'Forgotten Island' Directors Break Down Two Sequences That Bring Jo And Raissa's Friendship To Life

Forgotten Island is an animated film about lifelong friends Jo and Raissa, who are transported to Nakali, an island inspired by Filipino folklore as they prepare to take separate paths. Their way home

Jo and Raissa, who grew up together in 1990s Manila, are friends facing separate lives after graduation. While spending their final night together, they pass through a mysterious passage and fall into Nakali. On an island where beings from Filipino folklore passed down through their families are alive, they discover that the price of returning home is every memory of their friendship.

Capturing a Friendship That Has Grown Over Time in a Single Song

The film’s opening compresses Jo and Raissa’s journey from childhood to young adulthood to INXS’s ‘Never Tear Us Apart.’ The directors repeatedly refined the sequence so that, even within the fast-paced montage, it would show why they need each other as friends. Charms accumulating on their bracelets hint at memories that never appear directly on screen. The choice to make the images feel like photographs and videos from the past is also striking. Lens flares, raindrops, and dust were added to the CG frames to create a texture different from that of a ‘perfect animated camera.’

A Scene Running Through Memory

In the latter part of the film, Raissa experiences Jo’s memories for the first time. The sequence includes an approximately 40-second-long take across the rooftops, in which the feeling of a dynamic chase flows into a quiet childhood memory. It brings fast-paced action into direct contact with an emotional shift within a single scene.

The Light and Folklore of Nakali

Upon arriving in Nakali, even the lighting breaks free from the rules of reality. The directors used the image of seven moons rising simultaneously in Filipino mythology as their lighting reference, exploring colors and contrasts suited to the story’s atmosphere rather than relying on realistic light sources. Jo and Raissa encounter the weredog Low and the manananggal, introduced as the most frightening being on the island, and must find a way out before they lose their memories.

Source: DreamWorks official film page · Cartoon Brew interview