By now, you might have come across a post on social media announcing Disney’s casting call for a “lola,”
or specifically, a Filipino or Filipino-American who’s in her 50s to 90s.
While the post looks inconspicuous and even a bit shady, it’s 100% legit. The casting call for a “lola” is currently up on professional entertainment talent portal Project Casting and is sounded by Sarah Finn Casting, who is responsible for casting almost all MCU movies and The Mandalorian.
Now, we know the Philippines is chock-full of cheery lolas who would fit the bill and who would be more than willing to tell their stories. However, despite not knowing what the role is yet, our local nook on the Internet has narrowed down the choices to just two lolas who would absolutely nail the archetype: TikTok’s Mama Lulu and Philippine TV’s Lola Gets, played by veteran actress Gina Pareño.
On one corner, there’s the painfully frank yet extremely hilarious Mama Lulu. She has captivated the TikTok audience since 2019 with her witty responses to her son Olly’s questions, often peppered with expletives and always spoken with her rock-solid Filipino accent. You’ve probably already seen their duo through those viral “Name That Celebrity” TikTok video:
If not from there, then maybe their funny banters will jog your memory:
Real talk: Mama Lulu’s “eedjiot!” is the foreign version of all our mom’s “tinamaan ka ng magaling!” and honestly, we’re here for it.
But we’re also here for the over-the-top antics of Lola Gets, the role played by Gina Pareño in the classic TV series Tayong Dalawa. Surprisingly, the character clicked when she brought it online and has even amassed a wild amount of TikTok followers herself.
Not to mention that at 71 years old, Lola Gets is game to do all the challenges and hop on all the trends as if she’s 20:
Honestly, we love them both, so this one’s too tough a call for us to make. Right now, all we can do is boost both their numbers online and hope that Disney catches wind of whatever antics these two are on. Representation is all that matters most in this casting decision after all!
Which of these two lolas would you rather see on the big screen?
