Y tu Luna también: Maya and the Three: Episode 1 – “Quinceañera” (2021)

*Premise spoilers.*

I’ve seen this miniseries more than once since it first came out, and I’m pleased to be watching it again for Y tu Luna también. Even though I know episode 1 isn’t as strong as what follows, it’s still a solid, entertaining start to a fantastic series.

In the Mesoamerican-inspired kingdom of Teca, Princess Maya longs to be a warrior like her father and three older brothers. But on the dawn of her coronation on her quinceañera, she seems fated to wind up a diplomat like her mother, a destiny she fights against with every ounce of her being. However, her coronation is interrupted by a messenger from the gods, with a pronouncement that upends Maya’s life and points to the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy.

Maya and the Three comes from the mind of Jorge R. Gutiérrez, who made The Book of Life. It’s immediately easy to see his fingerprints on the miniseries. The animation style is similar, with wild proportions like some characters with shoulders three times as broad as their waists and another with a nose like a tree branch. In this one, though, the Mesoamerican detailing in the architecture, clothing, and face paint is exquisite—Maya’s coronation outfit is one of my favorite “overly-elaborate princess dresses” that I’ve seen. The stylized action is also animated really well, and once the gods enter the picture, the animation goes to a whole other level.

Another Gutiérrez stamp is the humor. It’s frequently loud and frenetic, sometimes leaning into gross-out gags. There are kooky reaction shots and silly slapstick, which might tempt the viewer not to take it seriously or consign it to the “kids’ stuff” pile, less sophisticated than the better Pixar or Disney outings. But in amongst the fast-paced goofiness, there’s also a lot of sly jokes and priceless line readings.

When it comes to the story, there’s nothing mindblowing at this point. Maya as the scrappy princess who wants to fight Like the Boys isn’t breaking any new ground. Of course she sneaks off to seek glory in the fighting pits and comes home on the day of her coronation with a black eye, and of course her mother has her work cut out for her to make Maya “look like a princess.” Maya’s fraught relationship with her mother conjures up memories of Brave, at one point nearly blow-by-blow. Maya is tough and brave, but she also has a lot of bravado, and she can be a brat to her mom when she feels stifled. On the positive side, though, when she goes too far, she feels bad and almost immediately tries to take it back. Rather than just blaming her mom for everything she chafes against in her life, she’s able to recognize when her own actions are making things worse.

Zoe Saldana, who also starred in The Book of Life, plays Maya with plenty of brashness and swagger, but she has more introspective moments too, not to mention a silly side. The rest of the cast includes a veritable who’s who of Latine talent, so rather than go through everyone who makes an appearance, I’ll pace myself over the course of my reviews (Diego Luna is in seven of the nine episodes.) Gutiérrez himself is a hoot as Maya’s meathead warrior-king father, full of over-the-top reactions and goofy deliveries. Meanwhile, Gael García Bernal plays Maya’s brothers, a.k.a. the Jaguar Triplets. The brothers don’t have an overabundance of lines, so I might just be hearing things, but to me, each of them sounds just a tiny bit different while still recognizably having García Bernal’s voice.

Luna plays the pivotal messenger from the gods, the awesomely-monikered Zatz, the Prince of Bats. His arrival on the scene is a certified moment: he rides into Teca on his flaming skeletal steed, and you can hear the spurs on his stylish black armor jangle as he dismounts. Everyone in the crowd is terrified of this mysterious stranger, and yet, when he takes off his helmet and tosses his hair, some of the people most definitely swoon (there’s a healthy amount of female-gaze thirstiness in Gutiérrez’s work, and I appreciate that.)

So yes, the first two things we learn about Zatz are that he’s very intimidating and very hot. After dropping a major bombshell into the story, he moves to claim Maya for the gods and bring her back to the underworld. Although aligned with the bad guys, he gives the humans a warning that he’ll only fight them if they resist—I mean, not quite the stuff a mensch is made of, but it does display a bit of honor for someone in a villainous position, a trait that runs beneath his entire appearance.

Between the animation and Luna’s vocal performance, which has a bit of extra growl to it, Zatz cuts a cool and imposing figure. I especially like the moment where he calmly announces, “We are done here,” and immediately demonstrates that he could waste Maya’s father and brothers any time he wanted to. We also get, “Be well, Princess Maya. I’ll see you soon,” which manages to be ominous and slightly alluring both at once.

And that’s episode one! Initial takeaways (even though, as I’ve said, I’ve seen the show multiple times before):

Recommend?

In General – Yes. Even though this first episode stills within fairly typical narrative bounds, the miniseries has enough going for it to encourage going further.

Diego Luna – For sure. He’s only in two scenes in this episode, but he already makes a major impression—Zatz is cool, badass, and mysterious. My first time watching, I definitely wanted to know more about him at this point!

Warnings

Cartoon violence, scary moments for kids, some gross-out humor, and thematic elements. 

Other Doctor Lives: Time: Series 2, Episode 3 (2024)

*Spoilers from episode 2*

Season finale time! This was a quick one to run through. The finale gives us some harrowing moments in the lives of our three women, along with some moments of breakthrough/catharsis.

