User Reviews

"Dayo," an entry to the 34th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) hailed as the first all-digital Filipino animated film, has an unenviable job of having to grace the theaters with box-office shoo-ins "Iskul Bukol" and "Ang Tanging Ina Ninyong Lahat" especially since it's going for the profitable market that the two mentioned films have cornered: the family. And while the well-intentioned animated film merits cheers for its willingness to defy expectations in an otherwise predictable film fest, "Dayo" ends up unmemorable and mostly generic, a merely passable viewing fare hobbled by irritatingly obvious product placements, and whose only claim to being more than such is its being slightly better than "Urduja," another Filipino animated film released earlier this year.

Bubuy (voiced by Nash Aguas), an orphaned 11-year old is tormented by bullies at school, who goads him one night into burning a balete tree in the middle of the forest. Incurring the wrath of spirits living in the tree, Bubuy's grandparents (Noel Trinidad and Nova Villa) are kidnapped and it's up to Bubuy and his newly found friend Anna (a vegetarian "manananggal" voiced by Katrina "Hopia" Legaspi) to venture in the fairy-tale world of Elementalia to rescue his grandparents before it's too late.

Directed by Robert Quilao, "Dayo" hasn't what it takes to truly mesmerize its intended audiences. It is possible for the younger ones and their adult companions to be mildly entertained but neither group will be blown away by what is on offer here. The story, while not lacking in potentially exciting adventure scenes, is carried out in an uninspired manner with a script containing not one notable dialog, while the characters are purely forgettable. As the voices of Bubuy and Anna, Aguas and Legaspi enliven their respective roles, clearly having fun with the parts, and strike just the right note of innocence and helplessness. With the possible exception of Michael V as Narsi the "tikbalang", the same can't be said of their seemingly sleepwalking adult counterparts which includes an otherwise impressive voice cast of Peque Gallaga, Johnny Delgado, Laurice Guillen, and Pokwang.

The other strong suit "Dayo" lays claim to is its supposedly groundbreaking animated style, using computer-generated motions and backgrounds. This especially works during the establishing shot of Elementalia which zooms out to reveal a lavishly decorated landscape and introduces its characters and the audiences to a trip through a perilous world. It's not to say it's technically perfect, but at least the vision and effort are evident.

All told, within the animation and competent voice performances of its leads is a film lacking in substance. The writing, credited to Artemio Abad and Eric Cabahug, is lifeless, and the protagonists are perfunctory creations that fail to distinguish themselves from other young animated heroes. "Dayo" is far from terrible, truth be told (in fact, I'll go out of my way here and say it may be better than most of what the MMFF churns out), but it is plastered with such mediocrity that, given the now astronomic standards of animated films, kids and their parents deserve better than. It doesn't stand out and the holiday movie-going public have their sights another way. Indeed, it's an unfortunate task.

I could not sit through this animation movie and everything I read up on it prior to seeing it, I've now since forgotten. Point is, this movie is highly forgettable; I certainly do not have any intention to watch it again, let alone view it with or recommend it to my twin 8 year old nieces (who are avid film fans and have their own list of Netflix favourites).

The premise sounds a little like Spirited Away, except in this movie it is the grandparents that need saving instead of the parents. This small similarity does not bother me, after all there's hardly a thing called original nowadays (if there is, it's once in a blue-moon sort of phenomenon).

My expectations were high for this movie, particularly as I'm an avid viewer of animation (films or TV shows) – I consume a respectable amount for someone my type. The problem with this movie is that I never once felt absorbed in the story. If it was meant to be an adventure, I surely felt stranded rather than compelled to go along with the journey. I felt distant and disconnected towards the characters, the plot and the main protagonist's task. I sussed it out why this was so; for my part, it came down mainly to the in-your-face shoving-down-your-throat of morals. Almost every scene is about dispensing of some moral or two. Felt like I was being hit on the head with a moral stick.

Speaking generally and mainly just about animation, even the worst or best of Disney films are not culprit to this excess preaching. A good animation and story allows the viewers to come up with their own conclusions and at their own pace discover the qualities or lessons to be taken-away after viewing. In the end, it should always be the story and characters that should do all the talking and impressing onto the audience. (In Dayo, I felt like I was standing in front of a lecturer – the story and development was definitely not organic).

Not all animation I have seen so far is good, but regardless of the overall quality, I still somewhat got swept up in some of the stories because the characters are engaging if they are not likable, the plot interesting even if plagued with plot-holes, or, even in the slightest, a semblance or spark of something different or smart or humane in the overall piece. In the very, very least, it could be amusing or entertaining. What I found in Dayo is I found none of these, and I have seen animations wherein the 2D or 3D renderings of characters or world are ugly (in my view) and yet had me captivated and involved. So the problem with Dayo isn't the look of the animation but its execution of the story.

The intentions are good with this movie; it is obvious from the message. The fault within is its need to constantly remind the viewers of it almost every turn. This obviously got in the way of its storytelling and character development, resulting in bland and boring – a very uninspiring animation (regardless if it was part of a film festival).

Too preachy for my taste and lacking in adventurous scope: 4/10

Film Development Council of the Philippines CINEMA EVALUATION BOARD Summation of CEB members' comments on "DAYO, SA MUNDO NG ELEMENTALIA"

Grade: A Cutting Edge Productions, Inc.

"DAYO, SA MUNDO NG ELEMENTALIA" (Cutting Edge Productions) got a grade of 'A,' 11-2, after winning a unanimous tax rebate from the Cinema Evaluation Board.

Described as a signal achievement in Philippine animation, the 3-D "DAYO" could very possibly be the best film of this year's festival. Combining technical excellence, expertly voiced characters, inspiring theme song, masterful direction, and a script that makes good use of Filipino underworld lore while espousing environmental and family values, "DAYO" sets a new watermark in Philippine animated film, one that is at par with yet never imitative of its western counterparts.

The only point that seemed to disturb the board was the obvious product placements in some spots of the movie, but even this seemed to come with the territory in order for the filmmakers to avail of a cutting edge technology.

A bit of a shortfall was also seen in the exposition regarding the mixing of the potion, in which case the editing seemed a trifle too crisp.

One member commented that it was a nice touch for the movie to show that not all manananggals are evil. The "tiyanak", "kapre", "tikbalang", equally mythical "alitubi" are given ample time in spotlight, yet never feeling as if thrown in together chopsuey style, so well integrated are they in the story.

And the voices too are marvel, standouts being Michael V. as the "tikbalang" Narsi, Pokwang as the nanny of the girl "manananggal" Anna, Peque Gallaga as the shaman elder in Elementalia, Laurice Guillen as the endearing Cebuano-speaking she-"kapre", Gabe Mercado as a Mike Enriquez sound-alike, Noel Trinidad who was instantly identifiable as Bubuy's grandfather, and Nash Aguas as Bubuy himself.

This may have been animation, but the voices and the 3-D gave the characters more depth and were more fleshed out than in other movies with actual humans.

Lea Salonga's inspirational theme song about flight fits the movie to a T, and even the scoring by her brother Gerard gave proper accent to the right scenes. Suspension of disbelief while entering the world of Elementalia makes the viewer become like a child again, or as if seeing the wonders of moving pictures for the first time.

Overall, "DAYO" is thoroughly entertaining cartoon movie, and the efforts of those behind it should be encouraged and rewarded. Dare we say that it is better than "Urduja," which also got an 'A.'

That an animated film could be a strong contender for film fest best picture is an indication of how far the genre has come.