Manila Bulletin Entertainment had the opportunity to talk to actress Angelica Panganiban and director Arvin Liongoren on the animated adult film "Hayop Ka! - The Nimfa Dimaano Story" which will be shown on Netflix beginning October 29.
1) As your first animation film, how long did it take for you to grasp the role as Nimfa?
Angelica: "Naturally lang… same thing lang siguro sa ginagawa ko; may tawag nga sa akin yung mga katrabaho ko, para akong 'diesel'… sa umpisa para akong nangangapa then habang tumatagal saka pa lang umiinit. Ganun rin naman yung nangyaring experience sakin… lalo na sa umpisa kasi wala naman akong alam sa mundo ng animation, first time ko gumawa at maging voice actor so tinake ko na lang siya as a challenge and of course sa lahat ng challenge is kailangan mo siya i-enjoy yung process."
"Talagang hinayaan ko lang si Direk na maging director… ofcourse meron siyang sariling vision for the film and kailangan 'kong masakyan yun and hindi naman ako napabayaan; hinayaan niya rin naman ako mag take time para magawa ko yung character."
2) Any similarities between you and your character?
Angelica: "Actually di naman malayo sa' kin si Nimfa, though never lang ako nakapag cheat at ayoko naman siya gawin; ayoko namang makapanakit so, siguro wala naman akong nakikitang mali doon sa personality ni Nimfa kasi lahat naman tayo may mga pangarap along the way kaya naiintindihan ko yung character niya at yung proseso para matuto siya."
3) What are the different challenges when it comes to acting in an animation film?
Angelica: "Mahirap siya kasi kulang ka sa tools, wala kang facial expression, hindi tumutulo yung luha mo so very challenging mapaparating sa audience kung ano talaga yung nararamdaman ng character."
"Sa mahihirap na scenes, pinagsasama-sama talaga kami ni Direk (Robin and Sam) at malaking tulong naman.
4) Who worked with the animation style and character design?
Avid: "It was our Art director who came up with the look so what we did was we took an episode of papa jack's love story and we tested cute little cats on it… a very 'san rio' approach but then it looked too cute so we upgraded the look to what it is now…Before the production began, it was a year-worth of just trying to do the film."
5) What is the difference between animation and live action when it comes to casting?
Avid: "For casting we partnered with Spring Films since sila yung mas maraming kilala sa mga artista and it was very simple… we already have archetypes for the voice. So It wasn't some complicated process; it was just Spring Films throwing their suggestions and it was their network of people that they threw in."
6) Assuming you and Nimfa are friends, what piece of advice would you give her?
Angelica: "Okay lang 'yan… ganyan talaga ang life, madadapa pero kailangan mong bumangon basta wag mong kakalimutan yung pinanggalingan mo at kung bakit nadapa para hindi ka na madapa ulit"
7) Is the story inspired by true events?
Avid: Inspired by Radio dramas and ( Midnight radio callers)
8) How long did it take to make this movie and what are the factors involved?
Avid: "The whole film, the production took 3 years of steady production"
9) Any words of advice for aspiring 2d animators like you?
Avid: "Learn all about the boring stuff in life because if you are an animator most of the time you are freelance so you have to learn all about taxes, SSS, Philhealth kasi once na mag-work ka yan yung nago-gloss over; at saka you should know your rights as a worker.
"Animators are mostly passion-driven and most likely you don't know how to negotiate on how much you're gonna get paid kasi nga you're just excited to do the work. so maraming evil na kumpanya who knows how to take advantage of that."
10) Did the pandemic have an effect with the production?
Avid: "We were working through the lockdown and we were able to disassemble the studio then we all worked remotely. And we are lucky that animation can strive through the pandemic."
11) The movie is peppered with a lot of puns. Is it intentional?
Avid: "For our animators, it's their joy to put silly things and their fandoms as easter eggs."