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Netizens have been in a viewing frenzy since Disney UK’s Christmas ad came out recently.
The video, entitled "From Our Family To Yours," opens at Christmastime in 1940 somewhere in the Philippines.
Although the video was good technically and was emotionally moving, there were some historical inaccuracies during the 1940 segment.
First, there were no jeepneys in 1940. Caranddriver.com says the first jeepneys were made from abandoned US Army Willy Jeeps left by the Americans when World War II ended in 1945.
The other mistake was the inverted Philippine flag with the red band on top and the blue band below.
According to malacanang.gov.ph, this inverted flag was used only in wartime and was used only by Filipino guerrillas and the Philippine Commonwealth government in exile in the US. World War II came to the Philippines when the Japanese attacked the country on December 8, 1941.
The Christmas video
The Disney video shows an imposing church, colonial buildings and houses, and cobble-stoned streets that are decorated with colorful Filipino Christmas lanterns or parol.
A little girl and her mom wait on the street for her dad. Upon seeing her, he gives her a Mickey Mouse stuffed doll that she embraces.
Fast forward to Christmastime 2005, somewhere in the United Kingdom. The little girl is now a grandmother.
She gifts her old Mickey Mouse doll to her granddaughter who embraces it. The lola also teaches her apo how to make a parol and they decorate their terraced house with these colorful parols. This becomes their Christmas tradition.
As Christmases pass by, the girl loses interest in making parols until the apo completely refuses to make them and the lola is left alone to decorate.
Her apo also loses interest in the old, raggedy Mickey Mouse doll whose ear is already detached.
One night, the lola shows her now adult apo the box of parol materials. The granddaughter says no and leaves.
From outside the house, the granddaughter sees how sad her lola was.
The following day, when the lola wakes up, she is surprised to see the beautiful parols hanging in their abode. The ear of Mickey Mouse has also been sewn back. The video ends with the Lola and the apo embracing each other.
Despite the historical inaccuracies, the Disney Christmas ad succeeds at reminding us to continue our traditions and hold those dear to us even more amid the changing times.