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DreamWorks’ “Forgotten Island” is packed with emotional details, cultural references, and clever symbolism hidden in plain sight. From Jo and Raissa’s matching charms to the meaning behind the jeepney, the sand dollar portal, and Batiba’s eerie role, we’re diving into the Easter eggs that give this story its deeper heart. Which hidden detail stood out most to you?
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today, we're looking at the hidden meanings in DreamWorks' Forgotten Island.
00:06This includes a few spoilers.
00:09I know.
00:10I got you, homie.
00:16Number 10. Her's Guitar Pick.
00:19Joe and Rice's friendship is chronicled through their charm bracelets, which grow with new tokens over the years.
00:24In addition to the two halves of a Mananangal doll, their bracelets include records, mixtapes, and firecrackers.
00:31A particular charm is closely tied to her, who provides Joe's voice.
00:36I just have one question for you.
00:38Who left the dogs out?
00:40Who? Who? Who? Who? Who?
00:43Joe, she's made me remember what's important.
00:46Yeah, best friends for life!
00:49Joe has a green guitar pick, while a pink one hangs from Raisa's wrist.
00:53If you look closely at Joe's guitar pick, the letters HER can be spotted.
00:57It's a sneaky nod to Joe's voice actress, whose mother is from the Philippines.
01:02You know, your parents say, like, oh, watch out.
01:03If you don't listen, if you don't do your schoolwork, the Mananangal is going to get you.
01:07Is that part of the culture?
01:08Yeah, yeah, but the history of Filipino mythology is so rich and vibrant and a little scary.
01:14She didn't learn about this Easter egg until she saw an early cut of the film.
01:18The fact that she comes from a family of guitarists only gives it a deeper meaning.
01:22But, you know, Filipinos are really talented overall, I think.
01:25We know.
01:27I'm sure you know.
01:28But, yeah, my grandma, she apparently played a lot of instruments.
01:33And I got to go back to the Philippines recently and connect with my mom's sister and some of my
01:38aunties and uncles I haven't seen in a long time.
01:40And they were telling me all these stories.
01:41And, yeah, it was a really nice, like, homecoming.
01:43Number 9.
01:45The Jeepney's Significance
01:46As kids, Joe and Raisa have a joyride on a jeepney reading Mabuhay, a Filipino greeting that translates to live
01:53long.
01:54To outsiders, a jeepney may seem like just another mode of transportation, but this vehicle is rooted in Philippine history.
02:01So, traditional na sa Pilipinas ang jeep.
02:03So, kung papalitan nila, hindi lang kami ang apiktado, kundi pati ang mga pasahero.
02:10Kasi pagka-modern na...
02:11Jeepneys were originally known as otocalesas, or ACs, serving as shared taxis during the early 20th century.
02:18By the end of World War II, almost all of these vehicles were destroyed.
02:23U.S. troops left behind many military jeeps, though, providing a blueprint for the jeepney.
02:28Easy to fix, the diesel-powered jeepneys became a fixture in the Philippines, gaining the title King of the Road.
02:36To this day, in Manila alone, millions of people use them daily.
02:40The crashed jeepney not only becomes a symbol of Joe and Raisa's friendship, but also reflects where they are in
02:46life.
02:46While Raisa's ready to hit the road, Joe would rather stay parked on the beach.
02:50You really don't have to go all the way to the U.S. for school.
02:53We're not kids anymore, Joe.
02:55Oh, well, at least we made some good memories.
02:58Don't you forget to check out Ms. Mojo's 24-7 livestream.
03:02Scan the QR code onscreen to join us live for more animated action.
03:07Whoa!
03:07Y'all gonna make me lose my mind.
03:09Up in here, up in here.
03:12Y'all gonna make me go all out.
03:14Number 8.
03:15An unlikely hangover connection.
03:17Joe, we went through the portal 12 hours ago,
03:20and I can't remember a single thing about last night.
03:23Can you?
03:26No, but it looks like we had a lot of fun.
03:29More than a few people have pointed out Forgotten Island's parallels to The Hangover,
03:33with both films centering on friends who wake up with no memories after a wild night.
03:38Beyond the narrative similarities, there is another surprising hangover connection here.
03:43Developing Forgotten Island, directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado use their own friendship as inspiration.
03:49The two initially became friends while working on Kung Fu Panda 2.
