By Ma. Cristina Arayata / Philippine News Agency
A cat from another planet is set to learn Filipino values through the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ (NCCA) animation series, “Heneral Tuna.”
This will be aired via the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Facebook page and other social media platforms every Friday starting Oct. 15.
“The NCCA is using animation, short films, teleserye to be able to communicate (message and values) in a subtle yet effective way,” said NCCA OIC-Executive Director Marichu Tellano at the animation’s media preview on Friday (Oct. 8).
The main character Heneral Tuna is from Planet Mingming and is tasked to observe the earthlings, because he is the best general on their planet. Upon opening his eyes after arriving on Earth, he finds himself, injured, in a household where family members care for him.
In the first episode, Heneral Tuna sees a huge difference in how the earthlings act compared to those on Planet Mingming. He narrates that on his planet, no one cares for a fellow when it gets old.
The plan is to invade the earthlings, but Heneral Tuna feels his heart softening as he observes the members’ values. “Is this what they call ‘family’?” “Is this what they call ‘love’?” are just among the things he is curious to find out.
The NCCA earlier conducted research on the most important values among Filipinos. They trimmed this down to 20 values which the NCCA will highlight in their projects.
For “Heneral Tuna,” the values that will be shown include love for family and the community, faith, and health and wellness, among others. Through their research, the NCCA learned that Filipinos also put great value on attaining education, addressing basic needs, honesty and integrity, resilience, and good governance.
Last year, the NCCA launched the teleserye “Project Destination” to entice the audience to see these values without the need to listen to lectures.
“Heneral Tuna” will have seven episodes with a run-time of three minutes per episode, according to the NCCA. (PNA) – jlo
