‘Forgotten Island’ Directors on Their Filipino Animated Film

DreamWorks Animation directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado are ready to take audiences on a new adventure with “Forgotten Island,” hitting theaters on Sept. 25.

Annecy Animation Festival attendees will get a sneak peek at the film and hear from the directors about how the film came together.

Set in the 1990s, H.E.R. and Liza Soberano voice Jo and Raissa, two best friends who, after high school, are about to go their separate ways. As they celebrate their last night together, they stumble upon a magical portal — a gateway to stories they’ve heard about growing up. These are places from Filipino folklore, where shapeshifters, demons, witches, and monsters exist. As they encounter friends and foes, their friendship is put to the test as they seek to find their way back home. The film’s all-star voice cast also includes Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, and Lea Salonga.

The idea of anchoring the film in a universal theme about friendship was close to the directors’ hearts —they first met as story artists on “Kung Fu Panda 2.” This time, however, they switched things up and focused on female friendships, honoring the women in their lives.

Ahead of Annecy, Crawford told Variety, “So many times, young girls in movies and TV are portrayed as always talking about boys, or they’re princesses.” As the father of two teenage daughters, he observed how they interact and grow up with their friends, which is something he hadn’t often seen on screen. “I want my daughters to see themselves up on the screen, whether it’s in terms of culture, in terms of ethnicity, but also how they are as people.”

Beyond friendship, the film celebrates Filipino culture. Mercado is Filipino-American, and Crawford’s wife, Kathy, is Filipina. It was important to the directors to paint a picture that was authentically Filipino. In addition to casting a who’s who of Filipino talent, they describe themselves as “Cali kids” who grew up surrounded by Filipinos.

In telling the story, Mercado said, “We were always coming from our experience and personal journeys with our families, and I hope people connect with that.” He added, “A lot of my time in the Philippines was these summer vacations with my family that happened in the ’90s, so a lot of that organically carried over to the story. And again, it ties directly to my experience with my family in the Philippines.”

The film features scenes of “traditionally Filipino” moments, such as lechon (a whole roast pig), karaoke, street jeepneys, food and family parties. Mercado explained, “That is stuff that was inherently a part of this culture growing up and represents the Philippines in a big way, universally and globally, for Filipinos everywhere.” He added, “What’s specific is universal if you come from a place that is honest and from your own experience. I think that authenticity comes through, and people connect.”

Crawford added, “When we’re writing the characters, we’re writing them how real people speak and interact and cut each other off. It’s that same level of respect for the audience in the craft that we just took into Filipino culture, where we immerse the audience into a real world and dynamic of characters, and you don’t need to explain. It feels real because we’re not pandering, and we’re not forcing anything.”

When it came to the film’s animation style, the two wanted to continue the legacy of the studio while pushing for a fresh visual style inspired by Filipino culture and the vibrant colors of the Philippines. Crawford said, “Everything has a place, and you use it all. It’s so saturated and vibrant, and pulling off of these organic inspirations from Filipino culture to the ’90s aesthetic, and even a street style that has an edginess that comes across. We put all that together, and it becomes a specific new voice in terms of animation.”

In the film, Salonga plays the Dreaded Manananggal, the most feared creature on the island. How did the directors pitch the Tony Award-winning star and get her to play a villain?

Mercado beamed, “She is Filipino royalty, and such a big name in what she’s done for animation as the singing voice of Jasmine and Mulan. We thought it would be great casting if the Manananggal was Lea Salonga because she’s one of the most iconic and legendary creatures from Filipino mythology.”

Crawford pointed out that DreamWorks has a legacy of prominent villains, from Tai Lung to Lord Farquaad and The Wolf. “We’ve got to continue that legacy, and we had to get the queen for that,” Crawford joked. He revealed that they sent a pitch to see if she was interested. “We heard from her team right away.”

Salonga said yes, but the directors realized that, as amazing as the part was, they were concerned it wouldn’t be meaty enough for her.

Mercado said, “She was already on the same page as us, understanding that the Manananggal didn’t need to speak a lot to be scary.”

One of the gifts Salonga gave them was her vocal performance. “She elevated the material,” Mercado said. He went on to explain that Salonga found the voice for the character after listening to H.E.R. and Soberano. “She said, ‘I’ll change my voice so that it complements theirs. If they’re a little higher, then I’ll make the Manananggal deeper and speak from the gut.’”