Filipino animation, also known as Pinoy animation or Philippine animation, is an animated media term used as a body of original cultural and artistic works and styles applied to conventional Filipino storytelling, combined with talent and the appropriate application of classic animation principles, methods, and techniques, which recognizes their relationship with Filipino culture and comics.
It also delves into relying on traditional and common Filipino "sense of going about things" or manner of coping with Filipino life and environment.[1]
Filipino animation came to the Philippines a few months before World War II as a special effects support to the film Ibong Adarna (1941). It was not until the arrival of television and its first telecast in the country in 1953, resulted that the use of animation in the industry was introduced for commercial purposes to advertise consumer products began in the 1950s. In the same year, komiks illustrator and cartoonist Lauro "Larry" Alcala did a short black-and-white animation on 8mm film of a girl doing jumping rope and a boy playing with a yo-yo. In 1955, José Zabala-Santos and Francisco Reyes produced Juan Tamad, a six-minute animated short film serves as an advertisement for Purico cooking oil, based on the famous Philippine folklore character of the same name.
During the Marcos period back in the mid-1960s, Filipino animation become one of the regime's tools for propaganda and patriotism; in early films have been introduced by Severino "Nonoy" Marcelo, a cartoonist who was educated in New York, collaborated with Imee Marcos and Zabala-Santos by creating the first-ever Philippine full-length animated film titled Tadhana (1978), which originally conceived as a television pilot, premiered in Philippine television as a part of the anniversary of Martial Law in 1978.[2] At one point, Tadhana was supposed to replay and scheduled for a commercial theater release, but for some reasons, unclear it was never seen again due to the said film was not released commercially on theaters for public viewing.[3] In 1979, The Adventures of Lam-Ang was produced by the same cartoonist Tadhana made, which was an one-hour animated feature based on the folklore of the same name.[4]
Due to their immense interest of the Philippines as a hub for subcontracted labor in the 1980s, aspiring animators, such as the Alcazaren brothers (consist Mike and Juan), dominated to create their own experimental animated short films until the regime overthrew by the rebellion.[5]
The first Philippine animated television series was Ang Panday, created by Geraldo A. Garcia (credited as Gerry A. Garccia) in 1986 based on a comic book character of the same name produced by Carlo J. Caparas.[6] RPN-9 began airing in November 1986. Although it was a consistent success, Ang Panday lasted only for six months due to the high cost of producing an animated feature or series.[7] Captain Barbell, another animated television series based on a comic book character, aired on RPN in the same year, clashing with Garcia's Ang Panday for broadcasting competition.[8]
In 1989, Sa Paligid-ligid is a two-hour educational animated film about the environmental awareness and conservation, it is the longest animated film ever produced in the Philippines despite being a television special aired on IBC 13.
From 1995 to 1997, Garcia worked on several animated works, including Noli Me Tangere (1995) and most notably (1997), based on the 19th century corrido commonly titled Ibong Adarna. Garcia wrote the story and directed Adarna under FLT Productions and Guiding Light Productions, and the film took two years to finish with roughly 300 animators and a new nine-minute segment soon added to the film that had the additional cost of $50,000, with producer Rose L. Flaminiano later bought the rights to the film's release when it was nearing completion.[9] Adarna was declared an entry to the 1997 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) on December 3, 1997 and received recognition from the Metro Manila Film Festival on December 27, 1997 as the "first ever animated movie in Philippine cinema" (fil|Kauna-unahang animated Movie sa Philippine Cinema), although predated by Marcelo's Tadhana.[10] [11] It earned a box office from MMFF worth ₱11.2 million, but did not make it to its production cost. Despite being a box-office bomb and some critics were critical of the film's poor animation, the Adarna's theatrical release and pioneering recognition was considered a highlight to Filipino animation. In 1998, it was also included in the Asian Collection of Japan's 7th Hiroshima Animation Festival.[12]
