Dayo Movie

Comedian Michael V gives life to one of the characters in the Pinoy animation film, Dayo

A traditional full-length animated film usually takes three years to complete, but Dayo, a fully digital project by Cutting Edge Productions combining 2-D and 3-D animation, will be completed in just two years. More than 500 Filipino artists from all over the country are working to get it out in time for the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival this Christmas.

Every aspect of the film’s production has been a challenge, but it was the storyboard stage that

was the toughest, says director Robert Quilao, because it involved setting the mood and the look of the whole project. The makers brainstormed over the storyline for three days, while the script took four months to complete.

Dayo is the story of overcoming fear and the triumph over adversity. Its main character, 11-year-old Bubuy (voiced by Nash Aguas), is out to save his grandparents who have been abducted by mythical creatures from the magical world of Elementalia. On his journey, he meets Anna Manananggirl (voiced by Katrina Legaspi), a teen manananggal who helps him out.

Mythical creatures like the tikbalang, kapre, manananggal, and aswang are known for being scary and wicked, but Dayo gives them a whole new dimension.

“They are normally presented as predators or portrayed as villains,” explains the director. “We

created a new twist to these characters by transforming the scary manananggal into the friendly

manananggol (defender) who acts as the guardian of Elementalia.”

The $1.3-million-dollar film features the voices of Michael V, Noel Trinidad, Nova Villa, Johnny

Delgado, Peque Gallaga, and Laurice Guillen. The film’s theme, “Lipad” [Fly], is sung by international performer Lea Salonga, while the musical score is done by executive producer Jessie Lasaten, with conductor Gerard Salonga and the FilharmoniKa.