Sofia Alexander

Last updated
Sofia Alexander
Born
Sofia Eugenia Alexander

Quintana Roo, Mexico
Occupation(s)Animator, writer, storyboard artist, voice actress
Years active2016–present
Known for Onyx Equinox
Infinity Train
Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters
Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus
The Powerpuff Girls
Spouse
Anna Lencioni
​
(m. 2019)​

Sofia Eugenia Alexander is a Mexican animator, storyboard artist and voice actress known for her work as the executive producer and creator of the show Onyx Equinox and her storyboarding for Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters , Infinity Train and The Powerpuff Girls reboot. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

Alexander was born in Quintana Roo, Mexico. [4] She grew up around archeological sites such as temples from the Mayan civilization. [5] Her grandfather was proud of their indigenous culture and saw it as something important to teach Alexander, so he often told her stories and made sure she visited archeological sites such as the temple Uxmal in Mexico. [1] [2] [6] While growing up in Mexico, Alexander had access to a lot of anime as it aired on television and watched shows such as Dexter's Laboratory , Dr. Slump , Dragon Ball , Mikan Enikki , Rurouni Kenshin , and Wolf's Rain , as did Saint Seiya , and Cardcaptor Sakura , the latter which inspired her to draw. She later said that while she was discouraged from drawing art influenced by anime, she was determined to have it influence Onyx Equinox, with the anime aesthetic appealing to her. [7] [8]

Career

Early work

Alexander worked as a storyboard revisionist for 28 episodes of The Powerpuff Girls reboot series, which aired on 2016 from to 2019. [9] She also was a writer for episode "Splitsville". [10] This job was how she began working in the animation industry, as a freelancer. [3] [11] Following this, she worked as a storyboard artist for Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters (2017–2018), a Netflix series. [11] She was a storyboard artist on nine episodes and storyboard revisionist for five episodes. Alexander later said that while her work on The Powerpuff Girls was helpful for storyboarding, she had to learn to become a showrunner on the job. [5]

Onyx Equinox

Alexander is best known for her series, Onyx Equinox . Prior to its release, she described it as an "adult story" in terms of themes and action, with Izel forced to "save a world he doesn’t believe he has a place in," facing darkness in "the world and within himself." [12] She specifically emphasized specific colors in the show, with pink and turquoise representing historical symbolism in Mesoamerica Mexico. [13] She later revealed that she began the series as a comic strip during college, which featured a few of the show's characters, and was inspired by the Lord of the Rings , The Legend of Zelda , and Aliens , wanting something similar in Mesoamerican mythology. [13] [14]

She began developing the story and its cast of characters in 2007, then developed a pitch for the series in 2011, but took her years of pitching it to companies such as Frederator, Netflix, and Crunchyroll, before it was picked up. [15] [5] [4] Marisa Balkus of Crunchyroll, the Executive Producer in charge of original development of the streaming service, approved the show, after Alexander pitched it in early 2018, arguing that Mesoamerican Mexican culture isn't often portrayed on television and would be interesting to portray in an anime story medium. [16] Writing on the series began in October 2018. [5]

The series premiered on Crunchyroll in October 2020. Alexander served as the creator, illustrator, and executive producer of Onyx Equinox. [15] She also voiced the character K'i'ik, the weapon which "grows stronger once it tastes blood." [17] Alexander described the series having a touch of anime combined with "truly Mesoamerican characters" and stated that the show was the result of researching ancient civilizations in Mesoamerica. She also said the series allowed to see the beauty in her own culture and heritage and said that she had the chance to be mentored by Japanese animator Kuni Tomita who also served as supervising director, with Tomita guiding her in being the head of the show. She characterized Tomita as an "animation mom" and an "empowering and incredible force" while noting that Tomita warned her against animating detailed designs of gods, saying animators will hate her for making them do it, and she justified it by saying it is important culturally. [7] Alexander has also provided her voice for characters such as Nelli, and Meque, [18] was a show writer, and a storyboarder for the episode "The Bet."