In 2007, a Filipino-American satirical animated series created by Ramon Lopez and Jesse Hernandez entitled The Nutshack. The series's premise revolves two distant cousins, Phil, from the San Francisco Bay Area, and Jack, from the Philippines, who live with their uncle, Tito Dick, in south-suburban Daly City. Co-produced by Koch Entertainment[13] and ABS-CBN International, it has been in development since mid or late 2005 and was produced in Macromedia Flash throughout the series on a Windows XP model. The series was teased in 2006 on YouTube and possibly on television.[14] It was began airing on Myx TV, but the series was concluded in 2011 completing two seasons with sixteen episodes due to generally low-rated and critically derided, though it built a small cult following from its reputation in late 2016 based on remixes of its theme song on YouTube, which became an internet meme.[15]
Garcia's creation was later followed by another theatrical animated film, Urduja, was top billed by Cesar Montano and Regine Velasquez as voices behind the lead characters, premiered in local theaters in 2008. Produced using a mixture of digital and traditional animation techniques, the film took eleven years of conceptualization or pre-production and was done roughly for two years of animation development by approximately 400-500 Filipino animators and three different animation studios situated within Luzon and Visayan areas, produced more than 120,000 drawings that ran in 1,922 scenes equivalent to 8,771 feet of film.[16] The film gained a box office hit of roughly 31 million over unstated production cost. The film earned ₱20 million during its premiere, surpassing the milestone of Adarnas grossing release but still unsuccessful in getting the audience interest which resulted in loss of profit.
Another full-length animated film in the same year, , graced the premiere as an entry to the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival.[17] [18]
In 2010, RPG Metanoia is the first feature-length theatrical animated film to be developed in computer-generated imagery with stereoscopic 3D, which took 5 years to make with Roadrunner Network, Inc and Thaumatrope Animation serve as production companies for the film.[19]
In 2014, a commissioned film Pikyaw (2014) became the first animated film not in Tagalog and Filipino languages, but fully dubbed in Hiligaynon.
See main article: Adult animation. Adult animation has a staying power in the Philippines, serves as a largest turning point to the film industry introduced during the Marcos regime under Martial Law by expanding conventional and mature storytelling in Filipino animation with realistic character drama, satirical themes and thematic elements rather than raunchy, off-color and sexual humors used in adult-oriented animated films and televisions that is catered specifically to older audiences unlike any animated works outside the Philippines over the years. For example, cartoonist Nonoy Marcelo produced a historical satire based on Marcos' book, Tadhana, presents a satirical, humorous and poignant view of the Philippines' history of Spanish colonization through highly original and surreal vignettes fusing art, mythology and music.[20] Some experimental animated short films have attributed with similar use of satirical, political and mature themes during the near end of Marcos regime, for those including Nonoy Dadivas and Fruto Corre's The Criminal (1981), Alcazaren brothers' Hari (1982), Huling Trip (1983) and Pagpula (1984), Monlee and Roxlee's The Great Smoke (1984)Filmography of Carl Joseph Papa is widely known for mature themes and animation, often focus on the Philippines' daily lives and family issues.
In 2007, The Nutshack was developed and touted as an adult animated series marketed for a Filipino demographic, drew themes of gang violence, drug abuse, poverty, racism, and rape.
In 2011, Sanayan Lang Ang Pagpatay (lit. Killing Just Becomes A Habit) is an animated short film, drew themes of murder and massacre, about the butiki was crawling on different areas of the house but it turns out after killing the butiki with flip-flops leads to more gruesome ways about the massacre in the past.
In 2014, Lakas ng Lahi (lit. Race's Strength) is a historical drama animated short film that deals with abuse, oppression and war, briefly expanding each stories and timelines from the Spanish colonial period to Japanese occupation of the Philippines.
In 2018, Barangay 143 (lit. District 143) is an anime-influenced television series covers drama, family tensions, and game-fixing crime syndicates, the story is about a rising basketball star who returns to Manila in search of his father.[21]
Filipino animation is largely attributed with conventional storytelling and animation techniques in Philippine filmmaking, television and advertisement that recognizes their relationship with Filipino culture and comics. Almost all of the animated works have different elements such as history (e.g. Urduja), mythology (e.g. RPG Metanoia), supernatural (e.g. Dayo: Sa Mundo ng Elementalia), satire (e.g. Heneral Tuna), and non-narrative (e.g. Distortion).
