RPG Metanoia

Metanoia, not Marinduque.

First off, boo to Robinsons MovieWorld for not showing this in 3D. Are you saving on your electric bills? Or are you too selfish to bring out your 3D glasses for the holidays? Cheapskates.

Sorry, families. No 3D films for the holidays.

Overall, laudable effort from the folks at Thaumatrope Animation. Of course, it's not as perfect as Pixar, but that's only because we are a Third World country.

Like us.

But still, for a Third World country to come out with something like this... I'd have to take my hat off. Well, first I'd have to buy myself a top hat like that character Mang Ernie wears, then I'd wear it, then I'd take it off.

"You like my hat, eh?"

Okay, first off: we must stop comparing it to Pixar. Just like we should stop dreaming about playing in the 2014 World Cup. We're not there yet. But we're getting there.

"Wanna bet?"

So let us judge this film on its own merits. It has the look of those animated segments in video games, but cleaner, more polished. And some of you may also notice that the sequences inside Metanoia (the online world) look a bit choppy. Well, it helps to create a visual difference between the real world and the online world. Great move there, Luis (let's pretend I'm close friends with the director, Luis Suarez). More than half of the movie takes place online, so that saved them a hell of a lot of rendering time. And in fact, that is the reason why this film took five years to make. I'd say that in their heaviest scenes (meaning the scenes with the most elements), it probably took more or less twenty-four hours to render one single frame. But that actually depends on how fast their computers are.

"Wait... what?"

Anyway, great film. One small step for Filipino animation, one giant leap for... Filipino animation. Darn. But the legacy of this film will be measured not by how much it rakes from the box office (no thanks to cheapskates like you, Robinsons MovieWorld), but by how many full-length animated films get made after this. This film will open eyes, and will result in not just one kid in the audience thinking, "I'm going to be an animator when I grow up!" This film will also open pockets, as investors will start thinking, "Think of how much we can make with the merchandising!"

And if you can, please come up with a new film? I have enjoyed this one, and cannot wait for another one. Can you do it like once a year? And you don't have to release in December with all those Metro Manila Film Fest losers (except maybe Rosario, but I haven't seen it yet). This film is already a winner in my book.


*pics from Movie News, Me Likes Art, Science Leadership Academy, icis.com, Trips or Treats, and Robinsons MovieWorld (BOO!)


RPG Metanoia. Philippines. 2010.


Rating: Eight out of ten.
Hiring Aga Muhlach as one of the voice actors: One out of ten.