Alexander, in a November 2020 interview with CBR shared her challenge with pitching the series and wanting to do it with "dignity and respect towards Mexico and Indigenous Mexicans" and said that Crunchyroll had been "wonderful to the project." She called the series a translation between her experiences "into the writer's room and into animation." She also called the series a "Mexican project," said she found many of the cast and crew from her personal collections and social media, but said that the show is not an anime, from her perspective, and called Crunchyroll a "great platform" to tell the show's story. [2] However, in August 2020, Alexander had said that creators of animation do not have a say in the marketing of their shows. [19] In other interviews, Alexander described the show as "a love letter to Mexico and to other Mexicans," argued that blood is a main part of the story but not something to fear, said that the show tries to introduce people to Mesoamerican myths. [6] [9] Alexander also said that she hoped that fans of Western animation would "see the appeal of action-drama animation for adults" [20] and stated that the series had help from an archaeologist/anthropologist and extensive research to ensure certain aspects of the show's world are inspired by actual history. [5] [21]

In December 2020, Alexander was nominated at Animation Magazine's 2020 Hall of Fame Awards and won The New Voice of the Year Award for her work on Onyx Equinox. [22]

In January 2021, Alexander floated the possibility of a second season of Onyx Equinox. [23]

On November 5, 2023, Alexander announced that the series had been cancelled, due to "various reasons out of [her] control". [24]

Other work

Alexander worked as a storyboarder on another animated series, Infinity Train , which aired 2019 to 2020. [25] She storyboarded five episodes. [lower-alpha 1] She also worked as a concept artist for Disney Imagineering [25] [11] and their division of theme park design. [1] In 2019 she was a storyboarder for the film Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus . [3] [11] She described working with the crew of Infinity Train as a full-time storyboard artist as a "pleasure" and said that story of the animated series is "beautiful" [26] while saying her experience storyboarding on the show helped her with boarding for Onyx Equinox. [5]

In August 2020, Alexander appeared at a panel about women in animation, alongside Rebecca Sugar and Julia Pott, among other creatives, at the Pixelatl Festival in Mexico. [27]

In October 2020, Alexander signed a petition calling for better Latinx representation in Hollywood. [28]

In March 2021, she appeared at a virtual event for South by Southwest on "animating resilience." She also was noted as serving as a mentor for the Women in Animation's Storyboard Workshop in 2019, the Native American TV Writer's Lab in 2020, and attending various workshops so she can promote and teach "the new generation of Native American artists." [25]

In June 2021, she appeared on a panel at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on the influence of anime on creators, with Alexis Hunot, the directors of Wolfwalkers (Tomm Moore) and The Red Turtle (Michael Dudok de Wit), executive producer of We Bare Bears (Manny Hernandez) and a live-action directing team (Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani). At the panel, Alexander talked about how the anime shows she watched when she was younger influenced Onyx Equinox. [7] [8]

In September 2021, Alexander announced that she'll be working with Marvel Studios on an unspecified project, with some speculating it may be the second season of What If...? . [29] [30] She also was a storyboarder for several episodes of the Crunchyroll series, High Guardian Spice which premiered in October 2021. [lower-alpha 2]

In November 2021, Alexander appeared at a panel discussion about Indigenous women in animation at LA Skins Fest. [31] [30]

In September 2023, Alexander announced that she joined the staff for the revival of Phineas And Ferb at Disney Television Animation. [32]

Personal life

Alexander is married to Anna Lencioni, [33] an animator and artist, [34] [35] and worked on Onyx Equinox. [36] Lencioni went to the same college as Alexander, the Savannah College of Art and Design, [37] Both Alexander and Lencioni have been together for over ten years and Lencioni was crucial in getting Alexander to pitch Onyx Equinox to Crunchyroll. [26] Alexander has two brothers and her entire family lives in Mexico. [26] She currently lives in the United States and her birthday is June 4. [4] [38]

Filmography

Film

TitleYearCredited asRoleNotes
DirectorWriterProducerAnimation/ArtOther
Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus 2019NoNoNoNoYesN/AStoryboard artist [3]

Animated series

TitleYearCredited asVoice roleNotes
WriterExecutive ProducerDirectorAnimation/Art
The Powerpuff Girls 2016YesNoNoYesN/AStoryboard revisionist [9]
Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters 2017-2018NoNoNoYesN/AStoryboard artist [3]
Infinity Train 2019-2020NoNoNoYesN/AStoryboarder [9]
Onyx Equinox 2020YesYesNoYesMeque / Nelli / K'i'ik [17] [18] Also creator and storyboarder [15] [12]
High Guardian Spice 2021NoNoNoYesN/AStoryboarder
Phineas And Ferb TBATBATBATBATBAN/A [39]

