''Fantastica'' is a 2018

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

fantasy comedy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre rose ...

film directed by Barry Gonzales. It stars an ensemble cast including

Vice Ganda Jose Marie Borja Viceral (born March 31, 1976), popularly known as Vice Ganda (; ), is a Filipino comedian, talk show host, television presenter, actor, entrepreneur, and singer. He is a regular host on ABS-CBN's noontime variety show '' It's ...

Bela Padilla Krista Elyse Hidalgo Sullivan (born May 3, 1991), better known by her stage name Bela Padilla (), is a Filipino-British actress, film producer, film director, screenwriter, television host, and brand ambassador. She is best known for Televisi ...

Richard Gutierrez Richard Kristian Gutierrez (born January 21, 1984), known professionally as Richard Gutierrez, is a Filipino actor, environmentalist and model. He is one of the sons of actor Eddie Gutierrez. Early life Richard Gutierrez was born on January ...

Jaclyn Jose Mary Jane Santa Ana Guck (born October 21, 1964), better known by her stage name Jaclyn Jose, is a Filipino cinema and television actress who has earned international critical acclaim. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Private Sho ...

, and

Dingdong Dantes Jose Sixto Raphael Gonzalez Dantes III (born August 2, 1980), professionally known as Dingdong Dantes (), is a Filipino actor, television presenter, dancer, commercial model and film producer who is currently working as an employment contract, ...

. Produced by

Star Cinema ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. (doing business as Star Cinema or ABS-CBN Films) is a Philippines, Filipino film studio and film and television production company and film distributor headquartered in Quezon City. It is one of the major film ...

and

Viva Films Viva Films is a Philippine film production company established under Viva Communications. It was founded on November 11, 1981, by Vic del Rosario Jr. History Veering away from the Sharon Cuneta-Gabby Concepcion tandem, Viva became home to qual ...

, the film serves as an official entry to the

2018 Metro Manila Film Festival The 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) is the 44th edition of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival held in Metro Manila and throughout the Philippines. It is organized by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). During the festiv ...

. The film was released on December 25, 2018. It received mixed reviews from critics, praising the film's special effects but criticizing the lack of character development and some of the comedic scenes. This also marked the last film appearance of comedian

Chokoleit Jonathan Aguilar Garcia (June 25, 1970 – March 9, 2019), better known by his stage name Chokoleit, was a Filipino comedian, actor, and TV host. He was best known for his role as Pearly Shell in the Philippine television series ''Marina''. Edu ...

, who died after suffering a fatal

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Bangued Bangued, officially the Municipality of Bangued ( ilo, Ili ti Bangued; tgl, Bayan ng Bangued), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 50,382 people. ...

, Abra on March 9, 2019, at the age of 48.

Plot

The proprietor of a struggling carnival named Perya Wurtzbach Kleia Blythe was tasked by a princess Sxia Blythe to find three princesses of the knight's land Fantastica. The princesses was warped to Earth separately, where the main cast must track them down to help save Fantastica, but eventually lives regular lives there. But an evil spreads on the knight's land, and his rival Hannah Velax was on their throats. The mission's cover was to revive the carnival/fair to lure the princesses. Also something about portals being opened with 10,000 claughters (clapping and laughter)

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Extended cast

Special participation

Reception

Critical response

''Fantastica'' was released to mixed reviews from critics. Zsarlene B. Chua of ''

BusinessWorld ''BusinessWorld'' is a business newspaper in the Philippines with a nationwide circulation of more than 117,000 (as of March 2014). Founded in 1967 as ''Business Day'', it is Southeast Asia's first daily business newspaper. History ''Busin ...

'' praised the opening sequence by

El Gamma Penumbra El Gamma Penumbra is a Filipino all male shadow play group, best known for being the winners of the first season of '' Asia's Got Talent''. Etymology El Gamma Penumbra comes from the words ''Gamma'' and ''Penumbra'', which (in the words of the ...

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

-breaking jokes and the film's parodies of various drama films, but viewed Vice's continued reliance on

insult comedy Insult comedy is a comedy genre in which the act consists mainly of offensive insults usually directed at the audience or other performers. Typical targets for insult include people in the show's audience, the town hosting the performance, or the s ...

and

innuendo An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...

s as stale and repetitive, saying "The movie's premise and sheer starpower guarantee the film will be a blockbuster, but if you're expecting something new from Mr. Viceral's yearly MMFF entry, you're bound to be disappointed as it is more of the same: innuendos (which makes one question why it's rated PG) and his usual insult comedy." She did however conclude that "it's a feel-good if mind-numbing film for people who want to shut down and get a few laughs here and there." John Magbanua of ''

Bandera Bandera - from a Spanish word meaning a ''flag'' - may refer to: Places * Bandera County, Texas ** Bandera, Texas, its county seat ** Bandera Creek, a river in Texas, with its source near Bandera Pass ** Bandera Pass, a mountain pass in Bandera C ...

'' also gave the film a mixed review, praising the film's special effects and romantic pairings but was critical of the formulaic production and what he noted as censorship done presumably to make the film more family-friendly. Magbanua also noted that ''Fantastica'' could have incorporated more carnival elements to further justify the film's narrative.

Box office gross

It was announced by

in a thanksgiving dinner organized for ''Fantastica'', that the film became the highest grossing MMFF film which starred Vice Ganda. ''Fantastica'' earned with the figure including earnings from both domestic and international release of the film.

References

External links

* {{Vice Ganda 2018 films Circus films Philippine fantasy comedy films Philippine urban fantasy films 2010s fantasy comedy films Star Cinema comedy films Viva Films films Films set in amusement parks Filipino-language films