Forgotten Island: Two Friends, Filipino Folklore and an Animated Night That Changes Everything
forgotten island opens on a small, electric scene: two newly graduated friends stuffing themselves with junk food and belting karaoke on the eve of separation. In that cramped, half-lit room they stumble through a magical portal into stories from Filipino folklore — a premise revealed in the first trailer for Dreamworks Animation’s new feature.
What is Forgotten Island about?
Forgotten Island follows Jo and Raissa, voiced by Gabi Wilson, known professionally as H. E. R., and Liza Soberano, as two best friends navigating the threshold between adolescence and the wider world. The trailer sets the story in the 1990s and shows the pair celebrating their last night together before going their separate ways. That celebration — karaoke, snacks and a shared sense of finality — becomes the hinge for a fantastical journey through a portal to creatures of folklore: shapeshifters, demons, witches and monsters that test the bond between the friends as they try to find their way home.
Why did the filmmakers choose the 1990s and Filipino folklore?
The film was written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, who shaped the story around their own friendship. Januel Mercado, co-writer and co-director at Dreamworks Animation, said, “We very quickly found out we have very similar sensibilities. ” That shared history informed the decision to set the story in the 1990s, a time the filmmakers describe as their formative years and one with different stakes around memory and connection. Mercado explained the emotional core: “It was telling a story about friends growing apart and feeling like it’s going to be final when a friend is going off to college, will you see them again? Will they forget? You can’t just FaceTime. ” He added, “Polaroids are a big part of this movie. Think about a Polaroid pack — you’ve got 12 pictures, and you’re going to be very specific how you use them. Versus now, we have phones and how you take a bunch of pictures, and do you ever look at them again. “
How are the cast and creative team translating folklore into animation?
The trailer was unveiled by Joel Crawford, co-writer and co-director at Dreamworks Animation, and Januel Mercado at Dreamworks HQ in Glendale, in an event that included journalists, bloggers and creators alongside Gabi Wilson and Liza Soberano. Gabi Wilson, the multi-hyphenate performer who voices Jo, described the role as her first foray into voice acting and animation: “I was so excited. You have no idea. We were in the Philippines in 2019, and my mom was trying to scare us about all these stories. I literally grew up on them. I get to share a piece of my childhood in this work and with the world. “
Liza Soberano, who voices Raissa, framed the project as both personal and universal: “It’s been a long-time dream of mine to be able to be in a project that really represented the Philippines in a very accurate way, but at the same time, is universal enough for people to be able to relate to. ” She added, “To have Filipino culture showcased by a major studio is very exciting. “
On the technical side, Crawford said the filmmakers wanted to push animation’s language: “There are ties to anime in terms of action or pushing character expressions. ” Mercado described a textured, hand-drawn approach that extends work they explored on other films: “We push the 2D elements that we played with on ‘Puss in Boots’ with this hand-drawn, painterly textures that bring to life and push the fantasy aspect. ” He also discussed a cinematographic approach to animation — wider lenses, light leaks and other choices tied to the film’s themes of memories and nostalgia.
The filmmakers are positioning the film as an intersection of intimate friendship drama and vibrant folklore, using both voice casting and visual choices to root the fantasy in personal memory.
Back in that opening room, with the echo of karaoke and the stuck-on glow of a Polaroid, the trailer leaves a clear question in the air: when two friends step into the stories that once scared them, can they find their way back to each other and the home they thought they knew? The directors and cast have framed Forgotten Island as an experiment in memory, style and cultural storytelling — an animated leap that aims to keep the emotional center intact even as monsters and myths rearrange the landscape.