Notes

  1. ↑ Specifically "The Map Car", "The Past Car", "The Unfinished Car", "The Crystal Car" and "The Grid Car"
  2. ↑ Specifically "The Cave of Vinca", "Crushing Obstacles", "Past Present" and "Transformations"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anime</span> Japanese animation

Anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, anime refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and Japanese, anime describes all animated works, regardless of style or origin. Many works of animation with a similar style to Japanese animation are also produced outside Japan. Video games sometimes also feature themes and art styles that can be considered as "anime".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiroyuki Imaishi</span> Japanese key animator and anime director

Hiroyuki Imaishi is a Japanese key animator, animation director and a co-founder of Studio Trigger. His style is marked by fast and frantic animation combined with elaborate storyboarding and punchy direction. Prior to founding Trigger, he was an animator and director at Gainax. His most well-known works include Gurren Lagann (2007), Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (2010), Kill la Kill (2013), Promare (2019), and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022).

Anime-influenced animation or Animesque is a type of non-Japanese works of animation that are similar to or inspired by anime that is not made in Japan. Generally, the term anime refers to a style of animation originating from Japan. As Japanese anime became increasingly popular, Western animation studios began implementing some visual stylizations typical in anime—such as exaggerated facial expressions and "super deformed" versions of characters.

LeSean Thomas is an American television animation producer, director, animator, comic book artist, writer, character designer, and storyboard artist, based in Meguro, Tokyo.

Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced by East Asian media, including Japanese anime, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with a Japanese branch located in Shibuya, Tokyo.

<i>Nichijou</i> 2006 comedy manga by Keiichi Arawi

Nichijou is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Keiichi Arawi. The manga began serialization in the December 2006 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's manga magazine Shōnen Ace, and was also serialized in Comptiq between the March 2007 and July 2008 issues. Kadokawa Shoten later published all chapters of the series' initial run in ten tankōbon volumes from July 2007 to December 2015. After a six-year hiatus, the manga began serialization again in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natasha Allegri</span> American animator and writer (born 1986)

Natasha Allegri is an American animator, writer, storyboard artist, storyboard revisionist and comic book artist. She is the creator of Cartoon Hangover's and Frederator Studios' Bee and PuppyCat, and is also noted for her work as a storyboard revisionist and character designer for Cartoon Network's Adventure Time, for which she created the characters Fionna and Cake, genderswapped versions of Finn and Jake.

<i>Persona 5: The Animation</i> 2018 anime television series

Persona 5: The Animation is an anime television series produced by CloverWorks based on the video game Persona 5 by Atlus. The anime series is directed by Masashi Ishihama and written by Shinichi Inotsume, with Tomomi Ishikawa adapting Shigenori Soejima's original character designs for the animation. Atlus employee Kazuma Kaneko created the original demon designs, while music composer Shoji Meguro reprised his role from the game. The series follows high schooler Ren Amamiya (Joker), the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, whose mission is to reform the hearts of corrupted adults in Shibuya using a mysterious phone application called the Metaverse Navigator.

<i>Victor and Valentino</i> American animated television series

Victor and Valentino is an American animated television series created by Diego Molano for Cartoon Network. It is produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The series follows the titular duo, two half-brothers staying with their grandmother in the Mexican town of Monte Macabre, where they interact with supernatural beings that plague the town, many of whom are derived from Aztec, Olmec, and Mayan mythologies.

Hiroko Utsumi is a Japanese anime director, animator, storyboard artist, and manga artist. She is best known for her work with Kyoto Animation, particularly as the original director of Free!. After leaving Kyoto Animation's affiliate company Animation Do, she directed the anime adaptation of Banana Fish manga, and created and directed SK8 the Infinity with Bones. She is a graduate of the Osaka Municipal College of Design.

