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Dive into the enchanting world of “Forgotten Island,” a DreamWorks film that beautifully adapts Philippine mythology into a vibrant story of friendship and folklore. Directors Januel Mercado and Joel Crawford blend authentic myths with creative storytelling, bringing to life fantastical creatures like the manananggal, batibat, and sarimanok while preserving the deep cultural roots and darker themes that make these tales unforgettable.
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at how Forgotten Island adapts Philippine myth.
00:05We'll be going into several plot details, but we will try to avoid any major spoilers.
00:16Forgotten Island is an original DreamWorks production, although it draws heavily from Philippine folklore.
00:22Likewise, the titular island of Nakali, or Nakali Mutan, is a product of the screenplay,
00:27but it's grounded in Philippine myth and culture.
00:30So when we got the opportunity to make it original, or even that first thought where we're like,
00:35we should develop something, we were thinking it should be personable, it should be meaningful.
00:41And one of the first things was like, we gotta do something in the Philippines,
00:46because this culture is important to us.
00:48Co-director Januel Mercado is Filipino-American, with both sides of his family coming from the Philippines.
00:53Fellow director Joel Crawford wasn't born in the Philippines, but his wife Kathy was,
00:58immigrating from Quezon City to the U.S. at age 9.
01:02Forgotten Island isn't just their love letter to the Philippines.
01:05It's a time capsule preserving folklore that shouldn't be forgotten.
01:08So it's not just showing it off, but more really integrating it into the storytelling,
01:15so that whether you know the source of the story, or it's new to you, you're invited in.
01:25The name Nakali Mutan alludes to this, translating to forgotten in English.
01:30Just as BFFs Joe and Raisa explore Nakali,
01:33the directors embarked on a similar journey researching Philippine myth.
01:37I think for us, it was always exciting to go,
01:40there's so much that, you know, we don't even know of the Filipino mythology,
01:45so to dig in in such a rich culture and rich folklore.
01:49This isn't to say that the directors didn't take some creative liberties.
01:53What stood out to Crawford and Mercado was how scary a lot of these creatures from Philippine folklore were.
01:59Liza Soberano, who voices Raisa in the film, can relate,
02:02recalling how her grandmother used to tell her scary stories about the Mananangal and the Duende.
02:07Whenever something is, like, new to you, you get so scared and you tend to, like,
02:11kind of shrink, but because this film is centered in my culture,
02:15it kind of gave me this, um, new sense of confidence.
02:20This mirrors the relationship Joe shares with her grandma Lola in the film.
02:24Lola's tales have creepy elements, yet they ultimately create fond memories.
02:34While Forgotten Island still appeals to a family-friendly audience,
02:38the filmmakers get away with some pretty dark imagery.
02:41It's PG, but it's a hard PG.
02:44Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Mananangal character known as Mananang.
02:48We're actually big fans!
02:50Look!
02:53Wow!
02:54You don't even have to do anything and you're still hella scary.
02:58Like in folklore, the Mananangal is depicted as a winged vampiric creature
03:03who can separate her upper torso from her body's lower half.
03:07Mananangal actually stems from the word tangal,
03:09which translates to remover or separator.
03:12This ties into one of the film's central themes, separation.
03:16Step one, I transfer to your university in Manila.
03:19I'm not...
03:20Roomies!
03:21Joe, stay off the mic.
03:22It's not going to work because...
03:23Step two, I...
03:24I'm going to Caltech.
03:25Wait, what?
03:27In America.
03:28Not only do Joe and Raisa run the risk of being physically separated from each other,
03:32but the memories of their friendship could potentially slip away.
03:35In addition to being separated from her wings,
03:38Mananang has lost something even more valuable that's unleashing her anger.
03:41No!
03:42You can't stay with me!
03:43As unnerving as Manang's appearance is,
03:46Forgotten Island excludes some of the more disturbing elements from folklore.
03:50Namely, the Mananangal is known for hunting slumbering pregnant women,
03:54feeding off the fetus.
03:56She is one of the more physically unique monsters I've come across.
03:59I think we should be seeing more of this stomach-churning creature.
04:03So, who wants to make a horror movie?
04:06While Forgotten Island spares us such imagery,
04:08one of the memory tokens that Batiba, a Batibat, possesses is a pacifier.
04:12Is it possible that Manang targeted a mother who was left so devastated
04:16that she wanted to forget ever being pregnant?
04:18In any case, Batiba is depicted as a memory demon,
04:22whereas in Ilocano folklore, the Batibat is known for infiltrating dreams.
