Dyesebel
Philippine pop culture icon Dyesebel originated as a comic book character created by Mars Ravelo, with illustrations by Elpidio Torres, in Pilipino Komiks. (Some of the comics appear to be available on this blog post.) Her story was originally serialized over 1952 to 1953, and got its first adaptation pretty quickly. There have been various film and TV adaptations over the years, and though these adapations change up the details of Dyesebel's origins and adventures, what seems to be a common feature across the board is that Dyesebel is a mermaid who feels caught between the worlds of sea and land, and she pursues the love of a human man and faces many challenges, not least being the fear and hate various humans have for merfolk.
Limitations of language and sourcing mean I can't consume these adaptations fully to write up about them, but I thought I'd make a page anyway for posterity's sake.
Corrections and further info are most welcome! Feel free to let me know in the comments or send me an email.
Dyesebel (1953) & Anak ni Dyesebel (1964)
The first adaptation came out in 1953 as a black-and-white film, starring Edna Luna as Dyesebel and Jaime de la Rosa as her love interest Fredo. Its sequel Anak ni Dyesebel (Dyesebel's Child) came out over ten years after the first, but has the main actor pair reuniting and their characters having a child, Alona (Eva Montes), while a villain of the original movie also returns and plots revenge. Both movies sadly appear to be lost media.
Dyesebel at Ang Mahiwagang Kabibe (1973)
Dysebel shows up for the first time in colour in the 1973 musical film Dyesebel at Ang Mahiwagang Kabibe (Dyesebel and the Mysterious Shell). Vilma Santos is the blue-tailed Dyesebel, and Romeo Miranda is her love interest, Fredo. Dyesebel spends almost the entire movie in her mermaid form, for an extended love affair with her Fredo.
The whole movie is on youtube HERE.
Sisid, Dyesebel, Sisid (1978)
Sisid, Dyesebel, Sisid (Dive, Dyesebel, Dive) has Alma Moreno as Dyesebel, and Mat Ranillo III in a dual role as the human David and the merman Maro. In this adaptation Dyesebel has human parents and grows up on land, with her blue mermaid's tail a disability that she has to keep hidden and leaves her lonely. Like the 1973 movie, this Dyesebel is a mermaid for most of the film, until the very end when she briefly gains legs, but this film goes in a different direction with Dyesebel ultimately choosing the sea instead of land.
Although all the adaptations are loved, my impression is that this one is less a widepread favourite, perhaps because it's a bit of a downer.
The whole movie is on youtube HERE.
Dyesebel (1990)
It's a post-Splash world, and this Dyesebel has an orange tail and more transformation shenanigans. Alice Dixon plays Dyesebel, a mermaid who was briefly raised by human parents after her birth mother died on the beach. Dyesebel encounters Edward as a teenager and, later when she is adult, uses a magic shell to gain legs and find him (Richard Gomez). And become a model along the way, as one does. Although this adaptation doesn't feature the merfolk community the way the others do, it's the first to have proper underwater scenes, in which Dixon shows off her swimming skills.
The whole movie is on youtube HERE.
Dyesebel (1996)
The 1996 film is pretty much a remake of the 1973 film by the same director and updated for the era, though it restores scenes of Dyesebel's youth where she has human parents but returns to the sea young and is adopted by Banak, another mermaid. The movie also keeps the orange tail and has some underwater scenes, which are more elaborate than the previous film. Charlene Gonzales is Dyesebel and Matthew Mendoza is Fredo, her love interest.
The whole movie is on youtube HERE.
Mars Ravelo's Dyesebel (2008)
After a break of just over a decade, Dyesebel returned as a long-form teleserye in 2008 with Mars Ravelo's Dyesebel starring Marian Rivera as Dyesebel and Dingdong Dantes as Fredo. There were 125 episodes in all, and now CGI gets to come into play for the mermaid and magic parts.
HERE's a show trailer on youtube. A majority of the episodes are also on youtube but I think not all of them.
Mars Ravelo's Dyesebel (2014)
TV seems to treat Dyesebel well, since there's a second teleserye in 2014, with Anne Curtis as Dyesebel and Gerald Anderson as Fredo. There were 87 episodes in all.
HERE's a show trailer on youtube. Lea Salonga sings the show's the theme song "Tangi Kong Kailangan" but I'm not sure if that's her version in the trailer.