Like in adult animation, Filipino animation covers varieties of thematic elements, most primarily are family issues and .
Several types and pioneers of Filipino animation in films have been introduced in the 21st-century:
Division of Existence was supposed to be the country's "first 3DCG anime" due to the use of computer animation and its art style similar to Japanese animation, but it never came to fruition due to lack of development and updates led to cancellation.
An upcoming film 58th by Carl Joseph Papa will be the first animated documentary film.
While some well-known cartoonists in the 1950s and 1960s who are considered animation pioneers include Lauro "Larry" Alcala, Severino "Nonoy" Marcelo, Jeremias Elizalde Navarro, Vicente Peñetrante, José Zabala-Santos and Francisco Reyes,[22] these are some people as animation filmmakers or animators listed below:
Recognized Filipino animator is Benedict Carandang, the co-founder of Tuldok Animation Studios and recipient of the United Kingdom’s British Council’s 2008 Young Screen Entrepreneur. Carandang produced the animation of Ramon del Prado's short-film entitled, Libingan or “The Burial”, inspired by the hanging coffins of Sagada, Mountain Province.[23]
Avid Liongoren is known for both animated and live-action productions, and founded an animation production company Rocketsheep Studios.[24]
In 2016, Liongoren's first feature film debut was live-action animated hybrid film Saving Sally, was first introduced in mid-2000s after the concept by Charlene Sawit in 2000, originally titled Monster Town as a short story.
In 2020, Liongoren's second film, Hayop Ka!, concepted after Saving Sally and took three years to produce. Originally as a telenovela-style soap-opera animated film during his prototype, he changed it as "light and comical" to aim for adults due to use of amount of profanity and sexual content like the previous film did.[25] [26] [27] Avid Liongoren, the director of the animation, stated the hope for creating a "Filipino style when it comes to cartoons" and noted that the Philippines has a huge animation industry "that does work for foreign projects."[28] He also hoped it encourages "more local productions" and work for Pinoy animators.
Carl Joseph Papa is known for adult-oriented rotoscoping animated films, produced three award-winning animation works: Manang Biring (2015), Paglisan (2018), and Iti Mapukpukaw (2023). His films have been screened at film festivals worldwide and received multiple awards.
See main article: Outsourcing of animation to the Philippines. While the Filipino animation came from conventional storytelling and originality in Philippine tradition, the Philippines has become a major hub for outsourced animation work from international studios, such as Walt Disney Animation Studios and Bento Box Entertainment, due to its talented artists and lower production costs.
The Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. is the industry association and serves as the primary overseer and coordinator for Filipino animators. The council is a part of a bigger umbrella association coordinated by the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP).[30]
Rocketsheep Studio is an independent film studio used for live-action and animated projects, founded by Avid Liongoren in 2005. Films and web series are well-known in this studio including Hayop Ka!, Heneral Tuna and Saving Sally.[31]
Tuldok Animation Studios is a Philippine non profit organization that produces, promotes, and facilitates animated projects in line with traditional Filipino values, co-founded by Benedict Carandang and Geraldo A. Garccia.[32] The organization is well-known for animated projects including Sulayman.
The First Philippine animation festival was held in Pasay as an additional program of the 7th Philippine Graphic Expo of 2002 which featured 3D animation entries from De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, University of the Philippines Diliman and Philippine Women's University via Artfarm and Animasia.
It was College of St. Benilde's entry, Fiesta Karera that won the festival which was authored by Ervin Malicdem, Dante Tiongson, Mark Ylagan, Jonathan Wongkee, Jefferson Lim, Vincent Cheng, Gerard Cruzado, Justin Teh, and Ace Gatdula.[33]
See main article: Animahenasyon.
Animahenasyon, a Filipinized contraction of animation and imagination, is a Philippine animation festival established by the Animation Council of the Philippines. Its purpose is to recognize Filipino animators and their original works.
Known filmmakers who screened at the film festival with their own animated short films and won the major award in the competition such as Ionone Bangcas and Jerome Alcordo's Smog (2010) and Sulundon (2012), and Carl Joseph Papa's Love Bites (2017).
