In their previous outing together, Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado gave audiences a stylised contemplation of mortality by tracking a feline adventurer pursued by a scythe-bearing wolf. With “Forgotten Island“, the two filmmakers direct their focus towards an equally terrifying reality: what happens when your childhood companion packs their bags, boards an aeroplane, and leaves you behind in the city where you grew up.
The production begins in nineteen-nineties Manila, an era before mobile video calls made long-distance relationships trivial. Josephine “Jo” Yuson, voiced by the musician H.E.R., is an erratic storyteller with little regard for institutional authority. Her companion Raissa Molina, voiced by Liza Soberano, is a methodical scholar preparing to study engineering at the California Institute of Technology. They met in primary school after being sent to the headteacher’s office, bound together by the folklore tales passed down by Jo’s grandmother, Lola Fatima, played by Dolly de Leon.
On the eve of Raissa’s departure, a farewell party fills the house with karaoke, roast pork, and relatives gossiping under the watchful gaze of framed religious portraits. Before the night ends, an uncovered artefact pulls the pair through a portal into Nakali, known also as Nakalimutan, the Tagalog word for forgotten. They awake on a shoreline with amnesia, a missing portal key, and a strict deadline to reach the airport before Raissa’s flight departs.
From Storyboards to Folklore
The film had its genesis in 2020 while Crawford and Mercado were concluding work on “The Croods: A New Age”. The partners, who met while drawing storyboards on “Kung Fu Panda 2”, temporarily paused the project to complete “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” before returning to their original premise. Mercado, a Filipino American whose sister provided the visual and personal basis for Jo, wrote early drafts alongside his late father, verifying Tagalog expressions and domestic rituals. A subsequent research journey to the Philippines with producer Mark Swift, production designer Ryan Carlson, and art director Chris Grun informed both the urban layouts of Manila and the coastal geography of Nakali.
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That trip supplied the film with specific domestic observations. The farewell gathering, or despedida, contains details recognisable to anyone who grew up in the diaspora: the precise font choice on promotional banners, the use of lip gestures to indicate direction across a crowded room, and the social currency of shared food.
The Weight of Departure and Memory
The central focus of “Forgotten Island” is the friction of migration. Jo views Raissa’s relocation as an act of desertion, whereas Raissa conceals her ambitions to avoid early confrontation. When the island’s tree-dwelling spirit Batiba, voiced with feline duplicity by Jenny Slate, offers them passage home in exchange for their childhood memory bracelets, the exchange represents the psychological toll of moving abroad.
The supporting cast of creatures reflects this emotional conflict. The directors adapt the broad category of aswang—the traditional umbrella term for Philippine monsters—into varied characters. Dave Franco voices Raww, a teenage were-dog whose erratic transformations resemble an awkward adolescence. Manny Jacinto supplies deadpan delivery to Bungi, a three-eyed demon baby terrified of eye infections. Kevin McCann appears as Prince Mermahn, a conceited sea creature complete with harmonising starfish pasties.
The main antagonist, the Dreaded Manananggal, is played by Lea Salonga. The character embodies the mythic creature that detaches at the torso, drawn here with sharp angles and accompanied by low Maguindanao gongs arranged by composer Nathan Matthew David. The character’s hostility stems from an internal absence similar to memory loss, visualised through twitching lines and unsettling sound design.
Visual Techniques and Audience Context
Cinemagoers should anticipate a presentation that mixes digital three-dimensional animation with hand-drawn two-dimensional techniques. Sequences produced by Snipple Animation Studios in Quezon City adopt distinct anime conventions, using visual shortcuts such as exaggerated sweat drops and stylised silhouettes to illustrate how different characters remember the evening.
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The pacing remains brisk across its hundred and nine minutes. The script incorporates Tagalog dialogue directly into conversations without subtitle exposition, relying on character movement and situation to convey meaning. Families attending with young children should note that the Manananggal sequences possess genuine fright, and the script does not shy away from toilet humour or loud confrontation.
What makes “Forgotten Island” admirable is its refusal to dilute its origins for global distribution. The film provides a lucid look at friendship, showing that distance alters our relationships even when we fight to preserve them. Crawford and Mercado have delivered a feature that treats its cultural sources with precision, presenting an entertaining exploration of the people we choose to keep in our minds.
