CEBU, Philippines - Happy Land is a new children’s program that inspires young viewers to discover happiness despite the bad things in life. Happy Land follows the lives of Anna and Buboy—children of OFW parents—who in a poverty-stricken tenement discover a portal to Happy Land, a fantasy world where knowledge thrives and problems are systematically solved.
Through Anna and Buboy’s story, the show intends to present reality to child viewers and seeks to address the issue of OFW-ism by helping its main characters cope with OFW parents. Combining animation, and live-action photography, the show will teach basic pre-school subjects through independent segments.
Two adorable kids lead Happy Land’s cast. Patricia Gayod, 9, plays Anna, Buboy’s loving sister, who acts as mother to Buboy, while their Nanay works as a domestic helper in Hongkong. Jermaine Ulgasan, 6, plays Buboy, a quick-witted kid who’s very dependent on his older sister.
Public Affairs host Love Añover plays Ate Belle, the tenement’s friendly repairwoman who can mend everything from broken irons to broken hearts. Veteran theater and TV actress Joy Viado joins the cast as Tita Auring, Anna and Buboy’s strict but loving aunt. Completing the main cast are the animated creatures Mingming, the resident black cat who will lead the kids on their journey through Happy Land; Bulatelino, a talking earthworm who will teach kids about Science; and Popoy and Cocoy, Happy Land’s mice duo, who will bring them to all sorts of places through their segment “Mga Dagang Gala.”
Happy Land, which is presented by GMA 7 News and Public Affairs, is directed by acclaimed film and television director, Bb. Joyce Bernal. It will premiere on June 6 (9:30-10AM).