Two years after crash-landing on Earth, where he found his pa-mil-ya and community, our favorite blue alien cat, Heneral Tuna, is back to tell his story of how he learned Filipino values, this time in ink, paper, and various Filipino languages.
The National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) teamed up with Filipino independent publisher Aklat Alamid to adapt the Heneral Tuna animated series into a children’s picture book series. Heneral Tuna was produced by the NCCA together with Rocketsheep Studio, an award-winning independent animation studio behind hit animated films Hayop Ka! and Saving Sally.
Photo: Heneral Tuna
Heneral Tuna premiered in 2021 online through the FDCP Channel and Kumu. In the seven-episode mini-series, the namesake lead character learned what it was like to be part of a family and community, learning Filipino values through its people, food, history, even religion, and natural disasters. Where citizens of Planet Mingming (his home planet) would let each other suffer rather than lend a hand, Heneral Tuna learns that caring for oneself and other people can make a community stronger.
Aklat Alamid is a publisher of children’s and young adult books written in the various languages of the Philippines. Established in 2017 and based in General Santos City, Aklat Alamid is also driven by their advocacy of creating, promoting, and nurturing children’s literature in regional languages through partnerships, book fairs, and events.
Photo: Aklat Alamid/NCCA
For the Heneral Tuna picture book, Aklat Alamid will adapt the story from each of the animated series’ seven episodes into Filipino and Binisaya/Cebuano. The books are geared towards younger learners, primarily grade school students. The picture book series was launched formally on November 13 in Cebu City, with preview events and school caravans in various locations in Visayas and Mindanao, which started on October 23 through the Bálay Pinoy Filipino Values festival. Filipinos young and young-at-heart can soon purchase a copy through Aklat Alamid’s online stores (Pumplepie Books and Lazada) and partner indie bookstores in Metro Manila, Baguio, La Union, Naga, Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and General Santos City.
Planet Mingming’s famous hero is back on air over Knowledge Channel
Coinciding with the release of the Heneral Tuna picture book series is the NCCA’s partnership with the Knowledge Channel Foundation to air the Heneral Tuna episodes through the Knowledge Channel.
Heneral Tuna began airing on November 6, with Knowledge Channel available on local free TV, cable channels, and online.
The Heneral Tuna series shows how Filipino Values are woven through daily life via stories that are entertaining yet meaningful. Sharing Filipino Values through animation and literature is NCCA’s way of upholding, instilling, and promoting these values to a new generation of Filipinos.
To keep up with the general and his hijinks on Planet Earth, Earthlings young and not-so-young can catch his updates on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
