Netizens express anger over "Elcano & Magellan" animated film

8 Nov – Netizens are not amused at all with the news that there exists an animated feature about Portuguese and Spanish explorers Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano, and that it will be released in the Philippines next year.

As reported on Rappler, the poster of the animated film, "Elcano & Magellan: The First Voyage Around the World" recently went viral online, featuring not only the two characters but also a woman presumed to be a pre-colonial Filipina, while Filipino hero Lapu-Lapu could be spotted in the lower half of the poster.

It is noted that the film will also feature the Battle of Mactan between Lapu-Lapu and Magellan.

Following the release of the poster, many Pinoys took to social media to express their annoyance, saying that they find it ridiculous that there is an animated feature about colonisers who abused Filipinos for 300 years.

One netizen expressed ire over the depiction of Lapu-Lapu in the poster, presumed to be the antagonist in the story.

Another tweeted, "Please do not, under any circumstances, support the Elcano and Magellan movie. It portrays colonizers in a good light, like they're the heroes when Magellan brought suffering to the native Filipinos."

On the other hand, Crystal Sky Media, the local distributor of the movie, had since removed the poster from its Facebook page.

(Photo Source: Alex Lapa Facebook)