<i>High Guardian Spice</i> 2021 U.S. animated TV series

High Guardian Spice is an American animated television series created by Raye Rodriguez, who formerly worked for Danger & Eggs as a character designer. The series is produced by Crunchyroll Studios, and was originally slated to be Crunchyroll's first original series before it was delayed for approximately 2 years. The series premiered on its streaming service on October 26, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science Saru</span> Japanese animation studio

Science Saru, Inc., stylized as Science SARU, is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Kichijōji, Tokyo. Established on February 4, 2013 by producer Eunyoung Choi and director Masaaki Yuasa, the studio has produced four feature films and five animated series, as well as co-productions, a compilation film, and episodes of series for other studios. Science Saru's first animation was the "Food Chain" episode of the American animated series Adventure Time (2014); its most recent projects are the animated feature film Inu-Oh (2021), two short films for the animated anthology project Star Wars: Visions (2021), and the animated series The Heike Story (2021), Yurei Deco (2022), and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023).

<i>Adachi and Shimamura</i> Japanese light novel series and its franchise

Adachi and Shimamura is a Japanese yuri light novel series written by Hitoma Iruma and illustrated by Non, which began serialization in October 2012 in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko Magazine and is published under the Dengeki Bunko imprint. The light novels are licensed for English release in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment. The series has been adapted into two manga series, and an anime television series adaptation by Tezuka Productions aired from October to December 2020.

<i>Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!</i> Japanese manga series

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sumito Ōwara. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Monthly Big Comic Spirits since 2016 and has been collected in seven tankōbon volumes as of July 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Terrace</span> American animator

Dana Terrace is an American animator and voice actress, best known as the creator of the Disney Channel animated series The Owl House. She is also known for storyboarding on Gravity Falls and directing on the 2017 reboot of DuckTales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoshiji Kigami</span> Japanese animator, director, and storyboarder (1957–2019)

Yoshiji Kigami was a Japanese animator, director and storyboarder. He started working at Shin-Ei Animation, later became part of Animaruya and then he became affiliated with Kyoto Animation.

<i>Onyx Equinox</i> 2020 animated television series

Onyx Equinox is a Mexican-American adult animated television series created by Sofia Alexander for Crunchyroll. It is based on the mythologies of Mesoamerica, featuring deities of Aztec, Maya and Zapotec myth, while also making references to the Olmecs.

