Various Filipino Animation Studios
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Nico and May in RPG Metanoia.
Before anything else; SOMEBODY, PLEASE. As a tribute, please at least create a Wikipedia page for Filipino legend, Gerry Garcia. He is Philippines' Father of Animation. Panday, the first Filipino television cartoon was created by him based on the comic book character of the same title by Carlo J. Caparas and Steve Gan and he is also the creator, director of Filipino's first animated film, Adarna (1997). Why is he relatively unknown is cruelly baffling; there are no books about him, very little articles on him in English and he doesn't even have a wikipage of his own for international animation fans or netizens who are casually reading about things!
Even worst, there was an unabashed claim that the second animated movie, Urduja (2007) was the first one in the nation. I do not know the full detail of it, maybe there was some mistake by the media or the production house but Gerry Garcia truly deserve more respect and recognition for being the pioneer of Filipino's animation industry!
"Gerry Garcia is not only a painter but also pioneering artist who single handedly created the Filipino animation industry. It was him, according to Filipino animators, who made Filipino animation possible. In the 80's the first ever Philippine-made cartoon for television was Panday, a creation of Gerry Garcia. In 1997, Garcia cemented his legacy as he made the first ever-Filipino full-length animated feature film–Adarna." - N.Y.C.
Plea over... I have seen some Filipino or more fondly, pinoy animated features. As a part of South East Asia Animation Movie Marathon, my next three entries would be animated features Made in Philippines. Unfortunately, I will not cover Adarna (1997) as I have not seen it. :<
I guess there is no history lesson for pinoy animation since I am not clear about Filipino's animation industry and its outsourcing services but if you must know, Gerry Garcia is one of the legend you should know when it comes to Philippines. As for the rest, just read "at the glance" part of the entries and you will be able to know more about the specific animated feature!
A trailer screenshot from Urduja (2008).
Some Interesting Facts:
- All the skin colors of the characters in the three pinoy animated features that I have seen are realistically colored. From different shades of skin colors even within families to different levels of sun burns and varieties of ethnicity!
- According to Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI), Filipino animators were behind some of the world's best-loved cartoons and animated films; Scooby Doo, Tom & Jerry, Addams Family, The Mask, The Jetsons, Dragon Ball Z, Captain Planet, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles!
- Filipino language (Tagalog) and English are the official languages of Philippines so it could be normal to hear some English words in the movies!
Rosalyn's Movie Marathon
Ardana (1997)