Meet Filipino kids’ newest friend: ‘Agos, Ang Batang Isla’

When almost all the Filipino kids are growing up with foreign accents from cartoons and spending more time indoors than outdoors, Jacque Manabat knew that this would be a good time to introduce them to someone more relatable and familiar.

Meet Agos, a fictional five-year-old child navigating life in the Philippine islands and the face of a mission to reclaim the Filipino childhood. She has the Pinoy sun-kissed skin, speaking our native language, living by the shore, and discovering the world outside.

“We want to create an animated series for the Filipino kids where we highlight the importance of being family-oriented while including the art of play, and love for culture and the environment,” said Jacque Manabat, CEO of Amber Studios Manila and project lead for Agos, Ang Batang Isla. 

Each episode of Agos, Ang Batang Isla, follows her daily adventures on the island. The narrative always starts with Agos asking permission from her parents to explore outdoors, then she meets a friend, native animals, or workers in her community, and returns home by sunset with her mother calling her in for dinner.

But behind its soft visuals and childlike wonder is a larger goal: to create a distinctly Filipino world that children can finally recognize as their own.

A familiar face and voice

The project began with a realization during a short consultation stint with the National Council for Children’s Television. As the producer and writer for Matanglawin, Manabat saw firsthand the lack of local children’s programming and worried about what it meant for Filipino kids growing up surrounded by imported content.

“I don’t think we have a lot of animated series for Filipino kids these days,” she said. “If you observe the younger generation now, they speak like Bluey, Peppa Pig, or Ms. Rachel.”

She recalled growing up with Filipino-made educational shows such as Batibot and Sineskwela — programs that blended learning with local culture and language. Agos hopes to fill that gap for today’s generation.

For Manabat, this is also an opportunity to address the critical issue of low literacy rates in the Philippines. According to the World Bank, 91% of 10-year-old Filipinos struggle with the core skills of reading, writing, and communicating. 

“We created Agos so children can see their language and traditions reflected in a story, giving them a reason to care, to read, and to protect,” Manabat said.

But Agos isn’t just a fictional character. Fun fact: She’s inspired by a young girl with the same name living in Zambales whom Manabat and creative director Cedric Hornedo met at a friend’s resort Greenspace Artist Village. Her curiosity, playful nature, and closeness to the environment became the foundation of Agos’ character.

While many children today spend hours glued to screens, the creators want Agos to remind them that there is a world outside of them.

“Kids are usually inside now,  so we want them to know that there is more to the world outside of the screens,” Hornedo said.

Alongside the animated series, the team is also developing a book in multiple Philippine languages to make the project accessible to children beyond digital platforms.

“We want to reach more islands and also accommodate those without internet or televisions,” Hornedo said.

Animating a Filipino world

Amber Studios MNL values human craftsmanship over automation, hence they are bringing their vision to life by using 3D Animation through a motion capture technology. While Agos will be voiced by Manabat’s niece, Kylie Zoe Aluning, Agos’ movements were captured from the performances of theater actress Aliyah Hailey Serrano.

Behind their team is also a group of young animators from Northwest Samar State University. The young animators, between 22 and 25 years old, are working on the series in completion of their internship requirements.

For animator C-Zar Niedo, working on Agos became more than just technical labor. Despite working in the city, the project transported him back to provincial life.

“When I animate, it makes me feel like I’m in the setting — like I’m in the beach even if we’re in the city,” he said. “Parang nasa probinsya lang kami (It’s just like we’re in the province).”

That atmosphere became central to the way the team approached the animation. The goal was not simply to make something visually appealing, but to make viewers feel immersed in a familiar Filipino environment.

But bringing Agos to life was not always easy. Niedo said one of the biggest challenges was animating the emotions of the main character authentically.

“It was difficult because we had to make sure it was really representative of her,” he said.

According to Hornedo, motion capture also helped lessen inconsistencies in the character animation because only one theater actress acted out Agos’ movements throughout the process, and the young animators only had to work on the finishing touches of Agos.

For the children who rarely see themselves onscreen

At its core, Agos, Ang Batnag Isla is not trying to compete with the hyperstimulated pace of many children’s shows online. Instead, it finds wonder in ordinary Filipino life: island afternoons, native animals, family dinners, and childhood curiosity.

For Manabat, that representation matters deeply, especially at a time when literacy rates among Filipino children continue to decline and children consume increasingly globalized media.

“When kids do not see themselves reflected in the media they consume, they lose an important connection to learning,” she said.

That is why the creators hope Agos becomes more than just another animated series. They want it to become a space where Filipino children can recognize their own language, environment, and experiences.

The first episode is targeted for release in the middle of the year, with screening updates to be posted through Amber Studio MNL’s social media accounts.

Ultimately, the goal of the series is to have Filipino kids seeing themselves in the series and saying “Uy, ako yun! (Hey, that’s me!)” – Rappler.com