04:27If a human sleeps near the Batibat's home,
04:29they'll unleash the nightmares within.
04:40The Batibat is protective of a tome.
04:43The same can be said about the character Batiba,
04:45but she's portrayed as agoraphobic,
04:48which is a unique addition.
04:50Seems kind of fun, but maybe has something else going on.
04:53I think that's the most fun you can have,
04:57is like any sort of complexity,
04:58any sort of dissonance in the character.
05:01It's just a lot to work with.
05:04Myth paints the Batibat as a large female tree dweller.
05:07Batiba fits that description,
05:09although she looks more like Totoro
05:11than the grotesque spirit in folklore.
05:13Lucky for you, I'm a memory as well,
05:16and remembering is my specialty, not to brag.
05:19The Batibat isn't the only mythical creature
05:21that's given a much cuter design.
05:22The duende are proud warriors.
05:25Whatever you do, do not call them cute.
05:30Besides Manang,
05:31the most formidable physical threat
05:33that our heroes face is King Truffle Waffle,
05:35the king of the duende.
05:37As temperamental as those little guys are,
05:39Joe can't help but gush at their wide eyes,
05:42mushroom hats, and marshmallow scent.
05:44Silence!
05:45You shall never get back what I have taken.
05:47Your precious...
05:50Your precious jewel of the sea!
05:54There it is!
05:55The portal key!
05:56Bryce, I'm gonna hug him!
05:58Hold it together!
05:58In mythology,
06:00duende have been compared to gnomes,
06:02leprechauns, elves, goblins,
06:04and dwarves across various cultures.
06:05They fit a similar description in Philippine folklore,
06:08but a few qualities stand out from other interpretations.
06:11According to Philippine mythology,
06:13there are two types of duende,
06:15white and black.
06:16The white duende are good,
06:18and the black duende are evil.
06:20Forgotten Island wisely didn't go down that route.
06:23Get over here, you little cutie!
06:27Risa, he smells like marshmallow!
06:29On their hangover-esque adventure,
06:31Joe and Risa form their own wolf pack,
06:33complete with an actual were-dog.
06:35More precisely,
06:37Ra is a were-aspen.
06:38Do you transform during a full moon,
06:40or at will?
06:41Personal, okay?
06:42I'm sorry, I can't control it.
06:43Achoo!
06:45Can we please stop talking about it?
06:46Aspens, or Ascals,
06:48are perhaps the most recognizable
06:50free-ranging dogs in the Philippines.
06:52Although the term were-aspen
06:54appears to be specific to Forgotten Island,
06:56were-dogs do have a presence in Filipino folklore.
06:59That's all the proof I need!
07:01See, I told you we were cool!
07:03According to Maximo Ramos,
07:04a scholar of Philippine mythology,
07:06the were-dog operates much like a were-wolf,
07:09transforming at night and attacking humans,
07:11especially pregnant women.
07:13Thankfully, Ra isn't the vicious type.
07:16Even when this humanoid party animal
07:18goes full dog,
07:19he is harmless.
07:20Ramos categorizes were-dogs as a swang,
07:23shape-shifting creatures
07:24that are said to be evil.
07:25The Mananangal can also fall
07:27under this umbrella term.
07:29Wild pen!
07:32Come on!
07:33The character Bungie,
07:35who accompanies Joe and Raisa,
07:37was initially envisioned
07:38as an aswang resembling a cyclops.
07:40Bungie evolved into a chanok,
07:42now looking like a giant baby.
07:44The filmmakers felt this suited
07:46the story's coming-of-age theme,
07:47as Joe and Raisa
07:48learn to step out of their comfort zone.
07:50Despite being about 200 years old,
07:53Bungie is physically and emotionally
07:55an oversized toddler.
07:56Yeah, you feel for Bungie,
07:58you kind of feel sorry for him too,
07:59but then you mess with him
08:00and he can mess you up.
08:04He can hold his own.
08:06While the chanok can take on
08:07the appearance of newborns in folklore,
08:09this is deceptive.
08:10The chanok cries out in its infant form,
08:13waiting for someone to find it.
08:15When that unfortunate person passes by,
08:17the chanok reveals its true form,
08:19and things get bloody.
08:21The chanok has also been known
08:22to abduct children,
08:24akin to changelings.
08:25These thin, colicly,
08:27and insatiably hungry babies
08:28would stick around for a few years
08:30to nurse, then vanish.
08:31We can see what Crawford and Mercado meant
08:34when they described the source material as scary.