03:53I hope this turns out better than your plan to cook rice in your stomach by eating it raw and
03:57then drinking boiling water.
03:59This plan's nothing like that plan.
04:01How?
04:01Because this one's gonna work.
04:03While Kung Fu Panda 2 was praised for expanding upon the source material,
04:07it opened behind another sequel that many felt recycled the same formula.
04:12The Hangover Part 2.
04:14Whether or not this was their intention,
04:16Forgotten Island is something of a full-circle moment for Crawford and Mercado,
04:20who made a better Hangover 2 than Hangover 2.
04:23Seriously, what is wrong with you three?
04:26So much, Trace, I don't even know where to begin.
04:29Number 7.
04:30Joe's Knife
04:31Uh, sorry, I can't do a blood oath.
04:34I'm not a psycho.
04:35To commemorate their newfound bestie status,
04:38Joe breaks out a Batangas knife.
04:40Raisa jumps to the conclusion that she wants to make a blood oath.
04:44But this isn't merely a funny throwaway line.
04:46We're also pretty sure it's not just another Hangover callback.
04:50It's a historical reference to the Legaspi-Sicatuna blood compact,
04:54the Sandugo, or, quote,
04:58This 1565 pact sealed the friendship between Spanish explorer Miguel Lopez de Legaspi
05:03and Bohol Chieftin Datu Sicatuna in blood.
05:15It's recognized as the first friendship treaty between the two nations.
05:20Turns out that Joe isn't looking to spill blood,
05:22but her knife has the word Lola etched onto it.
05:25She apparently got the knife from her grandmother,
05:27who taught Joe how to defend herself.
05:35Number 6.
05:37The Jesus Portrait
05:38At Raisa's going away party,
05:40Joe runs into a few familiar faces,
05:42giving a special shout-out to Jesus Christ,
05:44or, more specifically, a portrait of him.
05:47Sup, Jesus?
05:48Have you seen Raisa?
05:51Thanks anyway!
05:52Some might have been caught off guard to see a religious figure in a DreamWorks animated movie.
05:58Actually, that's more common than you might assume.
06:01Who are you?
06:04I am that I am.
06:07Those familiar with Philippine culture know that Raisa's house would have felt incomplete without a certain Messiah's presence.
06:13According to the Philippine Statistics Authority,
06:15over 80 million of the country's households identify as Roman Catholic.
06:19That means almost 80% likely have an image of Jesus in their house.
06:24It's fitting that Raisa's family would hang their Jesus portrait over the party spread,
06:28as this gathering is something of a Last Supper for them.
06:31This time tomorrow, you'll be on your way to America, far from home.
06:37Sorry, something in my eyes and my heart.
06:40Oh, Dad!
06:42Number 5.
06:43Tayo Na
06:44Throughout the film, Joe and Raisa develop a catchphrase.
06:48Tayo Na!
06:53Tayo Na!
06:54It's also the same name as one of composer Nathan Matthew David's tracks in the film.
06:58What does Tayo Na mean exactly, though?
07:00It can differ for those who speak Filipino and Tagalog,
07:03with the meaning ranging from let's go to get up to you and me.
07:08Her and Raisa's voice actress, Liza Soberano, often heard the phrase growing up.
07:13Honestly, it didn't take much because there's that shared understanding of the culture.
07:18Yeah.
07:18That like when we met each other that first day we recorded, I felt like,
07:21I just felt so comfortable with you right away.
07:24Same.
07:24It was very organic.
07:26While there's more than one interpretation,
07:28all of them tie into Joe and Rice's dynamic.
07:30For Soberano, it's a way of saying, quote,
07:33I'm not doing this without you.
07:35To her, it means, quote,
07:36You've got to join me.
07:38Let's go.
07:38Whatever these words mean to you, they're entrenched in the Philippines.
07:42Let's go!
07:43Tayo Na!
07:45Tayo Na!
07:46Tayo Na!
07:47Tayo Na!
07:48Tayo Na!
07:49Boosh!
07:49Number 4.
07:50The Sand Dollar.
07:52Raisa, you're not gonna believe this.
07:58Look!
07:59No way.
08:00A sand dollar opens a portal to the forgotten island of Nakali,
08:04commencing Joe and Rice's journey.
08:06Both the sand dollar and the portal share a design specific to Filipino culture,
08:11encompassing a circle and eight points.
