Angelina and Yaya go big time

MANILA, Philippines – It all began in Bubble Gang’s Ang Spoiled when a pampered only child started terrorizing her nanny, tagging her as the loser yaya. The naughty unica hija enjoyed bullying her nanny to hell. She’s seven-year-old Angelina who continues to create havoc on her yaya with ”Whatever Yaya, you’re such a loser!“ expression.

The scheming Angelina is Ogie Alcasid while the miserable yaya is Michael V./Bitoy.

Angelina’s naughty tactics and Yaya’s naiveté in Bubble Gang’s segment have made so popular. Thus, many uploaded them on YouTube. They eventually gained more popularity in their tandem as themselves in Hole in the Wall. The primetime game show gave a wider venue for this crazy pair to display their wackiness.

Ogie and Bitoy know that the Angelina-Yaya mania has caught everybody’s attention, not only in the Philippines, but abroad, for some time now.

“Many people have already recognized us as Angelina and Yaya, calling us with those names from anywhere, mimicking the expression ’Whatever Yaya, you’re such a loser!’,“ add the duo.

“Since my kids in Australia are watching Bubble Gang they are aware of the Angelina-Yaya fever,“ enthuses Ogie, who kept mum when asked about his former wife Michelle Van Eimeren’s Facebook blog announcing her wedding. The comedian has only best wishes for Michelle and her beau Mark Murrow. “I’m happy for her,” he says.

Bitoy, on the other hand, shares that his children are already used to him portraying different roles and characters since his Bubble Gang days. “I bring them to my tapings and expose them to other stars portraying odd roles.”

Upon seeing the tandem’s popularity on YouTube, and its strong recall on viewers as well, Ogie suggested that the Angelina-Yaya story be translated on the big screen. It will start from the time Angelina and Yaya first met. Ogie, the story’s writers and creative directors then gave the concept to GMA Films and APT Entertainment, whose executives gave it the thumbs up.

Ogie’s simple concepts spun a lot of ideas from the writers and creative directors, who discovered that there are more scenes yet to be explored from the story. They concluded it was a bright idea to bring the Angelina-Yaya magic to the big screen.  

Ogie admits he was a spoiled brat as a kid. That’s why it’s so easy for him to play the bratty Angelina. Asked what he loves about being Angelina, he says, “Her being conniving and manipulative to Yaya while managing to be charming and loving at the same time.” Bitoy shares it’s easy playing a nanny. “I studied how our yayas at home behaved,” says he.

Getting used to their characters has been an ordinary thing for them as they don’t even consider it work anymore. Ogie and Bitoy have starred in so many movies together (the last of which was in the ’90s) and in Bubble Gang, they have grown accustomed to each other’s jokes on and off the camera. They are even friends who call each other even if they’re not taping or shooting.

Even if they’re together in Bubble Gang and Hole in the Wall, Ogie and Bitoy never feel tired nor tense because they enjoy what they’re doing together. No matter how busy they are, the two are fully-prepared to banter with each other as brat kid and doting nanny. Time management, both declare, is the only secret to dealing with their responsibilities.

“This movie caters not only to those who love comedy but to the movie-going public as a whole,” shares Ogie and Bitoy.

Asked what people can expect from the yet-to-be-shown Spoiled Brat (Whatever Yaya!), the two reply, “It’s a whole new story complete with the cast, more antics and laughable situations.”