Tovic Salvador

Article (news)

Yong Chavez

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1788337202625Screenshot 2026-09-02 161918.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A scene from the &#x27;Forgotten Island&#x27; trailer.<em> Screenshot from Universal Pictures on YouTube</em></span></span></span></div><p>The Filipino contributions to &quot;Forgotten Island&quot; extend well beyond its voice actors. At the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2026/9/2/here-in-hollywood-inside-forgotten-island-screening-after-party-1619"><strong>after-party</strong></a>, I caught up with three people whose work helped shape the film’s Filipino identity: director and actor Januel Mercado, cultural consultant Kirby Araullo, and vocalist/translator Annie Nepomuceno.</p><p>Scheduled to premiere on September 23, &quot;Forgotten Island&quot; follows best friends Jo and Raissa, who are transported to a fantastical island packed with Filipino mythological creatures.</p><p>For his part, Mercado wasn’t expecting to voice Raissa’s father in &quot;Forgotten Island.&quot; But co-director Joel Crawford and producer Mark Swift apparently felt otherwise.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1788337236748Liza, Manny, Januel and Joel 2292519525.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">&#x27;Forgotten Island&#x27; director Januel Mercado (second from right) alongside (from left) voice actors Liza Soberano and Manny Jacinto and co-director Joel Crawford. <em>Photo by Unique Nicole/Getty Images for DreamWorks Animation</em></span></span></span></div><p>“They said, ‘You did such a good job. We can’t imagine anyone else but you,’” Mercado recalled. The role became especially meaningful because the character was based on Mercado’s own father, who died several years ago. “So it was our homage to Dad,” he said.</p><p>There was an especially personal detail: Mercado’s father was “the king of karaoke at our parties.” Mercado himself clearly inherited at least some of that talent.</p><p>When I asked if he really sings, he laughed. “Yeah.” That answer was subsequently supported by his performance at the karaoke room.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1788337335447Kirby Araullo and Yee Xiong 2292513745.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Kirby Araullo (left) and Yee Xiong</span></span></span></div><p>Araullo, meanwhile, served as a cultural consultant. His fingerprints can be found throughout the movie in the form of cultural Easter eggs, including baybayin.</p><p>“I used to teach baybayin, so that was one of my big contributions in the movie,” Araullo said. He also had the responsibility of pointing out when something didn’t quite feel culturally accurate.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/movies-series/2026/8/25/h-e-r-liza-soberano-celebrate-filipino-roots-in-forgotten-island-fan-meet-2355"><strong>READ: H.E.R., Liza Soberano celebrate Filipino roots in &#x27;Forgotten Island&#x27; fan meet<br/></strong></a></div><p>Was there anything the filmmakers showed him that made him think, &quot;Hold on, that’s not how we do it?&quot;</p><p>“There’s a few,” he said with a laugh.</p><p>For Araullo, authenticity meant making the movie resonate with Filipinos in the Philippines as well as Filipinos in the diaspora. Born in the Philippines, he moved to Los Angeles in high school, giving him firsthand experience of both Pinoy pop culture and the Fil-Am experience. “My goal in being part of this is to really make it feel good for both,” he said. “Because we’re one community.”</p><p>His relationship with baybayin goes back to childhood. His father taught him the writing system when he was seven. Later, he began teaching it himself to Filipino high school students in the Bay Area.</p><p>If Araullo helped shape what audiences see, Nepomuceno helped shape what they hear. Nepomuceno translated and wrote the Tagalog lyrics for “A Parallel World,” a song performed by Filipino girl group BINI for the film.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/music/2026/9/2/bini-s-a-parallel-world-hits-over-2-million-streams-on-spotify-1434"><strong>READ: BINI&#x27;s &#x27;A Parallel World&#x27; hits over 2 million streams on Spotify<br/></strong></a></div><p>Her career began in the Philippines as a professional vocalist, singing commercials and backup vocals, recording and performing, coaching artists in the studio, and working on live shows and television. </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1788337359849Annie Nepomuceno pic by Yong Chavez.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Annie Nepomuceno. <em>Photo by Yong Chavez, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>She graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Music with a degree in Musicology and also studied composition.</p><p>The &quot;Forgotten Island&quot; assignment came to her only a few months before the event, sometime around May. At first, she didn’t even know what the project was. Someone in the Philippines contacted her about a translation job and then NBC Universal reached out.</p><p>“And that’s when she (NBC Universal rep) told me, ‘Oh, and yeah, this is for &#x27;Forgotten Island,’” Nepomuceno recalled. She knew the song was intended for the soundtrack, but wasn’t certain how prominently her work would ultimately appear.</p><p>So hearing it in the theater was an emotional moment. “I was trying to not scream in the theater,” she said, laughing. She hadn’t known whether the Tagalog lyrics would actually make the final cut. “And yet here it is,” she said. “And I’m so proud of being just a little part of this project.”</p><p>I couldn’t resist one final request: Could she sing the Tagalog version? She laughed, tried to remember the words, and then gamely sang a line. It was a fitting moment to end an evening that had already brought together Filipino mythology, performers, food, music and, naturally, Filipino karaoke. For &quot;Forgotten Island,&quot; those aren’t side details, but the story.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GwMyPJLiXwc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong><br/></div>

<p>The Filipino contributions to 'Forgotten Island' extend well beyond its voice actors.</p>

The Filipino contributions to 'Forgotten Island' extend well beyond its voice actors.

Beyond voice actors, meet more Filipinos behind 'Forgotten Island'

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Beyond voice actors, meet more Filipinos behind 'Forgotten Island'

Yong Chavez,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 03, 2026 11:05 AM PHT

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