08:36It seems like half of the creatures
08:38in Philippine myth
08:39either want to eat babies
08:41or eat adults
08:42by disguising themselves as babies.
08:44Joe makes a few kids cry
08:45when she recounts
08:46one of her grandma's stories.
08:48All that remained in the room
08:49was the blood, thirsty,
08:51mother dunga!
08:54Sorry, sorry.
08:56Since Joe grew up
08:57with movies like Predator,
08:58the idea of a vampire
09:00splitting in two
09:01doesn't freak her out.
09:02We guess kids could just
09:03handle more back in the day.
09:05You're hit.
09:06You're bleeding, man.
09:07I ain't got time to bleed.
09:09Oh.
09:11Okay.
09:12While Forgotten Island
09:13never gets that graphic,
09:14the film does preserve
09:16a dark edge
09:17amid its vibrant visuals.
09:18It takes what some children
09:20might consider pure nightmare fuel
09:21and spins it into the stuff
09:23that DreamWorks is made of.
09:24There's still the issue
09:25of my missing hair,
09:26but it isn't the worst thing
09:27in the world, right?
09:29No, it's not.
09:31What?
09:33Ah!
09:36Another addition to Joe and Rice's group
09:38is a merman who goes by Merman.
09:40Technically, Merman is a katao,
09:42a sea creature from Philippine folklore.
09:44Kataos closely resemble merpeople
09:46with fins at the bottom
09:47and a human-like upper half.
09:49Feel our power!
09:51Beyond your wildest imagination.
09:55Nice catch, man, baby!
09:57One way that Merman sticks out
09:58is that if he doesn't get enough water,
10:00he becomes dried out,
10:02shrinking down to a withered corpse.
10:04Rounding out the wild pack
10:05is the Sarumanok,
10:07a mythical giant bird
10:08whose assorted colors
10:09reflect the good fortune it brings.
10:11They also cross paths
10:13with the Capre,
10:14giant tree-like creatures.
10:15My home lies deep in the forest
10:19near the roots of the mountain.
10:23In folklore,
10:24the Capre are tricksters
10:25who can make travelers
10:26lose their way.
10:27That's not the case
10:29in Forgotten Island,
10:30although our heroes
10:31are retracing their steps
10:32after forgetting
10:33the previous night.
10:34Joe, we went through the portal
10:3612 hours ago,
10:37and I can't remember
10:38a single thing about last night.
10:40Can you?
10:43No, but it looks like
10:44we had a lot of fun.
10:46Deceit seems to be
10:47a common thread
10:48among various creatures
10:49in Philippine myth,
10:50be it tree people
10:51sparking confusion
10:52or shapeshifters
10:53concealing their malevolent nature.
10:55This ties into
10:56Forgotten Island,
10:57as not every companion
10:58on the journey
10:59can be trusted.
11:00All these people
11:01are lying to each other,
11:02but they're not lying
11:03to each other
11:04out of malintent.
11:05They're doing it
11:06out of like fear
11:07and love,
11:08that they don't want
11:09to lose one another.
11:10And then obviously
11:11that creates conflict,
11:11but it all comes like,
11:13wow, like if we just
11:14maybe knew how to deal
11:15with our insecurities more,
11:17maybe embrace them
11:18a little bit more
11:19than trying to run away
11:20from them.
11:20Even Joe and Risa
11:22find that they haven't
11:23been entirely honest
11:24with each other.
11:24Almost everyone
11:25has a secret
11:26that they're eventually
11:27forced to confront.
11:28Things are not always
11:29what they seem,
11:30which extends
11:31to the more antagonistic
11:32figures too.
11:33Funny thing about memories,
11:36when you tear them only,
11:39they never come back.
11:42Transformation often comes up
11:44in Philippine folklore as well,
11:45mirroring Forgotten Island's
11:47story of two young women
11:48adapting to change.
11:49On the whole,
11:50the film transforms
11:51elements of folklore
11:52into something personal
11:53to the filmmakers,
11:54yet still rooted
11:55in classic stories
11:56that deserve
11:57to be remembered.
11:58And processing grief
12:00and life
12:02constantly changing
12:04was something
12:05that was still
12:06at the forefront
12:07as we were developing,
12:08you know,
12:09the other themes
12:10that the movie
12:11is built around.
12:12What did you think
12:13of Forgotten Island's
12:14approach to Philippine myth?
12:15Let us know
12:16in the comments.
12:17Thanks.
12:22Forgotten Island's