FORGOTTEN ISLAND Liza Soberano H.E.R.
by Anjali Filmi: Liza Soberano
Liza Soberano and H.E.R. are voicing characters in FORGOTTEN ISLAND that draw directly from real Filipina women known to directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado. The animated cast features multi-dimensional personalities rather than one-note roles, with Joel basing his character on his wife and Januel modeling his after his sister named Jo. While the characters might not have lived through every single event shown, they still embody the essence of these real people alongside mythological creatures in a mystical world. This approach layers human complexity into the story, creating something deeply authentic where universal themes meet specific Filipino cultural elements. That's what makes this film so universal, even though it's so specific to Filipino culture.
Transcript (en)
Honestly, to Joel and Janewal's credit, like, the complexity and the authenticity of what the human experience is like, on top of what the Filipino experience is like, and just being able to add those layers to these characters and this mystical, magical world, that's like a hard thing to do, and they really nailed it. And even though it's animated, like, you feel the human aspect of it because of the complexity of the characters. No character is like one note. Because Joel and Januel captured that, that's what makes this film so universal, even though it's so specific to Filipino culture. Joel's wife and Januel's sister, Jo, they are, these characters are based on real people. Maybe they haven't experienced some of these things, but like the essence of them are living and being embodied in these characters. I think that's why people are so connected to it, because it is very, very human, even though we're working with mythological creatures.
