Hollywood films invaded our movie screens for almost ages while Filipino films are already rare by this time. Our films are already gone in the nowhere. The only surviving moment for our pure –Filipino crafted films is the Metro Manila Film Festival or MMFF, which only takes place every Christmas season. This might be a dismal truth to the industry; still, many movie producers try their luck by creating movies that will surely be enjoyed by our fellow Filipino people.
One of the ‘ever –loyal’ and dedicated to the industry especially to the MMFF is the blockbuster hit movie series Enteng Kabisote which was made possible through the joint efforts of OctoArts movie outfit and M –Zet Films together with the primary stars of the film. This 2010 MMFF, Enteng Kabisote made a great revelation by creating a team –up with also some of the biggest hit makers in the industry; the IMUS Productions, the GMA Productions and also the Regal Films. With this great team up, a sure blockbuster hit movie series was born: Si Agimat at Si Enteng Kabisote.
The Origin of Enteng Kabisote
Let us know first who Enteng Kabisote is. Enteng Kabisote (portrayed by Vic Sotto) was first seen in the movie Okay Ka, Fairy Ko and later in the Enteng Kabisote series 1-4 where he is a mortal bachelor. Living a simple life is already a pleasure for Enteng Kabisote, but when he met a beautiful fairy who happened to be the Princess of a certain kingdom of fairies and wonders named Enkantasia, his life was changed. This fairy was named Faye, or Princess Faye (first portrayed by Alice Dicxon in the Okay Ka, Fairy Ko version, then Kristine Hermosa in Enteng Kabisote series 1 -4, and Gwen Zamora in ‘Si Agimat at Si Enteng Kabisote’) as how she was called in her kingdom. Princess Faye fell in love with Enteng as Enteng fell in love with her too.
With that, they insisted to get married even against the will of Ina Magenta (portrayed by Alice Dicxon, G Tongi, Allan K and Amy Perez in the latest version), her mother and also the queen of Enkantasia. After getting married, they live their lives in the mortal world together with friends and their children which comprise of Aiza (Enteng’s anak –anakan whom portrayed by Aiza Seguerra), Benok (Enteng Kabisote’s first born child whom portrayed by Vic Sotto’s real son, Oyo Boy Sotto), and Ada (Enteng Kabisote’s second child).
But the story of the movie doesn’t just evolve within the love story of Enteng and Faye. It seems like, where there is good, there is evil. Ina Magenta ruled the Enkantasia with straightforwardness together with her sisters Ina Azul (portrayed by Toni Rose Gayda) and Ina Verde (portrayed by Melanie Marquez). Their joint powers controlled everything in Enkantasia, and this enrages their out casted sister Satana/ Amarillo (portrayed by Bing Loyzaga) so much. With this, Satana was too much willing to overthrow them so that she can get hold of control to the Enkantasia, and also get hold with all the powers of her good sisters. From the consecutive series of Enteng Kabisote, Satana showed aggressiveness by using all of her dark allies but still, in the end, the good still persists.
Si Pepeng Agimat
Agimat or also known as Pepeng Agimat, was first portrayed by the former senator Ramon Revilla, Sr. This well known ‘agimat’ or what we call ‘lucky charm’ gives extraordinary powers to those who get hold of it. He is the local superhero of the Filipino movies that evil creatures want to defeat in order to get hold of the precious ‘agimat’. With the retirement of Ramon Revilla, Sr., he passed the ‘agimat’ to his real and reel son, Senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr.
The Encounter of Agimat and Enteng Kabisote
Enteng was in their house in the mortal world when he lost sight of his beautiful wife, Faye. He tried to ask his children about the whereabouts of their mom, but his children insisted that they do not know. Enteng guessed that Faye was fetched by Ina Magenta for another facial reconstruction/ change of appearance. So, he asked Benok, his son, to transport him to Enkantasia using his powers. Enteng Kabisote doesn’t have powers unlike his children. As he stepped inside the borders of Enkantasia, he got sight of a bubbly –looking but pretty fairy who happened to be his wife, Faye (Gwen Zamora). He learned from then that Faye really underwent ‘again’ the natural process of change of appearance, which according to Ina Magenta (Amy Perez), they cannot resist. While in that place, Agimat was transported in Enkantasia through a hole while running after a monster who had just tried to flee away from their hometown. Unfortunately, the monster went straight to the mortal land, leading Agimat to befriend with Enteng Kabisote so he can keep up with his pursuit against the monster. They created a friendship that was used by Satana in order to keep with her goal, but in the end, she loses to the joint forces of Enteng Kabisote, Agimat, and the kin of Enkantasia.
The Impact of the Immersion
Two is better than one, often told by many. In this film, it has been evident that their immersion created a great impact to the huge number of their audiences. However, the direction of the story remained the same; it does not appear to the audience that there are really two big actors on the scene. Agimat became a supporting role on the scene despite the claims that they both spearheaded the film. Even the enemies of Agimat became supporting characters to the main antagonist, Satana. To conclude, the film was still under the by –line of Vic Sotto. The entire movie was really intended for children, so maybe it’s the explanation why the story did not go far from the usual concept of Enteng Kabisote.
The Message of the Movie
The previous movies of Enteng Kabisote conveyed only one message, and that is about sticking to the good because whatever may happens, it will still persist. With ‘Si Agimat at Si Enteng Kabisote’, the same message was also conveyed to the audiences, thus strengthening the faith of the Filipino people into good things, and also to God.
All in all, the movie became a big hit last MMFF because of two factors: first, Agimat and Enteng Kabisote are big names in the films, and seconds, it’s the first time that those big names emerged as one. That’s just it, nothing more, nothing less.
