Wansapanataym

Wansapanataym (Filipinization of the English phrase "once upon a time"), also known as Wansapanataym Presents, is a Philippine fantasy anthology television series produced and broadcast by ABS-CBN, airing every Sunday night. 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 focuses on providing values education for children and young adults through cooperation, courage, discipline, honesty, humility, love, obedience and respect, adapted from Filipino stories and legends or original stories.

The series was aired from June 22, 1997, to February 27, 2005, replacing The Sharon Cuneta Show, then re-aired from 2006 to 2007 and 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 until some time in 2020, temporarily replacing 24/7 and Home Sweetie Home until the broadcast franchise of ABS-CBN expired.

Wansapanataym is the longest-running fantasy anthology series on Philippine television, reaching its 19th year in 2019. The series was officially described as "The Original Storybook of Filipino Children".

Over the course of the episodes, 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 2004 to February 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.

The series was currently airing on Jeepney TV every weekend at 6:15 pm, and streaming on Kapamilya Online Live Global every Sunday at 3:05 pm and iWantTFC.

Re-runs of past episodes (2002–2005; 2010–2015) are currently streaming on the Yey! YouTube Channel every Tuesday at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, and Sunday at 9:00 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 orphan 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 named 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 previous revivals, 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 revival version initially aired on Saturday nights, but since 2014, Wansapanataym returned to Sunday nights again and onwards, similar to the 1997–2005 original version.

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 year 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, Wansapanataym ended its original run on April 7, 2019, with a replay of "Selfie Pa More, Sasha No More" on April 14, 2019 between the show's original airing and its replacement Hiwaga ng Kambat.

WansapanaSummer
WansapanaSummer is a re-run of the past episodes from the revival version. 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 began airing on April 29, 2013, every Mondays to Fridays at 10:15 am, replacing Ohlala Couple. The highest rating was 18.3% on May 10, 2013. It ended on June 20, 2013.

In 2014, the series aired again on weekday mornings at 10:15 am from March 17 to April 11, 2014, replacing Crazy Love.

In 2015, a re-run of "My App #Boyfie" was abruptly aired at 9:15 am from April 13 to 24, 2015, replacing Haikyu!! which had only aired five episodes.

Wansapanataym Classics
Wansapanataym Classics (also known as Wansapanataym Klasiks) is a re-run of past episodes from the original 1997–2005 version.

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

Original series

Revival series

See also
List of programs broadcast by ABS-CBN
Buhawi Jack

Notes

References

External links

Wansapanataym

1997 Philippine television series debuts
2005 Philippine television series endings
1999 films
2010 Philippine television series debuts
2019 Philippine television series endings
1990s Philippine television series
ABS-CBN original programming
Filipino-language television shows
Films about angels
Philippine anthology television series
Star Cinema films
Television series by Dreamscape Entertainment Television
Television series revived after cancellation