Westerns have been a part of cinema ever since its beginning in 1903 with The Great Train Robbery. Its genre reached the height of its popularity in the 1960s with names like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood taking center stage only for them to fade away in the 1970’s. Since then, westerns seem to be few and far between, with an occasional western being released now and then. However what’s been in a drought ever since the genre was conceived was animated films focusing on the themes presented in Western narratives, with the last notable entry into 2D westerns being Long Gone Gulch in 2021.
This is where Kenya Zuninga enters the scene, being a 2D animator from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, she’s been working on creating an animated western series for quite some time titled Ride or Die. We were fortunate enough to be able to speak with her and have her share more about her series here today and talk about her inspirations for it alongside it’s future.
So, what is “Ride or Die”?
“My series, “Ride or Die,” is a Wild West 2D animated action show following Irene Hernandez, a rookie outlaw who’s just arrived in the US, and William Bishop, a retired bounty hunter who helps her on the journey to find a buried golden treasure far out in the West. The main message behind this story is similar to the “not judging a book by its cover” one, as it explores Irene and her finding out that not everything is as it seems in the new world she’s in and the new people she meets. I am also dedicated to having more Hispanic/Latino representation in animated media, so I wanted to explore this with a Mexican lead character. I will generally include more Hispanic characters and I plan to make a deep dive into Mexican culture through the lens of an 1800s Wild West.”
So, whats it like creating a western in 2024? Has there been any challenges creating your story?
“It’s quite fun! There’s a lot of fun visual and story-based cliches you can play around with since most people can recognize them easily. I think the main challenge I’ve come across is figuring out what new things I can do with the genre since it’s been done so much in the past. This is my first time writing a whole story for a show, so I know I have a lot to learn.”
What’s been your source of inspiration?
“A big influence on my art style is the work of Genndy Tartokovsky. In my artwork, I try to emulate the feel of many early 2000s Cartoon Network shows like Samurai Jack and Dexter’s Laboratory. I’m a sucker for a geometric art style with bold black linework and character designs that have clear shape language to them. Western movies that have inspired and influenced my work greatly are the movies from Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy: Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. A few lesser-known movies that I’ve taken inspiration from are The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Hang Em’ High. The media that I think jump started my Wild West obsession though, were the Red Dead Redemption games. I hold these pieces of media very dear to me, and they’ve provided me with so much inspiration for the visual aspects of my work and the writing aspects of my show”
So what’s in store for your series?
“If all goes well, I’m hoping to release the pilot episode for Ride or Die as my MCAD Senior Thesis film in May of 2026! Even though it’s a little early, I’m getting started with scriptwriting and planning, as I’m aiming for a 5-minute pilot episode. Later this year I want to release a Kickstarter to gain the funds to have many people work on the project and get it done on time!”
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You can see more from Kenya on her Instagram @Roseken33 and her various projects on her YouTube channel.
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