During this time, Mr. Tony Tuviera was quietly working on his dream project which at that time called "Project 906" (the room where his artists were working from was 906). The project was beset with problems and could not seem to take off. Mr. Tuviera's and I crossed path I think in the latter part of 1998 or as early 1999 and I was offered to head production of the movie.

I was very interested but could not leave PASI at the time because I just assumed the position of General Manager then. I talked to PASI's CEO, my boss, to tell him that if ever the movie came to be that I be permitted to work on the project while managing PASI and he agreed (PASI has helped this project tremendously).

I fell ill in 2002, this made me decide that whatever happens, I want to work on the film on a fulltime basis (at this point, the movie was not progressing at all). Then it was Mr. Tuviera's turn to get sick unfortunately.

In 2006, PASI decided close down it's 2D traditional division. This was sort of a blessing for me, as well as the artists I wanted to work with on Urduja. You see, I couldn't leave PASI, the company was like a home to me. The management, the crew, everyone, were like family to me. This is where I honed my skills, so when we were retrenched, there was no guilt for any of us to move on to 7Toon and start working on Urduja.

So, Mr. Tuviera acquired all the 2d digital software and hardware of PASI. Aside from working on Urduja, we also worked on LeapFrog's Christmas special last year. We will still do foreign projects but will definitely be producing more local animation.

My role was to gather the right people for the project, the artists who had the right skill and correct attitude. The people whom I felt best represented the industry.

MIMBI: The animation studio in Puerto Princesa, Palawan is owned by Ernie and Czarina Lim. It is called Road n Trip. I wanted to have access to satellite studios outside Metro Manila to keep the costs down and also to be able to train artists in other parts of the Philippines.

I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. I started working with Road N Trip while still in PASI. We had them work on very difficult shows like Benjamin Bear and Biker Mice From Mars. It was a no brainer for me to subcontract "Urduja" to them.

MIMBI: The people behind 7Toon are the same people who worked with me in PASI.
Lani Barcelona (Digital Manager), Amy Fortes (animation director), Lito De Lara (Art Director), Man Pinza (Animation Supervisor), Rodel Martin (Layout Supervisor), and Tez Manalo (production manager), our animation talents, and me of course.

Each of these talents have been in the business for at least 20 years. Each has been able to work on a wide range of animation styles from comic book heroes, to love stories, from children's fairy tales to horror stories for kids. They are well respected in the business both here and abroad.

The Filipino animator is interesting because he brings his heart into his work. As a race, Filipinos are emotional and you will see it in their work. They adlib a lot on their scenes, some clients love it, the others hate it. Personally, I find it very funny when they do that. There are also very few animators who can animate sarcasm, Filipinos being very "pilosopo" (ed's notes: like a philosopher) have done it successfully.

Q: "Urduja" is not the first Filipino animation, but it appears to be different. What makes
it different or outstanding compared to other Filipino animators?

MIMBI: I believe "Urduja" is the first fully animated Filipino film. The others that have come out before, like Ibong Adarna had live action scenes in the movie. The whole 90 minutes of Urduja is fully animated. It is also the first 2D traditional digital film with some 3D effects and animation.

It is outstanding because the project was well planned out. It shows how the Philippine animation industry has matured. It is ably supported by my producer, Mr. Tony Tuviera and director, Mr. Reggie Entienza who wrote and directed the movie, Mike Tuviera, our creative director, and the best artists in the other fields like editing (Manet Dayrit), sound editing (Mike Idioma), musical scoring (Mon Faustino).

There are 5 song sequences in the movie. All songs were written by no other than Joey de Leon. Ogie Alcasid did the melody and Mon Faustino did the arranging. The movie is recorded in 5.1 digital sound.