya and the Three” finally offered Gutiérrez the chance to experiment with animation in ways that he wasn’t allowed previously. Gutiérrez’s vibrant 2014 Golden Globe-nominated feature, “The Book of Life,” took a spectacular dive into Día de los Muertos, receiving an Annie Award for character design. Fresh from CalArts, the duo landed on the scene in 2007 with Nickelodeon’s multi-Emmy Award-winning series “El Tigre,” an homage to Mexican Luchador culture wrapped in a family sitcom.

Maya and the three blender