See main article: Cinema One Originals. The Cinema One Originals Film Festival, a division of ABS-CBN Films commonly known as Cinema One Originals, is an independent film festival in the Philippines originated for live-action feature films.
Carl Joseph Papa's Manang Biring and Paglisan are the only two animated films to be screened at the festival and won multiple awards including Best Film.
See main article: Metro Manila Film Festival. The Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is an annual film festival organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority,[34] focuses on Filipino produced films.
While is the first hybrid film, Adarna: The Mythical Bird is officially the first animated film to be screened at the festival. Among other animated films who also screened at the festival in many years including , RPG Metanoia, Saving Sally and Tahanan.
Over the years, majority of Filipino-made animated films (both feature and short) and series are largely outsourced by companies in the United States and Japan. Only a few animated films and series are actually made specifically for Filipino audiences. A few of them have been released for film festivals competitions. In the past years, the Filipino animation industry began to create animations directed to Filipino and international audiences, such as Seven Little Monsters and Hazbin Hotel, although the number of films and series produced is still small compared to those produced by Japan, China, South Korea, and the United States.
| Date | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Animation type | Running time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Tadhana | Severino "Nonoy" Marcelo | N/A | Traditional | 54 min | First-ever Philippine feature-length animated film.[35] | |
| 1979 | Biag ni Lam-ang | 60 min | [36] | ||||
| 1989 | Sa Paligid-ligid | N/A | Philippine Children's Television Foundation | 120 min | |||
| December 25, 1995 | Mike Relon Makiling, Geirry A. Garcia | Octoarts Films | Live-action animation hybrid | 102 min | Official entry to the 21st Metro Manila Film Festival | ||
| December 25, 1997 | Geirry A. Garccia | Traditional | 78 min | Official entry to the 23rd Metro Manila Film Festival | |||
| June 18, 2008 | Urduja | Reggie Entienza | 100 min | Official entry to the 34th Metro Manila Film Festival | |||
| December 25, 2008 | Robert Quilao | 100 min | Official entry to the 34th Metro Manila Film Festival | ||||
| December 25, 2010 | RPG Metanoia | Luis C. Suarez | CGI | 103 min | Official entry to the 36th Metro Manila Film Festival | ||
| July 10, 2011 | Kapitan Torpe | Antonio Cadiz | Bata Animation and Video Productions | Flash | 89 min | Won Best Full-length animation (Professional) in Animahenasyon 2010 | |
| February 26, 2014 | Pikyaw | Arnold Fuentes | Multimedia Arts & Graphics Ensemble (MAGE), Inc. | Traditional | 60 min | First feature-length animated film dubbed in Hiligaynon. | |
| 2015 | Manang Biring | Carl Joseph Papa |
| Rotoscoping | 88 min |
| |
| December 25, 2016 | Saving Sally | Avid Liongoren | Live-action animation hybrid | 94 min | Official entry to the 42nd Metro Manila Film Festival | ||
| October 12, 2018 | Paglisan | Carl Joseph Papa | Black Maria Pictures |
| 105 min | Won Best Picture and numerous other awards in the 2018 Cinema One Originals Film Festival | |
| 2020 | Hayop Ka! | Avid Liongoren | Rotoscoping | 74 min | First Filipino animated film to be distributed by Netflix | ||
