THESE days, the Philippines has been experiencing extremely hot weather because of the dry season. This is why we can’t help but search for beaches and swimming pools, drink cold water, and eat ice cream or some halo-halo to cool down our mind and body.

On days when we can’t go out, we can still enjoy our summer. We can stay on the couch and binge-watch these shows and movies set in the summer to cheer us up. 

The Summer I Turned Pretty

From the title itself, this TV series is perfect for the summer season.

Based on the best-selling trilogy of the same name, The Summer I Turned Pretty is a story about teenager Belly who is visiting her favorite place in the world: Cousins Beach. She comes to the place with her mother Laurel and older brother Steven, her mother’s best friend Susannah, and the latter’s sons Conrad and Jeremiah.

Belly’s goal this summer is to do things differently by joining a debutante ball, which is something out of her comfort zone. Throughout the whole series, she finds herself in a love triangle between the two brothers.

Season 1 of the series was released last June 17, 2022. It has been confirmed that Season 2 will be released later this year.

Lilo and Stitch

This classic Disney animated film about an alien getting adopted by an orphan girl will never get old.

Set in Kauai, Hawaii, this tells the story of a dangerous alien experiment named 626 who finds himself crashing on the island and getting adopted as a dog by an orphan girl named Lilo. 

Lilo renames the alien Stitch and she trains him to control his wild and angry behavior. 

Unbeknownst to Lilo, Stitch is being hunted down by three aliens: Jumba, Peakley, and Gantu.

Disney is set to film a live action version of the movie.

READ: Netizens accuse Disney of colorism after casting Fil-am actress in Lilo and Stitch movie

Mamma Mia!

In this movie, 21-year-old Sophie is desperate to find out who her biological father is. Shortly before her wedding, she sends out letters addressed to her mother’s three ex boyfriends: Harry, Bill, and Sam. 

The three men travel to Greece without knowing Sophie sent out the letters, as she wrote them under the name of her mother, Donna.

This musical is a feel-good film to watch when you’re looking for ABBA songs, want to travel to Greece, and are in search of a funny but heartwarming story.

Phineas and Ferb

Brothers, Phineas and Ferb spice up their summer by building inventions, starting concerts, holding sports events, and going on many adventures to make their time worthwhile. They do all these with the help of their friends Isabella, Baljeet, and Buford. 

However, Phineas and Ferb’s older sister Candace always finds a way to bust her brothers and expose their wild inventions to their mother. 

On the other hand, their pet platypus, Perry, is a secret agent who is enemies with evil scientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

This series’ intro song might say “there’s a hundred and four days of summer vacation,” but the series ran from 2007 to 2015. 

Phineas and Ferb is a feel-good, nostalgic cartoon series to watch if you’re reminiscing about summer days as a kid.

But the show’s fans may also be in for a new treat. 

A report from Variety said that Phineas and Ferb will be having 40 new episodes, which will be split into two seasons.

Ponyo

This cute Studio Ghibli film might not be set in the summer, but if you’re in search of some ocean views, then this show is for you.

A young female goldfish named Ponyo wishes to explore the human world but is sheltered by his father, Fujimoto, because of his hatred towards humans. Stubborn and persistent, Ponyo escapes from her father and is found by a five-year-old boy named Sosuke. Due to Ponyo’s will to escape, she starts a tsunami that floods the whole town.

This story is based on The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. If you’re looking for a kid version of that story, then Ponyo is for you. 

The film was originally produced by Studio Ghibli but was released internationally by Walt Disney Pictures, which also dubbed it in English.