Ban or cut on animated film featuring Magellan and Lapu-Lapu pushed

A Filipino lawmaker has urged the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to conduct a thorough review of the Spanish animated movie “Elcano and Magellan: The First Voyage Around the World."

In his release to the media on Friday, Agusan del Norte 1st District Representative Lawrence Fortun also urged MTRCB to "ban the film's showing, or remove certain scenes, as may be warranted, to prevent a possible bastardization of the memory and heroic legacy of Lapu-Lapu and his people who first resisted Spanish rule in the Philippines."

The said movie about the adventures of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastian Elcano is set for theatrical release on January 2020.

Its teaser trailer alone drew a lot of flak from the Filipino side, with some saying that the version of the tale might include inaccurate depictions of history.

In his release, Fortun emphasized the issue that Lapu-Lapu might be depicted as a villain of the film, and that the film could be shown primarily to children.

"There are apprehensions that our cherished hero Lapu-Lapu might be depicted as a villain in this movie, and we, as Filipinos, cannot allow such a lie to be propagated right on our very own soil," the congressman said.

"What can make matters even worse is that the movie caters primarily to young audiences, especially children," he says.

Lapu-Lapu opposed the Spaniards' plan to conquer Mactan island, prompting the famed Battle of Mactan where Magellan would be killed in combat.

Fortun suggested that Philippine history experts be tapped in reviewing the said movie in order to provide a "more in-depth perspective and ensure that the movie will not dishonor Lapu-Lapu’s rightful place in our collective memory."

"While we acknowledge the importance of the circumnavigation of the world to human history, may its retelling not devalue the admirable courage shown by early Filipinos in fighting for freedom and independence," Fortun said.

Fortun also likened the situation to that of an animated film called "Abominable" that featured China's nine-dash line map in the South China Sea.

"A careful and well-informed review is imperative to avoid the same experience we had on the movie 'Abominable' which was rated G by the MTRCB and allowed to be shown and pulled out only after adverse public reaction about a scene that included a map featuring China’s unilaterally claimed 9-dash line," the lawmaker said.

Fortun stressed that the MTRCB has at its disposal "the power to prohibit its showing or order the removal of scenes that may be offensive to the sensibilities of the Filipino people."

"We hope the agency mandated to empower Filipinos to be 'able to evaluate and intelligently choose media and entertainment content' will take a more proactive stance this time around," he said. —Margaret Claire Layug/JST, GMA News