| January 22, 2023 | Distortion | Frederick C.G. Borromeo | Studio Moonchalk | Machinima | 45 min | First feature-length film to be produced with RPG Maker MV engine, released exclusively on YouTube. | |
| August 5, 2023 | Iti Mapukpukaw | Carl Joseph Papa |
|
| 90 min | Submitted as the Philippine entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 96th Academy Awards. | |
| March 29, 2024 | Love and Friendship | Frederick C.G. Borromeo | Studio Moonchalk | Machinima | 56 min | Loosely based on a play by Joachim Antonio.[37] | |
| 2025 | 58th | Carl Joseph Papa | Rotoscoping | TBA | First animated documentary film produced in the Philippines.[38] | ||
| 2026 | Zsazsa Zaturnnah vs the Amazonistas of Planet X | Avid Liongoren | Traditional | TBA | Based on a graphic novel Zsazsa Zaturnnah by Carlo Vergara |
| Date | Title | Director(s) | Animation type | Running time | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Girl Jumping Rope and Boy Playing Yoyo | Lauro "Larry" Alcala | Traditional | N/A | [39] | |
| 1955 | Juan Tamad | José Zabala-Santos and Francisco Reyes | 6 min | |||
| 1974 | Annie Batungbakal | Severino "Nonoy" Marcelo | 7 min | |||
| 1981 | The Criminal | Fruto Corre and Nonoy Dadivas | 6:54 | |||
| 1982 | Hari | Mike and Juan Alcazaren | Stop-motion | N/A | ||
| 1983 | Headset | Monlee and Roxlee | Traditional | |||
| Huling Trip | Mike and Juan Alcazaren | Stop-motion | ||||
| 1984 | Anino | Claire Salaveria | Traditional | |||
| Pagpula | Mike and Juan Alcazaren | Stop-motion | ||||
| The Eye in the Sky | Joey and Roby Agbayani | Live-action stop motion | 8:13 | |||
| The Great Smoke | Monlee and Roxlee | Live-action animation | 6:34 | |||
| 1989 | Nguyamyam | Josephine Atienza and Jojo Topacio | Traditional | N/A | ||
| Spit | Mike and Juan Alcazaren | Stop-motion | ||||
| 1993 | Anak Maynila | Nonoy Dadivas | Traditional | |||
| Noli Me Tangere | Gerry A. Garccia and Manny Aldana | |||||
| 1995 | Mokmok | Living Room Productions | ||||
| 1996 | Alamat ng Ibong Adarna | Animasia Studios | ||||
| Vexations | Mike and Juan Alcazaren | |||||
| 1997 | Doon sa Kabila ng Bulkan | Ellen Ramos | ||||
| The Ghostwriter | Joey Agbayani | |||||
| 2002 | Fiesta Karera | Ervin Malicdem | CGI | 6:00 | ||
| 2007 | Araw At Gabi | Nelson B. Caliguia, Sr. | Traditional | 21:54 | [40] | |
| Doodle of Doom | N/A | |||||
| 2008 | Love and Marriage | Kenny Lyn Tai | ||||
| 2009 | Mutya | Nelson B. Caliguia, Sr. | ||||
| 2010 | When Alma Died | Wesley Tan | ||||
| Robuboy & Pugita | Avid Liongoren | 4:19 | [41] | |||
| Smog | Jerome Alcordo | Cutout | 2:00 | |||
| 2011 | Killing Just Becomes A Habit | Gil Joseph A. Sanchez | Traditional | N/A | ||
| Song Of The Magi | Ionone Bangcas and Jerome Alcordo | 4:55 | ||||
| Sulundon | 12:08 | |||||
| Trapo | 8:04 | |||||
| 2012 | Ang Prinsesa, ang Prinsipe at si Marlborita | Carl Joseph Papa | Cutout | 5:00 | [42] | |
| 2012 | Bus Stop | Ionone Bangcas and Jerome Alcordo | Traditional | 5:25 | ||
| Kaleh & Mbaki | Dennis E. Sebastian | CGI | N/A | |||
| Marianing | Nikolo Salazar | Traditional | ||||
| 2013 | Bahay Kubo | Ellen Ramos | ||||
| iNay | Carl Joseph Papa | Cutout | 11:46 | |||
| 2014 | An Maogmang Lugar | Mary Ann Espedido | CGI | N/A | ||
| Lakas ng Lahi | Arnold Arre | Traditional | ||||
| 2015 | Buttons | Marvel Obemio, Francis Ramirez and Jared Garcia | ||||
| GEO | Arthur Merceder | CGI | ||||
| Muning | Avid Liongoren | Traditional | 2:27 | [43] | ||
| 2016 | Josephine | 4:34 | [44] | |||
| Momo | 4:13 | [45] | ||||