In the 2020s, LGBTQ representation in animated series and animated films became more pronounced than it had in the 2010s, or 2000s when it came to Western animation. This included series like The Owl House, Harley Quinn, Adventure Time: Distant Lands, RWBY, and Dead End: Paranormal Park. Series like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Steven Universe Future, The Hollow, and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, which had various LGBTQ characters, came to an end in 2020, and Gen:Lock came to an end in 2021. An upcoming season of Hazbin Hotel was hinted at, while an animated adaption of Lumberjanes was in development.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "ENTREVISTA: Sofía Alexander comparte los secretos de Onyx Equinox". Cine PREMIERE (in Spanish). November 20, 2020. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Halls, Kiera (November 29, 2020). "Onyx Equinox Creator Sofia Alexander Talks Representation, On- & Off-Screen". CBR . Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sofia Alexander". Pixelatl Festival . Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "'Onyx Equinox', la historia animada con un niño indígena como protagonista" ['Onyx Equinox', the animated story with an indigenous boy as the protagonist]. El Pais (in Spanish). November 19, 2020. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Zahed, Ramin (October 29, 2020). "New Trailer/Q&A: Sofía Alexander Reanimates Mesoamerican Myths in 'Onyx Equinox'". Animation Magazine . Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Pulliam-Moore, Charles (November 24, 2021). "Onyx Equinox Creator Sofia Alexander Opens Up About Weaving Mythology Into Reality". Kotaku. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 Baron, Rueben (June 23, 2021). "The Makers of Wolfwalkers, We Bare Bears and More Discuss Anime's Global Influence". CBR . Archived from the original on October 20, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Annecy: Leading Animation Filmmakers Discuss Anime's Influence On Their Work". June 21, 2021. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Frye, Brendan (December 28, 2020). "Sofia Alexander Brings South American Myth to new Series Onyx Equinox". CG Magazine. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  10. ↑ Perkins, Chris (September 8, 2020). "VCRX: Shenmue Anime Announced, Onyx Equinox and More". Animation for Adults. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "A Celebration of Excellence: Animation Magazine's 2020 Awards". Animation Magazine . Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  12. 1 2 Collins, Hannah (October 29, 2020). "Onyx Equinox: The Crunchyroll Anime Drops 'Dark,' Bloody Trailer for Halloween". CBR . Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Onyx Equinox: Interview with creator Sofia Alexander". SciFiNow. December 15, 2020. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  14. ↑ Pearce, Steven (January 20, 2021). "Onyx Equinox". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction . Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 Collins, Jason (October 4, 2020). "Onyx Equinox: Trailer, Plot, Release Date & News to Know". CBR . Archived from the original on November 24, 2021.
  16. ↑ Cao, Caroline (November 21, 2020). "Crunchyroll's violent, new epic Onyx Equinox brings Mesoamerican culture to animation". Polygon . Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  17. 1 2 Jennings, Collier (September 5, 2020). "Crunchyroll Announces Cast, Premiere Date for Onyx Equinox". CBR . Archived from the original on October 4, 2021.
  18. 1 2 Hillenberg, Josh (September 4, 2020). "Crunchyroll Expo: ONYX EQUINOX lands a new trailer, release date, and full casting". Comics Beat. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021.
  19. ↑ May, Callum (June 18, 2021). "Crunchyroll Originals Have Been a Disaster". Anime News Network . Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  20. ↑ Prentice, Robert (November 20, 2020). ""Onyx Equinox" Premieres Saturday on Crunchyroll". Three If By Space. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  21. ↑ Motamayor, Rafael (December 21, 2020). "Onyx Equinox changes what you think of Aztec mythology and Mesoamerican culture by making it anime". SYFY . Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  22. ↑ Zahed, Ramin (December 7, 2020). "Watch the Animation Magazine 2020 Hall of Fame Awards". Animation Magazine . Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  23. ↑ Frye, Patrick (January 19, 2021). "Onyx Equinox Season 2 release date on Crunchyroll: Creator Sofia Alexander talks second season". Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  24. ↑ Alexander, Sofia [@sofiaealexander] (November 5, 2023). "#onyxequinox #onyxequinoxs2 #animacionmexicana" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. 1 2 3 "Sofia Alexander". SXSW Online. SXSW. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 Locksley, Ross (November 20, 2020). "Interview with Sofia Alexander". UK Anime Network. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  27. ↑ Dudok De Wit, Alex (August 7, 2020). "Rebecca Sugar, Julia Pott, Sofía Alexander Lead Focus On Women In Animation At Pixelatl 2020". Cartoon Brew . Archived from the original on February 11, 2021.
  28. ↑ Turchiano, Danielle (October 15, 2020). "Latinx Creatives Call for More and Better Representation in Open Letter to Hollywood". Variety . Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  29. ↑ Parks, Adam (September 15, 2021). "Onyx Equinox Creator Joins Marvel Studios for Mystery Project". CBR . Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  30. 1 2 "Native American Women in Animation". LA Skins Fest. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  31. ↑ "LA SKINS FEST Presents: A Panel Discussion about Native American Women in Animation". University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. University of Southern California. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  32. ↑ "I'm doing something a wee different from my usual 😉 Joined the platypus team". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  33. ↑ Alexander, Sofia [@sofiaealexander] (September 25, 2021). "This is going to be amazing! My incredibly talented wife @banannerbread" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021– via Twitter.
  34. ↑ Baron, Rueben (August 10, 2019). "Cartoon Fandom Has a Puritanism Problem". CBR . Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  35. ↑ "IDW Publishing's August 2018 Solicitations". CBR . May 23, 2018. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  36. ↑ Luster, Joseph (January 9, 2021). "Supplement Your Onyx Equinox Binge with Latest Companion Podcast". Crunchyroll . Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  37. ↑ Alexander, Sofia [@sofiaealexander] (January 16, 2021). "The only one who helped me in any way was a professor whose sister lived in LA and she knew a director. SCAD had nothing to do with my career" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021– via Twitter.
  38. ↑ Alexander, Sofia [@sofiaealexander] (June 4, 2021). "heyheyheyyy c'maahn I'm a little gal, I'm just a little gaaal, noo, it's also my birthday, I'm a little birthday gaal!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021– via Twitter.
  39. ↑ "I'm doing something a wee different from my usual 😉 Joined the platypus team". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-09-28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.