‘Forgotten Island’ Trailer: H.E.R. and Liza Soberano Star in DreamWorks’ Filipino Folklore-Inspired Animated Movie
Dreamworks Animation has released the first trailer for its upcoming animated feature “Forgotten Island.”
Set in the 1990s, H.E.R and Liza Soberano voice Jo and Raissa, two best friends who, post high-school, are about to go their separate ways. As they celebrate their last night together by eating junk food and singing karaoke, the pair stumble on a magical portal.
The portal is a gateway to stories they’ve heard about growing up, places in 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.
Written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, the idea was inspired by their own friendship. The two first met while working on “Kung Fu Panda 2.” “We very quickly found out we have very similar sensibilities,” Mercado said.
Mercado and Crawford were on hand to unveil the trailer at Dreamworks HQ in Glendale to a room full of journalists, bloggers and creators. Joining them were Gabi Wilson, better known as H.E.R, and Soberano.
“Forgotten Island” marks Wilson’s first foray into voice acting and animation. The multi-hyphenate spoke about receiving the script that centered on friendship and honored her Filipino heritage. She said, “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.”
Soberano added, “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 setting the film in the 1990s, Crawford and Mercado explained not only was it their formative years, but it was a time before cellphones and being able to take 100 photos at once. Mercado said, “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. So a lot of those things in ’90s for us are really about tapping into nostalgia, but also reinforcing the stakes of this movie, which are about moments and memories.”
As for the film’s animation style, the pair wanted to push the medium of animation and evolve its style. “There are ties to anime in terms of action or pushing character expressions,” says Crawford.
Mercado added, “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 went on to say, “With the cinematography, we try to treat it like you’re actually shooting a film. There are wider lenses. There’s a light that leaks into the camera, and it is all connected to the theme of memories, nostalgia and the pictures we take.”
Rounding out the voice cast are Lea Salonga, Dave Franco, Manny Jacinto, Jenny Slate, Jo Koy, Dolly de Leon, Ronny Chieng and Amielynn Abellera.
“Forgotten Island” is released on Sept. 25 in the United States.
Watch the trailer below.