08:13This resembles the flag of the Philippines,
08:15which prominently features a golden sun with eight rays.
08:19Eight isn't a random number that Emilio Aguinaldo came up with while designing the flag.
08:24It represents the original eight Philippine provinces that rebelled against the Spanish in 1896.
08:29Under Aguinaldo's leadership, the Filipinos surrounded Manila and turned over 15,000 Spanish prisoners to the Americans.
08:39Aguinaldo and his forces also officially declared independence from Spain.
08:44The eight-rayed sun has become a symbol of freedom and unity.
08:48For Joe and Raisa, it's a link between their home and the island.
08:52Nakali may be a magical world, but it's made up of Philippine mythology.
08:56That's where we got Hollow Hollow, oh yeah.
08:59That's where we saw a barrel show, oh yeah.
09:02That vampire came on to me, oh yeah.
09:05Number three, Batiba's real-world parallels.
09:08On their adventure, Joe and Raisa encounter Batiba, a memory demon who offers them a way home.
09:14Lucky for you.
09:15I'm a memory of Swamp, and remembering is my specialty, not to brag.
09:20The price is their memories of each other, which Batiba wishes to keep for herself.
09:25Despite some of her deceptive actions, Batiba is an unusually relatable character.
09:31She's afraid to leave her own home, believing she can be just as content absorbing strangers' memories.
09:37This doesn't sound too different from someone who spends all of their time on social media,
09:41scrolling through other people's memories while neglecting to make their own.
09:45You'll be able to live, work, doomscroll, cat cafe.
09:49And bowl?
09:50No, no bowling.
09:52Batiba could also resemble cultural appropriation,
09:55taking memories tied to someone's identity and making them their own without understanding their importance.
10:01Batiba may think that she's preserving a memory, when in reality, she's erasing history.
10:06The way that you are intertwined with your beloved friends, that's irreplaceable.
10:11And, um, I've worked a lot in that sort of, like, emotional area.
10:16I feel like it's something I'm really drawn to.
10:18Number 2.
10:20Manang's Memories
10:21Tita Manang!
10:23This whole wing thing is just a misunderstanding!
10:27Joe and Raisa are more like Manang, the menacing Manananggal, than they think.
10:31Where Manang loses her wings, and occasionally her lower half,
10:35Joe and Raisa face a potential separation.
10:38All three have endured memory loss as well.
10:40With Raisa eventually realizing just how much Joe will lose if their friendship is wiped.
10:46Funny thing about memories.
10:49When you tear the moment, they never come back.
10:54Manang, meanwhile, has a change of tune after Batiba returns the memories she stole from her.
10:59We never learn what memories were taken from Manang.
11:02Although it doesn't entirely matter whether they were good memories or bad.
11:06Manang was incomplete without them.
11:08Forgotten Island emerges as a poignant commentary on how exploring one's past is sometimes the only way forward.
11:15By not sharing Manang's memories with the audience, the film ironically says more with less.
11:21Wow!
11:22You don't even have to do anything and you're still hella scary!
11:26Number 1.
11:27The title's personal meaning.
11:29The title Forgotten Island can be taken literally, since the characters are on an island with missing memories.
11:35Yet there's another level to the title that didn't occur to Joel Crawford until Januel Mercado brought it up.
11:41With this movie, we really thought about what is the impact of those loved ones in your life.
11:47And I really wanted to make this love letter to my family.
11:50Making this film, Mercado thought about how his culture hasn't been widely represented in Hollywood productions.
11:57A lack of representation can lead people to question whether or not they matter.
12:01Mercado essentially saw Forgotten Island as a way of telling other people of color that they do.
12:06We gotta do something in the Philippines because this culture is important to us.
12:10It's about time.
12:11While the titular Forgotten Island is grounded in Philippine myth and history, the movie's meaning can be applied to any
12:17diverse group that has ever felt marginalized.
12:20There are countless stories that are less likely to be forgotten if they're shared.
12:25This is our entire friendship.
12:29I never want to forget this.
12:31Are there any hidden meanings in Forgotten Island we missed?
12:34Let us know in the comments.
12:42Let us know in the comments.
12:42Let us know in the comments.
12:42Let us know in the comments.
12:42Let us know in the comments.
12:42Let us know in the comments.