Here’s the biggest spoiler from last week. At the end of episode 2, Kelsey went into labor. However, none of the prison staff were available because they were dealing with a crisis elsewhere: Orla panicked when her phone money ran out and the call dropped in the middle of an important conversation with her son Kyle, and in her desperation to be allowed to talk to him some more, threatened her cellmate’s life. Abi, who used to be a nurse, was the one to deliver Kelsey’s baby.

That’s where we begin episode 3. Orla has just gotten out of solitary confinement and is forced to deal with the consequences of her actions. Kelsey has been moved to the mother-and-baby unit, but a visit from Adam leads to a massive fallout. As the other inmates continue to harass Abi, she finally decides to open up about the circumstances of her crime.

Everyone’s story has some really awful stuff in it today, and the three main actors handle the material with care. When Adam gets her in trouble, Kelsey is frantic, knowing that any infraction will jeopardize her custody of baby Daniel. She’s desperate to explain herself, and the officer who’s been escorting her to doctor’s appointments throughout her pregnancy is sympathetic but implacable. And while the overall direction of Abi’s story is what I expected, it’s heartbreaking to hear her tell it and watch it play out in flashbacks. Tamara Lawrance gives a really stellar performance here, offering the portrait of a mother at the end of her rope.

This episode definitely cements that the series portrays the prison staff—and the criminal justice system on the whole—as too compassionate to feel genuine. Everyone who works with the inmates is presented as “in it for the right reasons,” caring about their well-being and wanting to help them get their lives back on track. There’s a scene where Orla receives a bit of good news, and an officer actually gives her an encouraging wink! While we see numerous ways that the system is putting a wrecking ball through these women’s lives, it’s seemingly never the fault of the people working within it. Everyone has the best of intentions, and they’re oh-so-sympathetic that this is happening, but there’s nothing they can do. For a show that’s not afraid to get gritty or heartwrenching, this aspect is painted so rosily that it takes me out.

With everything that Kelsey and Abi are going through, Orla’s story feels more mild in comparison, even though she’s not having an easy time of it. Her rash, desperate actions from the last episode haven’t done anything to help her relationship with Kyle, and through her, we also get to see another way that the system lets people down upon their reentry into society.

Jodie Whittaker’s performance is still excellent. Her best moments here are all a bit spoilery, so I won’t go into too many details. But there’s a strong scene where she’s telling a story about her mother, one that acknowledges the complicated nature of love with a really flawed person. I also really like a scene where she gets upsetting news from one of the officers. As we’ve seen from her before, it’s an instance where Orla can’t fully believe that this is really happening to her. However, by this time, she’s learned not to come in hot making demands. At first, she honestly thinks the officer is joking, and Whittaker does a great job of showing how this news slowly sinks in for Orla.

Final thoughts:

Accent Watch

Northern.

Recommend?

In General – I think so. Be aware of the heavy subject matter and the way the story pulls its punches in its depiction of the prison staff, but overall, I thought this was pretty well done.

Jodie Whittaker – I would. Whittaker’s a talented actress who’s played a lot of thankless roles in her career, so I appreciate seeing her in projects that remind you how good she is.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements (including post-partum depression,) violence (including discussion about the murder of an infant,) language, sexual references, and drinking/smoking/drug use.

Y tu Luna también: Crow: The Legend (2018)

This story is purported to be an origin myth from the Lenape tribe, although that’s been heavily disputed. It may be a modification of a Cherokee story, or it might have been dreamed up by a white author who claims to have been “retold” it by a Lenape chief. But while the actual derivation of the story is shaky, this animated rendition of it is both entertaining and lovely.

Of all the animals in the forest, Crow is most admired for his beautiful rainbow plumage and enchanting voice. Everyone looks up to him, and when a long cold winter threatens everyone’s well-being, he’s the one they ask to go in search of a solution. He’s indeed gifted the answer to their problem—fire—but getting it back to the forest might require the self-centered Crow to give up something precious.

This is a neat little short. It’s both produced by and stars John Legend, who does a nice job as the Crow with hidden potential that even he doesn’t realize he has. And of course, the singing is on point. The story is gentle, with silly jokes and a nice message backed up by some cool animation—the sights Crow sees on his journey are great. I’ve always enjoyed origin myths, and while it’s a bummer that we’re not sure where this one really came from, I still enjoy the spirit behind it.

As for the rest of the voice cast, Constance Wu is very endearing as Skunk, who’s Crow’s biggest fan but takes him to task when she thinks he can be better. We also get Oprah as The One Who Creates Everything by Thinking, which very much within her recent acting wheelhouse, after she also played Mrs. Which in A Wrinkle in Time.

Diego Luna plays Moth, who’s a fun character. He’s cynical and not the most self-aware, but he’s basically a good guy at heart and tries to pitch in, even when he’s not the ideal animal to do so. A recurring gag of the short revolves around the fact that no one wants him to be the one to go on the quest to save them from winter, since the journey will involve flying past the sun—everyone’s convinced he’ll get hypnotized by its light and fly right into it.

Not a whole lot to this character, but Luna is effective, by turns funny and sweet.

Recommend?

In General – I would. It’s only 18 minutes out of your day, and it’s cute.

Diego Luna – I wouldn’t say it’s a must, but I’d still recommend it. Again, it’s so short that it’s easy to spend a little time listening to Luna’s voice acting as this entertaining character.

Warnings

Thematic elements and maybe a bit of scariness for kids.