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Anne Curtis celebrates 25th year in the industry, reminisces about 'Magic Kingdom'

By Melanie Uson Published Apr 06, 2023 3:43 pm Updated Apr 06, 2023 3:43 pm

Anne Curtis commemorated her 25 years in the entertainment industry by looking back on her role as Princess Dahlia.

On Wednesday, April 5, the actress-TV host shared some photos taken during the filming of her 1997 film, Magic Kingdom.

Looking back, Anne recounted how movie posters before were hand-painted and how films were shot using a film camera.  

#wayback when movie posters used to be painted in the streets of Manila, photos AND movies were actually shot on Film,” she wrote. 

The Buy Bust star also shared how meaningful her debut role was as Princess Dahlia. “Magic Kingdom and my role as Princess Dahlia will always have a special place in my heart. As a 12 year old, this was definitely a core memory. Forever grateful to Director’s Peque Gallaga and [Lore Reyes] and of course, [Viva Films],” she added. 

“[I] just realized I’m celebrating 25 years in the industry. Pretty insane… passion for acting is still very much burning ...Can’t wait to start again real soon - with a director who was our assistant director for MK [Erik Matti]. Thanks for the photos Samuel [Junell Hernando.]  

In the slides, the 12-year-old Anne is all smiles with her co-stars Janus Del Prado, Antoinette Taus, Tom Taus, and Junell Hernando. 

As Anne made a trip down to memory lane, fans also recounted some of the iconic lines from the film. 

“One of my favorite Filipino film. 'Isang dakot na apoy. Bagay sa iyo ang apoy, bagay sa iyo ang pula, wala ka kasing takot,'" one Instagram user wrote. 

“I can hear Basilicus (Mark Gil) calling 'Daaahliaaa' with a creepy echo,” another user wrote, to which Anne replied: “my dad does it [to] dahlia when he visits hahahaaha.” Dahlia Amelie is Anne and Erwan Heusaff's daughter, who they welcomed in 2020.

“I love the soundtrack of MK til now! Specially the song with the line of ‘kaya ko ang lahat ng yan kung nanjan ka lang...’ super lss nung bata ako[.] time flies! One of the best childhood [movies] for me[,] always waiting for the replay sa cable hehe,” another user wrote, adding: “Anne did a great job here too. Di halatang first timer niya sa acting.” 

Her co-star Junell also commented, saying people have been requesting the film’s sequel. 

 “I got so many requests na gawa daw tayo ng sequel ng Magic Kingdom Queen Dahlia,” he wrote, to which Anne agreed, “Wish we were able to do it with Direk Peque and Lore pa rin.” 

The film’s assistant director Erik Matti also commented, remembering the fun production: “It was a bloody fun shoot!!!” 

Magic Kingdom: Ang Alamat ng Damortis is a 1997 Philippine-fantasy film starring Maricel Laxa (Empress Sofia), Mark Gil (Basilicus), Anne Curtis (Princess Dahlia), Jason Salcedo (Jobert), Junell Hernando (Samuel), and Janus del Prado (Oman). It tells the adventure of Princess Dahlia in protecting the kingdom after the death of Empress Sofia while being protected by his warrior trainees from the wicked Basilicus.