# Wansapanataym

Wansapanataym (Filipinization of the English phrase "once upon a time"), also known as Wansapanataym Presents, is a Philippine television drama fantasy anthology series broadcast by ABS-CBN. It aired from June 22, 1997 to February 27, 2005, replacing The Sharon Cuneta Show. The show returned on the network's Yes Weekend! line up and worldwide on TFC from September 11, 2010, to April 7, 2019, replacing Agimat: Ang Mga Alamat ni Ramon Revilla and was replaced by Hiwaga ng Kambat. The series was also aired on ABS-CBN's Yes Weekend! primetime block with new episodes and remakes of past episodes. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, Wansapanataym returned on air every weekend from March 29 to May 3, 2020, replacing 24/7 and Home Sweetie Home and was replaced by Paano Kita Mapasasalamatan? and Iba 'Yan on Kapamilya Channel's weekend evening slot.
The series follows the stories of everyday people as they encounter fantastic events involving magic and the supernatural and how their lives are forever changed by their adventures with the otherworldly. Like the children's television series Hiraya Manawari, the series also focus on providing values education for kids and teens through courage, discipline, honesty, humility, love, obedience, respect and other moral values, adapted from Filipino stories and legends or original stories.
Wansapanataym is the longest-running fantasy anthology series on Philippine television, reaching its 19th year in 2019. The creators dubbed the series as "the original storybook of Filipino children". As the series progressed, most episodes have spanned a variety of genres and subgenres including romantic comedy, action-adventure, horror, and science fiction, while also keeping the fantasy genre.

## History

Wansapanataym was launched in 1997, having genre similarities with the ABS-CBN Foundation-produced educational program Hiraya Manawari (which features Filipino short stories for children) and the 1980s series Pinoy Fantasy. A film was also produced based on the show's genre, which starred Serena Dalrymple, Christopher de Leon and Shaina Magdayao.
Judy Ann Santos and the late Rico Yan graced the very first episode of Wansapanataym.
From September 5, 2004 to February 27, 2005, the show underwent a reformat featuring two child characters (played by Sharlene San Pedro and Nash Aguas) and a magical book inside a chest or somewhere in their house at the start and end of almost every episode.
Re-runs of past episodes (2002–2005; 2010–2019) are currently streaming on the Yey! YouTube Channel every Tuesday at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, Weekdays at 7:30 am on Kapamilya Channel, and Sunday at 9:30 am on A2Z.

### 1999 film

Wansapanataym (also known as Wansapanataym: The Movie) is a 1999 Filipino fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Johnny Manahan. It is a film adaptation of the series and was released in May 26, 1999. The story is about an orphaned girl named Anna (Shaina Magdayao) who searches for her long-lost father (Christopher de Leon) whom she was able to find with the help of a guardian angel Barbiel (Serena Dalrymple).

#### Cast and characters

* Serena Dalrymple as Barbiel
* Christopher de Leon as Gary Asuring
* Shaina Magdayao as Anna
* Angel Aquino as Sylvia Enrique
* Rosemarie Gil as Doña Tisay Enrique
* Romeo Rivera as Don Victor Enrique
* Jericho Rosales as Michael
* Gloria Sevilla as Manang Bising

### 2010 revival

During the ABS-CBN Trade Launch held at NBC Tent, Metro Manila in August 2010, it was announced that Wansapanataym would return with new episodes. Unlike the previous iteration, it focuses on adaptations based on "komiks" in the first season. It premiered on September 11, 2010, with its first episode "Inday Bote" starring Melai Cantiveros-Francisco. The succeeding seasons stayed faithful to the original format. The show's second iteration initially aired on Saturday nights, but on May 25, 2014, Wansapanataym returned to Sunday nights again and onwards, similar to the first 1997–2005 iteration.
On June 29, 2013, Wansapanataym was reformatted as a bi-monthly series wherein one story will be shown for a month or two except on Christmas specials.
On November 8, 2015, Wansapanataym launched its two-month television special titled 15 Magical Years in celebration of the show's 15th anniversary, airing 8 special episodes (4 of which were Christmas specials). The special ended on December 27, 2015, now regularly airing bi-monthly episodes.
After almost 9 years of broadcast airing of the show, Wansapanataym ended its overall original run on April 7, 2019, with a replay of "Selfie Pa More, Sasha No More" on April 14, 2019 between the show's second and final iteration original airing and its replacement Hiwaga ng Kambat.

### WansapanaSummer

WansapanaSummer is a re-run of the past episodes from the show's second iteration. It was aired every weekday mornings on the network's Umaganda morning block from 2013 to 2014 (its 2015 airing was just a replay of one monthly special).
The first run of WansapanaSummer aired from April 29 to June 20, 2013, every Mondays to Fridays at 10:15 am, replacing Ohlala Couple. The highest rating was 18.3% on May 10, 2013.
The second run of WansapanaSummer aired from March 17 to April 11, 2014, every Mondays to Fridays at 10:15 am, replacing Crazy Love and was replaced by Kapamilya Kiddie Blockbusters.
The third run of WansapanataymSummer presents "My App #Boyfie" aired from April 13 to 24, 2015, every Mondays to Fridays at 9:20 am, replacing Haikyu!! and was replaced by Kapamilya Blockbusters.

