HAYOP KA! THE NIMFA DIMAANO STORY (2020) Review
Directed by Avid Liongoren
Even the details in the visuals are humorous, we could really say that ‘Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story‘ is a leap in Philippine animation. It’s just that the themes the story wants to tackle, they’re too familiar and the film felt like it lacks depth even with some interesting issues like misogyny.
At times, Hayop Ka feels like a lengthy short film. You sometimes feel like it’s just a skit and maybe it works more as just as that. Or maybe it’s just me. It’s just that these storylines have been used and reused for thousands of times, what makes it different now is that it’s animated, portrayed by animals and most of the time, the lines are thrown at a lighter, in a joke way. And the jokes work, it’s just that you feel like you want more.
The story is perceived through Nimfa, which, I think has no clue of what her actions really does to the people around her. She wants a more romantic and exciting love life but at the expense of someone who does nothing really bad… until it turns out he’s also a douche. That’s the thing, I was rooting for the “bad guy” at first. But maybe that’s the message of the story, we’re all douche. And if that’s the case, I don’t know were I’ll go from here.
The animation is amazing, attention clearly was put in while working on this. It feels like it’s the (only?) thing that makes Hayop Ka! special. Angelica Panganiban is great, as always, from drama, the punch lines, the angry lines, she does it perfectly. Sam Milby and the rest of the voice actors are fine.
It may take a toll for some, but with the excessive, cartoonish lines and visuals, Hayop Ka! delivers what the audience expected from it – entertainment.
3 OUT OF 5 STARS
‘Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story’ is now streaming on Netflix from Netflix, Spring Films and Rocketsheep Studio.