Forgotten Island Creatives & Stars Hype Up The Next Stunning-Looking Film From DreamWorks

Forgotten Island is shaping up to be an emotionally powerful and exciting new adventure from DreamWorks. The animated film is the latest collaboration between Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, who have been frequent partners at DreamWorks Animation (and best friends since they met there as artists).

The film touches on the importance of friendship in an ever-shifting world, whether that be moving away for college or exploring a mythological place. In a Q&A held at DreamWorks attended by members of the press (including Screen Rant), Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado — along with stars HER and Liza Soberano — discussed Forgotten Island‘s origins and themes.

Forgotten Island Looks Adorable And Heartbreaking

Forgotten Island follows lifelong best friends Jo and Raissa, who find themselves on diverging life paths in the early ’90s. While Raissa is set to move to America for college, Jo is at a loss for what to do without her. This is all complicated when a portal to the lost island of Nakali opens right in front of them.

The pair decides to fulfill their lifelong promise to one another and venture to a realm of amazing creatures and horrifying monsters. To get home, however, the pair may be forced to sacrifice their memories of one another, giving the story about friendship a greater sense of stakes.

The trailer showcases a vivid color palette and sense of motion, all while underlining the struggle that Raissa in particular faces as the memories of her and Jo seem to crumble into light in front of her. This approach recalls Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, where Crawford and Mercado were director and co-director, respectively.

That film highlighted a kinetic sense of movement and a chaotic sense of comedy, all grounded by a bittersweet reflection on a life well lived. Forgotten Island seems to be doing something similar, infusing its tale of friendship with a healthy dose of nostalgia and farewell that highlights the importance of those bonds.

The Inspiration Behind Forgotten Island

At the heart of Forgotten Island is a story of friendship, which makes the story behind the film’s inception all the more fitting. The film is written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, who developed a close friendship after meeting one another during the production of Kung Fu Panda 2.

The pair noted that the film “came from such a personal place.” The pair was on hand at the event to speak about Forgotten Island and the influences behind it, especially given Mercado’s familial connections to the Philippines and that Crawford’s wife is Filipina. “A big inspiration is my wife,” Crawford admitted, noting that “Without our family and the strong women in our family, this movie would not exist.”

That family connection is central to the film, and its Filipino roots are key to the strength of the film. The pair even got to arrange a trip to the Philippines with members of the team (as well as their families), recalling a massive block party that was thrown by Mercado’s family that served as a terrific way to showcase the culture during the film’s development.

It was an especially emotional experience for Mercado, who revealed it was one of his first visits back since his father passed. “To have Joel and his wife and his family and the crew be there with my family, celebrating it together and be welcomed by my family, that continued to inspire the beating heart of this movie, which is making memories with the ones you love and solidifying those connections.”

The Stars Of Forgotten Island Reveal What They Love About The Film

That underlying connection is central to what makes Forgotten Island so emotionally evocative, especially as a story about the bonds that can overcome distance and time. That sense of friendship is felt in the creatives behind the movie, as well as the stars bringing it to life. HER and Liza Soberano apparently found the same dynamic as Jo and Raissa with natural ease.

HER and Liza Soberano both have Filipino heritage, with the latter actually growing up in the Philippines for much of her life before coming to Los Angeles. As such, seeing the culture that they grew up with realized on the big screen was an especially exciting development for the pair. “I literally grew up on [stories about Nakali],” HER recalled. “It was so cool that I got to share a piece of my childhood.”

“I’m so grateful to be here. I can’t believe I got to work with [DreamWorks]. It was fun! Joel and Januel pushed me to jump up and down and scream and do all of these crazy things., I just felt like a big kid. This was the best team to work with. I feel like we are so much like our characters, too. So it is so natural. It didn’t feel like we were acting.”

“It’s been a dream of mine to be able to be in a project that really represented the Philippines in a very accurate way,” Soberano explained. “At the same time, it’s universal enough for people outside of the Philippines to be able to relate to. Just to have Filipino culture showcased by a major studio is very exciting, because we don’t get that often.”

Soberano even revealed that “I literally cried” when she first saw the trailer. “I was just imagining all the children in the Philippines, and what they would feel when they see it, and just how proud they would feel to see something that beautiful representing our culture and our country on the big screen… I was very excited and very honored to be part of this project.”

The four spent the Q&A discussing the sense of charm and authenticity central to the film, underscoring just how important that friendship at the core of Forgotten Island is. Even beyond the stunning animation, this lays the groundwork for Forgotten Island to be something special when it hits theaters.