| Passage of Life | Renz Vincemark Cruz and Hanna Gayapa | 3:53 | ||||
| Strings | Rafael Daniel Evangelista V | CGI | 5:41 | [46] | ||
| 2017 | Love Bites | Carl Joseph Papa | Stop-motion | 20 min | ||
| 2018 | Tahanan | Demetrio E. Celestino III | 5:00 | First stop-motion animated film to be screened at the Student Short Film competition of the 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival.[47] | ||
| 2019 | Jepoy | Avid Liongoren | Traditional | 6:55 | [48] | |
| Our Forgotten Friends | 2:16 | [49] | ||||
| 2020 | Ella Arcangel: Lullaby in the Dark | Mervin Malonzo | 19:42 | |||
| Lea's Secret | Rico Gutierrez | N/A | ||||
| 2021 | Teenagers in Chester Street | Frederick C.G. Borromeo | Machinima | 8:04 | ||
| 2024 | Sulayman | Nelson B. Caliguia, Jr. | Traditional | N/A | Won the Best Animated Film at the PENSACON Short Film Festival 2024 and Best Animation (Traditional) at the FantaSci Short Film Festival.[50] | |
| Twins: The Story of Lester and Joshua | Frederick C.G. Borromeo | Machinima | 4:52 | First RPG Maker animated short film to entered at the Metro Manila Film Festival. | ||
| Cancelled | Division of Existence | Dave Gadrinab | 3DCG anime | N/A | The film is potentially scheduled to be released on December 2017 through YouTube, but it was left cancelled or unfinished. |
| Date | Title | Creator(s) | Studio(s) | Network | Animation type | Episodes | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Ang Panday | Geraldo A. Garccia | N/A | RPN | Traditional | 3 (partially lost) | ||
| Captain Barbell | N/A | N/A | ||||||
| 2007 | The Nutshack | Ramon Lopez and Jesse Hernandez | ABS-CBN International | Myx TV | Flash | 16 (two seasons) | ||
| 2006–2010 | Captain Flamingo | Suzanne Bolch and John May |
| GMA Network | 52 (three seasons) | |||
| 2010–2011 | Super Inggo at ang Super Tropa | Enrico C. Santos | N/A | ABS-CBN | Anime-inspired | 14 | ||
| 2015–2016 | Alamat | Jeffrey John Imutan |
| GMA Network | Flash | 12 (two seasons) | ||
| 2018–2021 | Barangay 143 | Katski Flores |
|
| Anime-inspired | 26 (two seasons) | ||
| 2021 | Heneral Tuna | Avid Liongoren | Rocketsheep Studio | Kumu | Flash | 7 | ||
| Manila Memories | Renti Bautista | N/A | YouTube | Anime-inspired | 5 | [51] | ||
| Trese |
| Netflix | 6 | [52] | ||||
| 2021–2022 | Hero City Kids Force | Nono Pardalis |
| iWantTFC | Flash | 13 | ||
| 2022 | Mga Kwentong Epik: Ang Alamat ni Maria Makiling | Regene Estolatan |
| Netflix |
| 6 | [53] | |
| 2023 | 333: The Rise of Heroes | PUNX Studios | N/A |
| 7 | [54] | ||
| 2024 | The Filipino Story: Animated Series | Tony Olaes | N/A | YouTube | Traditional | 3 | [55] | |
See main article: Lost film. Most Filipino animated works were considered lost, partially found, or destroyed began in the 21st century, primarily Ang Panday, Sa Pagilid-gilid, and Adarna. Only the remaining copies of Filipino animated feature and short films are rediscovered or survived at this point in the late 2010s including Tadhana, The Criminal, The Eye of the Sky, the latter two were released on YouTube. Tadhana was screened at the National Gallery Singapore’s "Painting with Light" by Mowelfund Film Institute and Archivo 1984 in 2018, thanks to Pandy Aviado, one of the cast members of the film, who revealed that he had the remaining copy of the film shown at live interview.[56] [57] [58]
Division of Existence was supposed to be released on December 2017 through YouTube, but it never came to fruition due to lack of development and updates led to cancellation as of July 2017.