Maya and the Three

I only sat through about 5 minutes of this before someones heart was pulled out while magical demigods with non stop overstimulating flashing violent battle scenes went on forever. Super weird and crazy characters and voices; easily hooks the kid then blasts them with highly amplified fight scenes; you’ll see what I mean within minutes of play

With the bad language in this series, it is definitely not for younger children but that isn't all that's bad about it. The storyline and graphics are terrible, and it was a waste of my time the small amount that I did watch.

Maya and the three are fantastic amazing and awesome and heartwarming and beautiful I love it so much it amazing

I just finished watching this series with my boys ages 4, 6, and 9 (and my wife). This is an excellent and unique show. I would definitely recommend it. My kids and entire family loved it. The show emphasizes the importance of mercy, forgiveness, personal responsibility, and sticking with your friends even if they have faults. Since watching the show my kids have started using a phrase from the show: "If it is to be, it is up to me." Some things that parents should know is that there is a lot of physical fighting in this series and some scenes that are a little scary. Like many movies and shows, violence is shown to be helpful to solve some of the problems that arise. While the main characters mainly defend themselves and do not start the violence, it may concern parents that the show teaches that violence can be helpful. (At one point Maya starts a fight to get vengeance but later it is shown that it was wrong to fight for vengeance.) Also, a key plot point that is referenced multiple times is that Maya's father had an affair with a God and the mom Maya grew up with is not her real mom. Another thing that could concern parents is that Maya sometimes uses the phrase "Oh my Gods". A few main characters die in the series. In the final episode it is made clear that every good character that dies is still doing great in the afterlife. They all return as spirits temporarily to reunite and hang out with the other characters. The ending of the series is happy, yet bittersweet because of the characters that die. One of the other reviewers notes that the characters sometimes say things in Spanish even though the Mesoamericans (who were an inspiration for the show) did not speak Spanish. If this concerns you I would like to add that the characters in the show mainly speak English and the Mesoamericans also did not speak English. I guess the reviewer would have preferred this cartoon for kids to be in a language no longer spoken with subtitles.

The show has a very strong discussion about the king's infidelity. Those topics are a bit too deep for kids.

Some spoilers: It is a great mythology type of story however there is death of a main character which can be upsetting to some kids, and some violence throughout the series. Our family enjoyed except my son was upset by some deaths.

We're watching this as a family now with our 11-year-old daughter. If she'd started watching it alone and I came into the room, I'd probably not have let her continue. It is incredibly violent and loud. In an early episode (the second?) individuals that you are led to believe will be major characters die in battle (along with most of the men in town.) It's off-screen, but still. Maya is sad for a minute, decides to avenge their death, and we're off and running. Now Maya and her "three" are getting beaten to a pulp by various gods and they're never seriously hurt - this is a conceit I've come to accept in animated shows, except we know in this universe people can be seriously injured and killed so how is that not happening anymore? Oh, we also learn in an early episode that Maya's father had an affair, which her mother knew about and chose to accept. Be ready for a conversation about that. The story itself is sort of Raya and the Last Dragon meets (live action) Mulan meets monster trucks (familiar voiceover when each new god is introduced). It is chaotic and confusing and did I mention loud? At one point a character whom Maya asks for help screams at her "You started a war with the God of War and you want others to help you fix it?!" The shouting was unnecessary but the point is legit. Of course, she gets help anyway. The animation is kind of over the top. Maya's father is huge in relation to her mother. Some characters have facial features reminiscent of Mr. Potato Head. You'll find it either creative or distracting. And although I feel like I'm watching carefully, the plot keeps losing me. Finally, an incongruity... The show is clearly inspired by Mayan and other Mesoamerican cultures - architecture, face paint, talk of war and human sacrifice (oh, did I forget to mention this is all happening because the gods want to sacrifice Maya? You'll need to talk to your kid about human sacrifice in ancient cultures.) The voice actors are a Who's who of Latinex celebrities and the dialog includes many Spanish words and phrases. I'm all for representation but, um, the Mesoamericans did not speak Spanish. The Mayans disappeared around 900 and Spanish was introduced by Conquistadors in the 1500s, when they overtook the Aztecs and Incas. If your kid is old enough to be watching this show, they're old enough to know about Europe's history of obliterating native cultures, so the representation of the characters as Latinex makes no sense.

The story is engaging and awe inspiring but we needed to space it out because the content is quite intense. The finale is double-length and is basically a long battle. Things kind of play out like a video game (silly cut scenes to introduce new opponents) but that works for the story. The main bag guy kills fellow gods (who turn to hold) and then eats their golden hearts. So, yeah. It's got some pretty intense stuff BUT we were able to discuss in a nice way after watching. The world is intense and this gave us something less scary to talk about understanding difficult stuff around us.