The team behind forthcoming feature Forgotten Island had an experience to remember while making the DreamWorks Animation project.
Universal Pictures released the trailer Wednesday ahead of the movie’s theatrical release on Sept. 25. Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado wrote and directed Forgotten Island, which boasts a voice cast that includes H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto and Lea Salonga.
Focusing on an island rooted in Philippine mythology, Forgotten Island centers on lifelong best friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Soberano). After they find themselves stuck on the magical and forgotten island of Nakali, the only way home will potentially require the loss of their cherished memories together.
During an event this week to celebrate the trailer’s launch, H.E.R. explained that it meant a lot to voice a lead character for a project that invoked the folklore creatures that the music star would hear about from her Filipino mom.
“I was excited,” the Grammy and Oscar winner said about working on Forgotten Island. “I get to share a piece of my childhood in this work and with the world. That’s super rewarding to me.”
The trailer reveals that a magical portal involves the sun, which is an important symbol for the people of the Philippines.
“The first time I saw it, I cried,” Soberano said of the image. “I literally cried because 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. It just felt like such a big moment.”
H.E.R. agreed that the use of the sun was a powerful aspect of the movie. “The sun is a big symbol for us,” she said. “To see it in a film — for kids, it just hits different. It’s definitely very emotional, and it’s very special.”
Co-directors Crawford and Mercado, who have been close ever since working together on the studio’s Kung Fu Panda 2, used their own real-life friendship as inspiration for their new movie’s story. “I so quickly found a kindred spirit in my stupid humor, in my movie references — and, more than anything, a great friend who made me feel like I could be myself around him,” Crawford said of Mercado. “When given the opportunity to tell a story of original story, I was like, ‘Friendship — it’s got to be about that.’”
Mercado noted that setting the movie in the 1990s was important as a way to tap into a formative time in the directors’ lives. They hoped that the theme of nostalgia would be a universal one, regardless of whether that particular decade holds special meaning for audiences. “If you feel what we’re feeling, you’ll connect to that and remember what’s nostalgic for you, whether or not it is the ’90s,” Mercado said.
