"Dayo" Premiere Night

It was one of the few movie premiere nights I ever went to, and it was a good one.

Dayo Sa Mundo ng Elementia is the Philippine’s first all-digital full-length animated film and an official entry in the 34th Metro Manila Film Festival that opens on Christmas day together with other Filipino movies. It’s about an 11 year old kid who met a friend from the world of the mythical creatures and seeks help to rescue his grandparents after being abducted and sent in to the world of “Elementalia”, a world were Filipino mythological creatures live outside the real world of the humans. 

Eventhough I am not part of the production team nor do I have any stake at the success of this movie, I guess being a Filipino made something within me want this movie to be a success as well. And after watching the full movie, I know it will.

In terms of animation and visual effects, I found the first part (”real world”) somewhat lacking in terms of visual appeal, I am referring to the school scene where “Bubuy’s“ character is still being developed. However, I think that this might have been done intentionally to highlight the difference with the Elementalia scenes.

You will be left in awe starting on the scene when “Anna“, the manananggal, leads Buboy to Elementalia. From this part on, you will experience how to become dayo (wanderer) yourselves in the world of Elementalia. You would also meet the mystical creatures named Nano, Vicky, Jo, and the hilariously-voiced Toti who sounds quite familiar. Not to be forgotten, and extremely infectious is Narsi’s self-occupied persona.

Directed by Robert Quilao and with a great storyline, the characters are brought to a runabout of adventure-quest and twists. There were also two instances in the movie where a hint for a sequel was given. The musical score also deserves great credit due to the talented Jessie Lasaten.

A great fantasy-animation-adventure movie for the children and the whole family. Kudos to Filipino talent, kudos to “Dayo.”

Related Posts:

“Dayo Sa Mundo ng Elementalia,” Another Pinoy First

‘Dayo’ gets Grade A from Cinema Evaluation Board (CEB)