‘The Forgotten Island’ Will Be Worth Remembering
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Filipina characters Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) in Dreamworks’ “The Forgotten Island” (Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures)
The Forgotten Island is a world filled with the people and creatures of Filipino mythology and can only be visited through a portal. When high school best friends in the Philippines, Jo (voiced by H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) enter the portal, they are whisked into live encounters with the folklore tales of their childhood in 1990.
Liza Soberano and H.E.R. at the “The Forgotten Island” trailer launch event (Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures)
The movie is directed by best friends, Januel Mercado, a Fil-Am from Stockton, California, and Joel Crawford, whose wife, Kathy, is Filipina. They were the creative team behind Penguins of Madagascar, The Lego Ninjago Movie, and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. The cast of voices features H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Manny Jacinto, Jo Koy and Lea Salonga.
In overt ways, The Forgotten Island is a cultural phenomenon and The Debut for our Diaspora in every part of the world. “I’ve always championed Filipino culture, but I didn’t expect it to grow into this big moment,’ says H.E.R. (Gabriella “Gaby” Sarmiento Wilson).
Directors Joel Crawford and Jenuel Mercado at the “The Forgotten Island” trailer launch event (Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures)
“We see it across the board,” observes the winner of an Oscar, five Grammy Awards, and an Emmy. “People are appreciating our food. They see our clips go viral, and they’re like, wow, Filipinos can really sing!” She goes on to list fellow musical artists Olivia Rodrigo, Apl.de.ap and Steve Lacy as examples of this moment that The Forgotten Island is poised to prolong.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was a critical and box office success, topping $480 million in ticket sales worldwide in 2022/2023. The acclaim of this and previous movies gave the directing team cache to bring to life a story that takes place in the Philippines with the universal theme of friendship and love.
Asked whether he had to slow down the action to explain the idiosyncrasies of Filipino households to a mainstream audience, Mercado replies, “Joel (Crawford) and I approached it through our personal experiences in our families. These things are universal, like spending time with your family, big family parties and close friendships.”
In particular, he adds, “Our friendships are so close that you break each other’s hearts, you say hurtful things, you say encouraging things. We’re confident that being personal and specific will be universal and relatable.”
Liza Soberano may have found her star vehicle to erase regrets following her move from the Philippines, where she had grown from ingenue to A-list actress, to a new beginning in Hollywood. The irony isn’t lost that the Philippines would be the setting of the first chapter of her greatest adventure.
As The Forgotten Island progresses toward opening weekend on September 25th, DreamWorks Animation will keep Positively Filipino in the loop with interviews of stars and creative staff.
“I moved to L.A. two years ago from the Philippines, so I’ve been speaking lots of English.” For the movie, she says, “It’s like a refresher course to speak in Tagalog throughout this film. I felt so proud to speak in my mother’s dialect.”
As the movie progresses toward opening weekend on September 25th, DreamWorks Animation will keep Positively Filipino in the loop with interviews of stars and creative staff. It’s hard to dispute the life prescription to live each day like it’s your last, but the delight of having something to look forward to cannot be dismissed.
Anthony Maddela is a Staff Correspondent in Los Angeles.
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