Max & the Midknights premieres Oct. 30 on Nickelodeon. Credit: Nickelodeon

The new Nickelodeon animated series Max & the Midknights is based on the best-selling children’s books by author Lincoln Peirce. The show follows a brave 10-year-old named Max (Blu del Barrio), who goes on a medieval quest with a group of friends to save their kingdom from evil forces. With all the swordplay and dragons, think of it as a kid version of Game of Thrones.

The Current recently talked with the voice cast of the animated series, including Melissa Villaseñor (Saturday Night Live); Blu del Barrio (Star Trek: Discovery); Zeno Robinson (Transformers: EarthSpark); and Caleb Yen (Beyblade X), about why parents and kids should tune into the adventure show set in the 14th century.

Max & the Midknights premieres Oct. 30 on Nickelodeon at 6 p.m.

What stood out to you about the children’s books that made you believe they could be adapted into an entertaining animated TV show?

Zeno Robinson: I think children’s books are always a good litmus test, a good playground for a good cartoon. The books themselves are often cartoony, and they’re often aimed at kids to get their attention. So, it’s sort of easy to grab as an art style and to see how you can elevate that material. As a kid, I used to read Captain Underpants. So, you can see how that translated into all its animated projects.

Melissa, what was your earliest memory as a kid watching cartoons?

Melissa Villaseñor: The voices and the characters. I watched a lot of Looney Tunes with my brothers and sisters; a lot of goofy characters like Porky Pig not wanting to hang out with a talking dog. I just love the humor. I think that’s something that I always try to carry as a human. It’s like, “How can this be cartoony? How can I live like a cartoon today?” [Watching cartoons], I was always like, “Damn, that’s so stupid,” but it would really crack me up!

Blu, what cartoon do you remember watching on TV that impacted you as a kid?

Blu del Barrio: I think the cartoons I watched as a kid are probably what shaped my humor the most growing up – like Fairly OddParents and SpongeBob [SquarePants]. I still quote jokes from those cartoons. There’s so little time in an animated kid’s show episode, so there are so many jokes packed in. It’s hard for it not to influence [your humor].

Caleb, how would you describe your imagination as a kid?

Caleb Yen: I have four younger siblings, so most of my imagination was, “I rule this country! You’re visiting and paying taxes!” I was King Ghastly (one of the villains in Max & the Midknights) and they were the peasants. I really liked Rugrats when I was a kid, but the character I empathized with was Angelica Pickles. It was not one of the babies. It was Angelica. I was like, “She knows what she’s talking about!”

The Max cast enjoys a laugh. Credit: Nickelodeon

What do you think the worst part would be about living in medieval times? Melissa, I saw that your character eats rat jerky in one of the episodes.

MV: (Laughs). That’s right! Hmm. I didn’t like that [my character] didn’t have any shoes. Do we ever get any shoes [in the series]?

Entire cast: (Laughs).

MV: I mean, the worst thing would probably be being a woman at that time. It would’ve been pretty brutal.

This cast is so diverse. Blu, what do you think that says to you about how far voice acting has come in Hollywood? Note: Blu is an openly nonbinary actor.

BDB: I mean, I don’t think I would have been cast to play this character five years ago. Even so, I was kind of surprised I got cast to play it now. I’m really grateful to our entire team and our creators and our showrunners for letting me do it. I really resonate with Max. I’m really proud of this cast.

What about for you, Melissa, representing Latinas or Zeno representing Blacks or Caleb representing Asians? I mean, look at this whole spectrum we have here!

MV: It’s pretty cool! This is awesome!

ZR: Like you said, I think it’s emblematic of how far voice acting has come. I think voice acting in cartoons always tries to be as diverse as possible. They’ve always championed diversity over the years and have been progressive to where you could get an entire cast that looks like this. So, I think it’s emblematic of how many other voices are getting into the animation industry and wanting to tell different stories. Diverse voices matter. That’s what makes stories interesting and exciting. I’m a big champion of diversity. I hope that it’s a trend that continues because I think it’ll reflect in the quality of the show.

Who in your life is most excited about this new animated series, whether it’s nephews and nieces or kids of friends?

CY: Us!

Entire cast: (Laughs).

ZR: My mom! She is such a big champion of everything I’ve ever done. She’s usually the first person to watch. She loves when I do kid shows. So, she’s always watching. She’ll call me and be like, “That episode was so funny!” So, I’m actually really excited for her to watch this one because she loves fantasy.

MV: I’m very excited for my niece to see this cartoon. With past cartoon voices I’ve done, she loves watching me. Then, in real life, I’ll be like, “That’s me!” and I’ll do the voice for her, and she’s like, “No!” She doesn’t want me in real life.

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This article appears in Oct 16-29, 2024.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...