- Release date: October 29, 2020 (Netflix)
- Director: Avid Liongoren
- Starring: Angelica Panganiban, Sam Milby, Robin Padilla, Empoy, Arci Munoz
- Genre: Animation, Comedy
- Star rating: 6.5/10
In the film industry, the animation sector is the quintessence of an oligarchy. From the childlike whimsy of Disney to the humanism of Studio Ghibli, the top animation studios dominate thanks to the powers of the purse and word-of-mouth. Their mainstream status has consequently left an indelible mark in their audiences’ consciousness through its visual and stylistic distinguishability.
So perhaps the difficulty for other aspiring animators comes in finding not only the most lucrative concept but also the most idiosyncratic. Enter Rocketsheep Studios, a small animation studio with potent ambitions. Ever since their debut film Saving Sally (2016) experienced an unexpected but welcoming success, it opened ajar the window of opportunity for aspiring illustrators in a country where such industry is borderline non-existent.
Culminating into their second effort Hayop Ka: The Nimfa Dimaano Story (2020), the question lingers. Does it exceed the expectations set by its predecessor, or will they be an unfortunate case of being a one-trick pony?
Firstly, any reasoning for its praise or derision should start at the element that may cause the most divisiveness: its plot. Perhaps you have heard of this pattern before: a philandering woman gets caught in a dramatic love triangle as the universe gives her the comeuppance she is due.
From there, the ambivalence is justifiable, and one must look at the argument on both sides for a fairer perspective.
On the one hand, Rocketsheep Studios seems to have not learned its lesson from its previous effort Saving Sally. It is a plot pattern that we are all too familiar with, and bluntly, it can get tiring.
It is trite.
It is banal.
It is as shallow as a kiddie pool.
So understandably, audiences who crave more profundity and substance would not prefer Hayop Ka!.
On the other hand, that might be the whole point. Daringly, the film seemingly embraces this flaw with self-awareness. It knows just how ludicrous the story is and takes advantage by pointing its flaws out in a hilarious fashion. And no cinematic medium can best express this than the hyperbolic art form of animation.
With every telenovela-style fight, hand-drawn animation intensifies it tenfold.
Any expressive, romanticized infidelity turns into hysterical caricatures of lasciviousness.
Visual and dialogical witticisms riddle each frame and every scene like an “I Spy” picture book, further spicing its comedic tone.
With these elements, the film further proves how execution matters just as much, if not more, than what narrative it offers. The story is not that deep, but the comedy compensates finely.
But the most distinctive characteristic of its animation would probably be its contemporary Pinoy identity. One Filipino could easily recognize Manila’s well-known landmarks. A politically motivated local can familiarize the socio-economic dichotomy the film attempts to convey. Even the most avid of showbiz pundits can laugh at the puns and references to local pop culture.
And such stylistic choices for the film can work in two counterproductive directions.
Will it relate to its Filipino viewers? Certainly.
Can it, however, be comprehended by foreigners? Doubtful.
Hayop Ka! is not entirely a recommended gateway into mainstream Filipino culture, but it still shows promise in titillating its intended target audiences: the Pinoys.
Yet perhaps the best way to see this potentially divisive film is to place it in where the Filipino film industry is now. The movie is no masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, nor is it the very first of its kind here. But in a country where the animation sector’s prospects look bleak, something must be better than nothing. To acknowledge the existence of Hayop Ka! and those that came before it, whether you despise it or not, is to start a long-overdue discussion of the future of the many aspiring animators of the Philippines.
And that is why this film is one to keep an eye on.
JMC - The Filmy Stan 