Tadhana (1978)

Name: Tadhana
Released: 1978-09-21

Directed by: Nonoy Marcelo
Elsewhere: IMDb

The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More films like this

How it feels

This 1978 Philippine animated film uses comedy and historical vignettes to tell a sanitized version of the country's Spanish colonial era. It was commissioned by Ferdinand Marcos as martial law propaganda and features cartoonish depictions of historical figures and mythological creatures. Despite its origins, the film later became a classroom staple for teaching Philippine history.

satiricallight-heartedanachronisticeducationalbittersweetplayfulpropagandisticobscure

What happens

Tadhana (English: Destiny) is a 1978 Philippine adult animated historical comedy film written and directed by cartoonist Nonoy Marcelo. Presenting a satirical and light-hearted take on Philippine history, the film depicts several historical figures and mythological creatures during the Spanish colonial period through various vignettes. Based on a book of the same name by Ferdinand Marcos, the tenth president of the Philippines, Tadhana was commissioned by the Marcos' government to contributed as a part of the martial law propaganda for the New Society Movement. The film served Imee Marcos as a producer alongside his uncle and collaborator José Zabala-Santos as one of the animators. Tadhana is the first feature-length animated film ever produced in the Philippines, despite being released as a television film, premiered on Philippine television on September 21, 1978, in commemoration of the sixth anniversary of martial law. Although the film fell into obscurity, it became a staple film for educational purposes in subsequent decades. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.