### Wansapanataym Classics

Wansapanataym Classics (also known as Wansapanataym Klasiks) is a re-run of past episodes from the first 1997–2005 iteration.
It airs every Saturday at 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm on the Jeepney TV channel, and weekends at 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm on the Yey! channel.

## Theme song

The first theme song was sung by Michelle Ayalde in the television series and Roselle Nava in the film. It was composed by Homer Flores in the television series and Jaime Fabregas in the film, with lyrics by Jose Bartolome. The song was used from 1997 until 2004.
The second theme song was sung by Nyoy Volante, replacing Ayalde's version. It was composed by Jonathan Manalo replacing Flores, with lyrics by Aris Pollisco (Gloc-9), replacing Bartolome. It was used in 2004–2005 and in 2010–2019.

## Awards and recognitions
### First iteration

| Year | Awards | Nominated | Result |
| 2005 | 19th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Wansapanataym as Best Horror-Fantasy Program | Nominated |
| 2004 | 26th Catholic Mass Media Awards by Archdiocese of Manila | Wansapanataym for the Hall of Fame 2004 | Won |
| 2004 | 18th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Wansapanataym as Best Horror-Fantasy Program | Nominated |
| 2003 | 17th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Wansapanataym as Best Horror-Fantasy Program | Won |
| 2002 | 16th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Wansapanataym as Best Horror-Fantasy Program | Won |
| 2001 | 15th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Wansapanataym as Best Horror-Fantasy Program | Won |
| 2000 | 14th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Wansapanataym as Best Horror-Fantasy Program | Nominated |

### Second iteration

| Year | Awards | Nominated | Result |
| 2019 | Aral Parangal 2019 Awards by Young Educators' Convergence of SOCCSKSARGEN | Wansapanataym as Best Values-Oriented Show | Won |
| 2018 | Sinebata 2018 Awards by AnakTV | "Jasmin's Flower Powers" episodes for the Professional Fiction for 13-17 Age category | Won |
| 2018 | 4th ALTA Media Icon Awards by ALTA Media Icon Awards | Wansapanataym as Best Youth-Oriented Program | Won |
| 2017 | 2017 International Emmy Kids Awards by International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences | "Candy's Crush" episodes as Best TV Movie/Mini-Series | Nominated |
| 2017 | 2017 Anak TV Awards by AnakTV | Wansapanataym for the Anak TV Seal | Won |
| 2017 | 31st PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Wansapanataym as Best Horror/Fantasy Program | Won |
| 2017 | 31st PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | AC Bonifacio ("Amazing Ving" episodes) for Best New Female TV Personality | Nominated |
| 2017 | 31st PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Kisses Delavin ("Amazing Ving" episodes) for Best New Female TV Personality | Nominated |
| 2017 | 31st PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Marco Gallo ("Amazing Ving" episodes) for Best New Male TV Personality | Nominated |
| 2017 | 31st PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Awra Briguela ("Amazing Ving" episodes) for Best Child Performer | Nominated |
| 2015 | 29th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Wansapanataym as Best Drama Mini-Series | Nominated |
| 2015 | 29th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Harvey Bautista ("Remote ni Eric" episodes) as Best Child Performer | Nominated |
| 2015 | 29th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Kurt Ong ("My Kung Fu Chinito" episodes) as Best New Male TV Personality | Nominated |
| 2015 | 2015 Anak TV Awards by AnakTV | Wansapanataym for the Anak TV Seal | Won |
| 2014 | 28th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Marco Pingol ("My App #Boyfie" episodes) as Best New Male TV Personality | Nominated |
| 2014 | 28th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Inah Estrada ("Witch-A-Makulit" episodes) as Best New Female TV Personality | Nominated |
| 2014 | Gandingan 2014: UPLB's 8th Isko't Iska Broadcast Choice Awards by UP Community Broadcasters' Society | Wansapanataym as Best Development-Oriented Children's Program | Won |
| 2014 | 12th Gawad Tanglaw by Gawad Tanglaw | Wansapanataym as Best Educational Program | Won |
| 2014 | 2014 Anak TV Awards by AnakTV | Wansapanataym for the Anak TV Seal | Won |
| 2013 | 27th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Wansapanataym as Best Horror/Fantasy Program | Won |
| 2013 | 2013 Ani ng Dangal Award by the National Commission on Culture and the Arts | "Chalk Boy" episodes for the Multi-Disciplinary Arts Category | Won |
| 2013 | 21st Golden Dove Awards by Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas | Wansapanataym as Best Children’s Program | Won |
| 2013 | 2013 Anak TV Awards by AnakTV | Wansapanataym for the Anak TV Seal | Won |
| 2012 | 2012 Prix Jeunesse International Festival by Prix Jeunesse Foundation | "Chalk Boy" episodes for the Children’s Jury Prize | Won |
| 2012 | 26th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Slater Young as Best New Male TV Personality | Nominated |
| 2012 | 26th PMPC Star Awards for Television by Philippine Movie Press Club | Wansapanataym as Best Horror/Fantasy Program | Won |
| 2012 | 34th Catholic Mass Media Awards by Archdiocese of Manila | Wansapanataym as Best Children and Youth Program | Won |
| 2011 | 2011 Anak TV Awards by AnakTV | Wansapanataym for the Anak TV Seal | Won |