By: Katrina Beatrice Topacio
Long-awaited Filipino animated Netflix Original film Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story recently premiered on the streaming platform today and let me tell you, the hype does not disappoint.
The film is about Nimfa Dimaano, a sales pussycat who works at a department store. She has a boyfriend named Roger, a mongrel who serves as a janitor and appears to have different life goals from her. The story’s main conflict arises when Nimfa meets Iñigo, a bourgeoisie business dog whom Nimfa is attracted to. The rest of the movie shows Nimfa’s struggle to choose between Roger’s love or Iñigo’s high society charms.
Here is our High Five Review of Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story.
One-of-A-Kind Pinoy Animated Film
Hayop Ka! is the first ever Netflix Original animated film from the Philippines and is named after a Filipino expression that means “you bastard,” but is literally translated as “you animal.” This might be an animated film, but looking at the title alone, it is definitely Rated-R, with the film featuring a refreshing look at societal expectations, personal aspirations, power struggles and the classic love triangle.
Relatable and Well-Written
This film mainly focuses on the mundanities of life, especially the complexity of adulthood and romance. The characters are real in their emotions and dilemmas, with each of them having unique traits that viewers will be able to relate to and empathize with. There is not a single dull moment in this film because it is jampacked with dialogue exchanges that are sprinkled with Filipino humor, vulgar language and superhero-style action sequences, in addition to witty puns, memes and jokes that will definitely keep viewers entertained the entire time.
Animation and Design
The animation and design of the film is visually appealing and familiar, especially for the general public who grew up watching similarly animated animal characters. The art style complements the movie through juxtaposition, which makes the movie more entertaining to watch. The cute appearance of characters is used to portray the film’s mature themes in a fun and relatable way, while the use of anthropomorphic animals subtly highlights character traits and gives room for the writers to have fun with puns and turns of phrases in the script.
Voice Acting
Hayop Ka! is also driven by a star-studded voice cast, with Angelica Panganiban as Nimfa, Robin Padilla as Roger, Sam Milby as Iñigo, and Empoy Marquez and Arci Muñoz in supporting roles. The voice actors did a phenomenal job in portraying the emotions of the various characters throughout the film. The voices perfectly fit the different personalities of each character, which made the story more interesting to follow. Whether it be comedy or drama, the voice acting was really natural and brought the characters to life.
The Message
The film emphasizes that we should always set our priorities in life without sacrificing our moral values. It is important to work hard for your dreams, but never forget the values that you have learned and work your way up without losing them. Many people don’t want to be held accountable for the choices they make, and often don’t want to admit that their decisions have real life consequences. No matter how hard you try, you can’t escape the results of your actions, whether good or bad.
The Verdict: 4 out of 5 Waves!
The story is well-written, the animation is topnotch, and the film features an all-star cast of actors that bring the characters to life. The film is witty, vulgar, funny, and despite the talking animals, very real and relatable. Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story might just be the film that paves the way for even more remarkable animated Filipino films in the future. This light and comical animation lives up to all the hype and is definitely worth watching. Catch it on Netflix and let us know what you think about it in the comment section below!