What if Philippines has our very own Disney Princess?

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there lived a princess. She was in so much distress it was said that only a knight in shining armor could rescue her. Luckily, a prince happened to be passing by. He valiantly fought dragons, climbed the highest towers, fought a batallion of zombies, basically almost completely tortured so he could finally save the damsel in distress. He then succeeds and well, they got married and they lived happily ever after.

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Disney fairy tales have influenced a lot of girls of all ages with their oh so colorful and magical stories. A number of weddings have been fairy tale themed. Most of the kiddie birthday parties I attended were Disney inspired. And it's good. At the same time, Disney's stories have reached a lot of continents showcasing the beautiful castles and landscapes. My personal favorite is Moana simply because I love beaches. Then it came to me, Philippines has a lot of beaches, beautiful white sand, plus a lot of other beautiful scenery we can definitely showcase in a magical story in Disneyworld.

Then I got to the question: What if there was a fairy tale with a Philippine setting? What if we have our own Disney Princess?

Philippines has a lot to offer with its folklores. We have the folktale of the Pineapple, or the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper, or the story about why the bitter gourd tastes bitter. Almost everything in the country has a story and a tale. Some sounds true, some not so. Some magical, some mystical. But which of the stories could be Disney Pictures worthy? I have my eye on the folk tale of the Mayon Volcano.

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The Title

Every story should have a catchy title. It has to be simple so that kids will be able to remember your story. It should also be unique. The word should be defined as your story after they have watched your movie. As for me, I don't want people to say "Ah, it's a story of a beautiful volcano". I want them to remember every last bit of it and define it with the title I will choose. I have a couple of choices actually.

• Mayon Volcano: A Fairy Tale
  But that sounds more like a book report than a Disney fairy tale, right? So that's not gonna be our title.
• The Legend of Mayon
  I haven't seen any fairy tale starting with "The legend." It doesn't sound too appealing at all.
• Magayon
  Now that sound like it could be lined up with Rapunzel or Cinderella or Snow White or Moana. We could also consider adding the word "Daraga" to make it "Daragang Magayon" which translates it to "Beautiful Maiden." But for now, let's settle with "Magayon"

The Characters

Every story has a hero/heroine, anti hero/villain, weird crazy person who knows a lot and usually has the answers to any unsolved mystical historical past or future of the story, the overprotective parent and the sidekick who could also be the comical character of the plot.

Hero (Magayon)

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A beautiful maiden, the daughter of the village chief. She is more than jut a pretty face, she is brave and independent. Her father has been training her since she was little as she is the successor to the throne. She has made her peace with it. As a matter of fact, she is very much ready. All she needs is a suitable man to help her rule their tribe. Their custom is to arrange their marriage within the clan. This is where her and her father's argument starts. She believes that marriage should not be forced. Her father believes otherwise. Her mother on the other hand supports her stand but is also bound by her marriage to their chief, her father and is not allowed to go against him as the law forbids.

The over-protective Parent (Makusog, Magayon's father, the Chief)

As a chief to his village, he is just, benevolent, charismatic, beloved by all. As a protector of his people, he is brave, fierce and feared by all his enemies. He has restored peace and balance amongst the neighboring tribes in Albay. His rule is simple: Obey the law and everybody lives harmoniously. Disobey the law, face the consequences. And by consequences, he means punishment depending on the weight of the disobedience. The Ancient Laws are non-negotiable. The ancient laws include offering the chief's first born daughter to marriage to the family next to the chief's rank. This is a dilemma that Makusog is facing right now. Her daughter, headstrong and stubborn, has just refused her suitor. "What's the sense of courtship if I'm not allowed to say no?" That's what Magayon said before she ran off somewhere else when he confronted her about it.

The Villain (Patuga)

The son of the family next in line to Makusog's in the tribal throne. Their family has always wanted to lead the tribe and finally end Makusog's reign. Patuga is so blinded by his ambition, he is ready to marry the chief's firstborn even if he knows that she is going to be a pain in his butt in the future. Women will be bound to bow down to their husband anyway, I don't think she will be that much of a problem. He has his eyes on the prize, nothing can stop him, especially not some woman. He was fuming with rage when Magayon turned him down. He is well-built and good looking, if I may say so. Every woman in his tribe wishes to be his wife but they are all small fish to his huge ambition.

The Prince Charming (Panganoron)

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He is not a prince but is also a son of a neighboring tribe leader. He is the love interest of our Magayon. He rescues our damsel in distress only she was not really in distress when he rescued her. They start of with a not so friendly encounter. Magayon just ran off from her father after a heated argument about turning down Patuga's proposal. As always, she went to the river to take a dip. She was in her birthday suit and is playfully swimming with the freshwater fishes around her. One of them unintentionally bites her. She was struggling to keep afloat and from afar, it looked as if she was drowning. Panganoron immediately comes to her rescue. She was furious at the intruder. She was kicking and punching him it was becoming tiring for him to get her to the shore. When they were finally on the other side of the river, she got even more furious with the handsome intruder because her clothes were on the other side. He, on the other hand was speechless because of the beauty standing in front of her. He immediately falls in love and has decided to woo her until she says yes to him. And with his persistence, she finally gave in. At the shores of the river, they celebrated their love under the light of the full moon. Of course, they just shared their true love's kiss, what else were you thinking of? This, may I remind you, is a children's fairy tale, after all.

