'Aztec Batman': New animated film brings Gotham to Tenochtitlan

Though the caller animated diagnostic “Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires” bears the sanction of 1 of the astir emblematic American superheroes, its instauration was wholly a Mexican affair.

The action-packed saga reimagines the caped crusader arsenic a young Aztec antheral named Yohualli, whose begetter is killed erstwhile conquistador Hernan Cortes arrives connected the seashore of what we cognize contiguous arsenic the authorities of Veracruz. By the clip Cortes and his troops scope the Aztec superior of Tenochtitlan, the brave Yohualli has go a fierce warrior protected by the bat deity known arsenic Tzinacan (an existent Aztec deity that fits perfectly wrong this fictional narrative).

Produced by Mexico City-based animated outfit Ánima Estudios, a institution astatine the forefront of the mean successful the state for implicit 2 decades, “Aztec Batman” emerged arsenic an effort to grow Ánima’s narration with Warner Bros. Ánima antecedently produced 2 CG-animated films based connected “Top Cat,” the classical Hanna-Barbera cartoon owned by Warner.

Released Sept. 18 connected aggregate streaming services, and coming soon to HBO Max, “Aztec Batman” was initially conceived arsenic a miniseries, and yet took the much concise signifier of a film. And portion it’s a enactment meant to entertain, the creators anticipation that it besides ignites caller curiosity successful younger audiences, peculiarly those successful Mexico and of Mexican descent elsewhere, to larn much astir Indigenous peoples.

(Warner Bros.)

“The movie seeks to make pridefulness due to the fact that portion of our roots arsenic Mexicans are Indigenous cultures,” Ánima co-founder José C. Garcia de Letona said successful Spanish during a caller video interview. “For galore of us, the different portion comes from the Spanish. We’re not passing judgement due to the fact that we are a effect of what happened, but alternatively giving a somewhat much respectful spot to the Aztecs and each Indigenous cultures.”

Why absorption connected the Aztecs retired of the galore civilizations that existed successful the territory that present constitutes Mexico? “Because they were the ones who confronted the Spanish. As the sanction suggests, it was a clash of empires,” Garcia de Letona adds.

“The victors usually determine who the bully guys and the atrocious guys were erstwhile they constitute their mentation of the story, but they ever omit oregon diminish the different side. And this is an accidental to archer this section of past from a position that isn’t often told,” explains manager Juan Meza-Leon, a autochthonal of Ensenada, successful the Mexican authorities of Baja California Norte, who has worked successful the U.S. animation manufacture since the mid-2000s. While Meza-Leon has a communicative credit, Ernie Altbacker, a seasoned successful the satellite of DC Comics, wrote the screenplay.

Key to the aesthetic and humanities authenticity of “Aztec Batman” was the cognition that Alejandro Díaz Barriga, 1 of the astir salient historians of Aztec culture, shared with the production.

“Alejandro accompanied america from the publication signifier to the quality plan up to the last chopped of the film,” explains Garcia de Letona. Díaz Barriga’s contributions included details connected however covering differed depending connected the person’s societal class, and letting the accumulation cognize that the Aztecs didn’t person chairs, tables oregon doors successful their regular lives.

The armor for this Batman took inspiration from Aztec eagle warriors and jaguar warriors, and integrated elements referencing the deity Tzinacan. For example, the Batman insignia successful the movie is astatine erstwhile recognizable arsenic an Aztec design, portion besides instantly identifiable arsenic the superhero’s logo. “We wanted the designs to person that pre-Columbian quality, but astatine the aforesaid clip to look due for what they are: comic publication characters,” says Meza-Leon.

The animation squad down “Aztec Batman” consisted mostly of Mexican endowment with a fewer different artists successful Brazil and Peru. “Many of america successful Latin America, myself included, ne'er imagined being portion of a Batman project, and that excited america each infinitely,” says Garcia de Letona.

From the onset, Warner insisted “Aztec Batman” should beryllium produced successful Spanish first, and past dubbed into English. The Spanish formed includes actors Horacio Garcia Rojas and Omar Chaparro, portion the English mentation features Mexican American actors Jay Hernandez and Raymond Cruz. U.S.-based Mexican filmmaker Jorge Gutierrez (“The Book of Life”) voices Yohualli’s father, Toltecatzin, successful some versions.

(Warner Bros.)

Whether you ticker with the archetypal Spanish way oregon the English dub, the dialog is laced with phrases and words successful the Nahuatl language, the autochthonal lingua of the Aztecs. “Once the communicative was finalized, we collaborated with a Mexican writer named Alfredo Mendoza, who helped america incorporated the Nahuatl connection to differentiate betwixt the antithetic empires since they some talk Spanish successful the film,” said Meza-Leon.

Batman’s classical villains are besides transformed into characters that beryllium organically wrong the Aztec context. The Joker, for example, becomes Yoka, a shaman and right-hand antheral to emperor Moctezuma who tin pass with the gods. Catwoman appears present arsenic a jaguar warrior, since determination were nary home cats astatine that constituent successful past successful the Americas. Some originative liberties were taken — the Aztec wouldn’t let women to go trained fighters. The dubious Cortes becomes Two-Face, portion Poison Ivy appears arsenic an enigmatic goddess.

“The thought wasn’t to marque a transcript of the characters, but to seizure their essence, truthful you could say, ‘That’s the Joker,’ ‘That’s Two-Face,’ ‘That’s Catwoman,’ though we ne'er called them by those names,” says Meza-Leon. “We besides ne'er telephone him Batman; it’s Tzinacan oregon Bat Warrior, but the tone of the quality is there.”

Since the task was primitively developed arsenic a series, Meza-Leon has already developed a larger world. If this archetypal section succeeds with audiences, an “Aztec Batman” sequel is feasible. The movie is presently playing successful Mexican cinemas and streaming globally. “I anticipation it is palmy capable for america to proceed exploring this alternate mentation of the conquest of Mexico, due to the fact that determination are inactive galore ideas left,” says Meza-Leon.