The Philippine Online Chronicles

Film buffs awaited with hushed anticipation the release of the first Filipino full-length animated film Urduja. After all, it was thirteen years in the making, a project that had been shelved then dusted off for so many times because of budgeting concerns. When it finally came into fruition, everyone became excited about the project, with some bloggers even calling it “the return of Filipino animation.”

Expectant viewers will not be disappointed: Urduja is an entertaining, and dare I say, competent animated film that surely will be appreciated by Filipino families. It is a movie that achieves its intentions well enough.

Urduja is the fictional story of a Pangasinense princess: a skillful, intelligent, and capable monarch of the Tawilisin tribe. Her dying father Lakanpati, however, is still obliging her to marry, since tradition dictates that a woman alone cannot rule over the tribe. There are a couple of suitors, such as the boastful Simakwel, but Urduja seems to have set her affections on the Chinese outlander Limhang.

Some would argue that there are similarities with the plot of existing foreign animated films such as Mulan and Pocahontas, but Philippine history and culture show that such strong females have also lived and ruled in our country. After all, upon watching the entire film, you will learn that the story is quite distinct and natural for its setting. Also, the addition of supporting characters made the plot and the dialogue more dynamic. Tarsir the Tarsier, Kukut the Rat, and Urduja's maiden-in-waiting Mayumi, though sometimes inconsistent with the period, provided the unique brand of Filipino comic relief. 

I think the film's major achievement is with the music and sound. I have never heard a Filipino film so clearly before Urduja, with cannons booming and crickets chirping distinctly. The orchestration of the beautiful score composed by Mon Faustino was aptly mixed and applied. And of course, the songs composed by the songwriting team of Ogie Alcasid and Joey de Leon were perfect for the story. Tarsir and Kukut's number is smile-inducing, while “Awit ni Wang” was terrifying. Urduja's number “Babae Ako” elicits last song syndromes.

The actors who lent their voices to the animated characters did an amazing job. Regine Velasquez fits the title character capably, vocally giving the title role the necessary emotions. She was indignant, compassionate, sorrowful, and furious whenever necessary. Her singing, of course, is topnotch. Cesar Montano 's Limhang is good, but the singing could be more fine-tuned. Ruby Rodriguez's Mayumi, Michael V.'s Kukot, and Allan K.'s Tarsir are all perfectly dubbed, thanks to the comedic personalities of these three actors. Johnny Delgado made Wang the villain extra frightening. 

The animation was competent enough, although aesthetically I would want the characters to have more dimension in terms of color. Also, some of the dubbing seemed a little off because the characters at times produced different facial expressions for the supposed vowels. Just the little details. Nevertheless the visual direction was good, and actually exceeds expectations.

Philbert Ortiz Dy of Clickthecity.com agrees. He states, “(The animation is) still a bit rough around the edges... But it’s hard to fault the movie for these small technical hiccups knowing the constraints of production nowadays. Fact is, while it isn’t as clean as foreign productions, there is no lack of technique and skill, and it gets the job done.” Blogger celestial_spare praises the film's animation, remarking that “given the limited budget and an abundance of home-grown talent, Urduja does its best—and acquits itself delightfully.”
 
A pet peeve though: director Reggie Entienza could have made the editing a little tighter. This is the usual delinquency of Filipino films, the loose editing. A smoother story would hold attention longer. 

Looking at it, however, Urduja is an achievement for the Filipino film industry, who now long awaits for its renaissance. It is a good platform to showcase not only the animation but also the musical and filmmaking talents of the Filipinos. You'd leave the theater proud and smiling.

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