I have a concern though. Since Disney is an international name, we also have to give our Prince Charming a name that would be very easy to pronounce. Panganoron sure is a tribal name but is difficult to remember even for me. So for the benefit of our target audience, let's change his name to "Panggon." It's a variation from Pangga which is a Bicolano (or Cebuano, I think) term that means Love.

The Sidekick (Amihan, Panggon's body guard)

He is no ordinary sidekick or body guard. He is someone very important in this story. Let's just say he has a special role later.

Weird Crazy Person

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There are ancient laws that keep the tribes in check. And for every law, there is an enforcer. In our story, it is a beautiful tiny fairy that disguises herself as an old lady or an innocent child, keeping watch on everybody's actions. Because Makusog has been a very effective Chieftain, her services were no longer needed making her unemployed. She made residence in the meadows just near the river where she sees two young people falling in love with each other. She knows she will be needed soon enough. Especially now that she witnessed the kiss the two just shared. She hasn't witnessed such kind of kiss, one that could break any spell, break down any barriers. The kind of kiss that can defy any Ancient rules. True love's kiss. And oooh how much she wanted to help! And oh, she knows who Amihan really is. (wink!)

The Plot

The story is simple. I kinda have told half the story through the introduction of the characters but let me rephrase or retell it one more time.

Our story starts in a village in Albay that consists of several tribes. One of the tribe leaders is Makusog who has a beautiful, smart, brave but headstrong daughter, Magayon. She has been arranged to be married to Patuga when she turns 16 and by the ancient rules, Patuga is to court her before their marriage. To make the engagement official, Magayon should accept Patuga's proposal who will then offer dowry to the tribal leader. The ceremony has been postponed several times because of Magayon. When she finally ran out of excuses, she attended the ceremony but turned down the proposal which made her father furious.

She meets Panggon at the river for the first time and they have a mishap on their first encounter. Panggon falls in love with Magayon instantaneously and soon enough, she falls in love with him too. Makusog finds out about their relationship and immediately imprisons Panggon who was sentenced to death. Patuga on the other hand kidnaps Magayon's mother. He will only free Magayon's mom if she agrees to marry him.

Magayon is torn between saving her mother and the love of her life. At the brink of hopelessness, she is about to agree to marry Patuga. Weird crazy lady, the fairy, who became friends with the couple helps free her mom. With only Panggon to worry about, Magayon sets out to look for him in the caves. The fairy gives her specific instructions on what to do so that the gods of the ancient kingdoms will favor their relationship. She and Panggon needs to cross the river to the place where they first met before the red moon completely covers the Earth that night. There, they will be protected by the gods.

I twisted the original story a bit to fit it into a more or less 2 hour movie.

The Plot Twist

I mentioned earlier that Amihan has a very important role in this story. Well, here it is:

Magayon manages to find him and they try to escape. They got to the meadows and as they were about to board the boat waiting for them by the river, they see Patuga's troops closing in on them. An arrow was about to hit Magayon but Panggon blocked it with his shield. He was already dehydrated and is slowly losing his might because of the tortures that Makusog has brought upon him during his imprisonment. They boarded the boat and crossed the river. Amihan was nowhere to be found. The troops of Makusog and Patuga were closing in on them. Patuga almost caught Magayon but was blinded by a bright light. A strong gust of cold wind blew and they were all stumped. Makusog instantly recognizes Amihan as the God of the Winds and bows down. Magayon and Panggon hugged each other for they know the gods have favored them.

The Ending

In the original story, Panganoron (Panggon) and Magayon dies in the epic battle and the site where they died became the Mt. Mayon. I didn't want the story to be tragic so I did not kill them. I made them live happily ever after. But yeah, the site where they died (of old age maybe) became their graveyard which then became a mountain. It was a gift from Amihan whom they amazed with how much they loved each other.

There are other folk tales that are Disney worthy but I am really very much amazed of the story of Magayon. Even the volcano itself screams beauty and elegance. I sure hope one day Philippines will have our very own Disney Princess. And I hope it is Daragang Magayon.

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I have read the story of the Legend of Mt. Mayon on a book when I was young but for the reference of this post, I used this story as well as this story as my guide.

I played with the story a bit (errr a lot) to give it twists and the Disney Princess factor. This post is a product of my imagination and quest to answer the question: "What if Philippines has our very own Disney Princess"

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