The Directors of ‘Forgotten Island’ Take Us Back to Nakali

The directors of Forgotten Island — Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado — have officially given us two of the best animated films of the decade. They first brought us Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in 2022, and now, four years later, we’re getting a beautiful, emotional love letter to Filipino culture and the power of friendship. We previously spoke with the duo back in March during a trailer event for the film. Now, nearly half a year later, having seen the full film for ourselves, we were able to sit down with them once more to sing their praises and dive deeper into the inspirations and origins of Forgotten Island.

To make an original film like Forgotten Island, inspiration has to come from somewhere deep. When we previously spoke with Crawford and Mercado, we learned that the film was heavily inspired by their close friendship, which had developed since their early days at DreamWorks Animation. But while we knew the film was a love letter to Filipino culture and mythology, there were other sources of inspiration that helped define the film and its characters. For starters, the duo wanted to make the film a love letter to the strong women in their lives, such as Crawford’s wife and Mercado’s sister. Additionally, the film carries strong narrative resemblances to The Hangover and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which we confirmed were major inspirations as well.

Getting to finally sit down with them to break down the movie after seeing it was truly a wonderful experience for me as both a proud Filipino and a cinema and animation fan. Over the past few months of covering this fantastic movie, it’s safe to say I’ve developed a genuine sense of comfort in being able to chat with them about the things we love and how much their work means to both the Filipino community and animation fans everywhere.

In addition to there being very few films in Hollywood centered around Filipino culture, many still underestimate the power of animation as a cinematic medium and a source for mature and emotional storytelling. Being bold enough to defy the norms of the industry by turning a Shrek spinoff like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish into a rich fable about cherishing life, or an original Filipino story like Forgotten Island into a huge studio film about friendship, is a testament to who these filmmakers are both as artists and rebels.

Once more, here’s what they had to say about their work on Forgotten Island:

Forgotten Island hits theaters September 25! If you haven’t had the chance to check out our most recent interview with stars, H.E.R., Liza Soberano, and Dave Franco, check it out here. You can also check out what our critic, Michael Lee, thought of the movie in his review.

Stay tuned to The Nerds of Color for more on Forgotten Island as we count down to the release of this historic and incredible animated film!