At the end of 2022, Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado delivered one of the best animation surprises in recent memory with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. The sequel to DreamWorks‘ Puss in Boots spin-off, it defied all expectations set by the lukewarm reception of its predecessor and took the Shrek franchise to new heights, with stellar animation and a richly layered exploration of mortality told through Antonio Banderas‘ orange tabby cat. Audiences also turned out in droves to see it, earning the feature a $484.3 million box office haul by the time it read happily ever after. Nearly four years later, the directing duo is now back with their latest project with the studio, Forgotten Island, that looks to replicate the success with an original idea and more jaw-dropping visuals.
Before it opens in theaters on September 25, Collider can exclusively share the official 4DX poster focusing on the film’s two heroic besties, Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano), and their new friend, Raww, a were-aspin voiced by Dave Franco. All three are striking a pose around the title and oozing 90s style thanks to their colorful outfits. With their dynamic neon backdrop and the little effects blasting outward with them, they look nearly ready to leap out of the screen with a love letter to the decade that’s every bit as kinetic as its creators’ last film. It reflects the maximalist approach that Mercado and Crawford described to Collider‘s Steve Weintraub in an interview after Forgotten Island‘s appearance at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Mercado teased how they took influence from a wide range of animation styles, from past DreamWorks films to 90s anime, to create something that evoked their own memories.
“If you’re a fan of animation in general, and the breadth of styles and storytelling tones, you’re in for a treat, because Joel and I’s sensibility is that we’re kind of maximalists, and it’s coming from a place of, ‘I love this. I love that. Let’s put it all in our movie!’ When specifically talking about the styles of animation, we have this amazing display of traditional CG performances, as well — subtle acting that you’ve seen in DreamWorks’ filmography — and we also have these pushed anime moments that now can be rendered in the 3D world. We also have 2D elements and classic 2D, ‘90s anime, inspired by the anime that we grew up watching. And that’s, to your point, too, people who don’t know anime think it’s all the same, but there are so many different styles of anime, and we haven’t even scratched the surface in our movie. It’s just, like, three shows and Street Fighter video games in the ‘90s.”
What Is ‘Forgotten Island’ About?
For the story, Crawford and Mercado took their cues from the Philippines’ mythology and their own bond. Forgotten Island is the tale of two lifelong friends living in the country in the 1990s whose promise to remain close forever is jeopardized when Raissa prepares for a life-changing move to the U.S. for college. However, their connection is tested in a way they could never expect when, before the move, she and Jo are both whisked to the island of Nakali, a fantastical world lost to time, where the cost of leaving is giving up all memory of their friendship. It kicks off a whimsical adventure full of strange new allies, imposing villains, and, of course, 90s nostalgia, as they try to find another way to escape back home.
The directors were rejoined by producer Marc Swift to bring their original feature to life following the Academy Award-nominated success of The Last Wish. This time, though, Crawford and Mercado also directly penned the script themselves. In addition to the trio of H.E.R., Soberano, and Franco, they had another strong cast to work with all the way down, too, including Manny Jacinto, Jenny Slate, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, and Lea Salonga, among others. Both leads will be among the many artists contributing their musical talents to a soundtrack that blends 80s and 90s influences with the Philippine music scene, including a new track by the P-Pop band Bini titled “A Parallel Dimension.”
Forgotten Island premieres in theaters on September 25. Check out the new 4DX poster above.
via Collider