There are plenty of reasons why Filipinos are paying attention to DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island. The Philippine mythology, familiar creatures like the manananggal and kapre, the Filipino references, and even the setting already make the movie feel unusually close to home.
But another major reason is the cast.
Forgotten Island brings together an impressive group of Filipino, Filipino-American and Filipino-heritage performers, led by Liza Soberano and Grammy and Academy Award winner H.E.R. They are joined by Lea Salonga, Dolly de Leon, Manny Jacinto and Jo Koy, along with Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Ronny Chieng and several other actors.
And this isn’t simply a case of putting famous Filipino names into a Hollywood animated movie.
Many of them are actually voicing characters connected directly to Philippine mythology and Filipino family life.
DreamWorks describes Forgotten Island as the story of lifelong best friends Jo and Raissa, two high school graduates whose lives are about to move in different directions. On their final night together, they accidentally enter a mysterious portal leading to Nakali, an island populated by creatures they grew up hearing about from their Filipino families.
There’s one big problem: the longer they remain there, the more their memories begin to disappear.
Here’s a closer look at the Forgotten Island cast and the characters they play.
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Forgotten Island Cast at a Glance
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| H.E.R. | Jo |
| Liza Soberano | Raissa |
| Dave Franco | Raww |
| Lea Salonga | Manang / The Dreaded Manananggal |
| Manny Jacinto | Bungi |
| Jenny Slate | Batiba |
| Dolly de Leon | Lola Fatima |
| Jo Koy | Datu |
| Ronny Chieng | King Truffle Wuffle |
| Kevin McCann | Prince Mermahn |
| Amielynn Abellera | Raissa’s Mother |
| Eugene Cordero | Barondo / Mr. Lopez |
| Eric Bauza | General Button Wutton / Sarangay |
| Nico Santos | Starfish Pastie characters |
| Januel Mercado | Manny Molina / Dry Mermahn |
DreamWorks’ official main cast includes H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng and Lea Salonga. More detailed credits identify several additional characters and supporting voices.
Liza Soberano as Raissa
For Filipino audiences, Liza Soberano will probably be one of the biggest reasons to watch Forgotten Island.
Liza voices Raissa, one of the movie’s two main characters.
Raissa and Jo have been best friends since childhood, but their friendship reaches a turning point after high school. Raissa is preparing to leave the Philippines and move to the United States for college, while Jo is staying behind.
That impending separation becomes one of the emotional foundations of the story.
According to Vogue Philippines, Raissa is the more organized and structured member of the pair. She is described as extremely “Type A,” someone who likes having a plan and knowing what comes next.
That makes her a good contrast to Jo.
What makes the role even more interesting is how closely parts of Raissa’s experience connected with Liza’s own life.
Liza told Vogue that she related to Raissa because she herself was going through a period of transition while building a career in Hollywood and spending more time away from the Philippines. Raissa, meanwhile, is preparing to leave the country to pursue her education abroad.
There’s another interesting detail: Liza originally auditioned for Jo.
She was later asked to read for Raissa instead, and that became the character she ultimately landed.
Forgotten Island is particularly significant for Liza because it gives her one of her biggest Hollywood roles yet. After appearing in Lisa Frankenstein, she is now one of the two central leads in a major DreamWorks Animation production.
And for Filipino viewers who have followed her career from Philippine television and movies, hearing Liza lead a Hollywood animated film centered on Filipino culture feels like a pretty remarkable full-circle moment.
H.E.R. as Jo
Opposite Liza is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, better known around the world as H.E.R.
She voices Jo.
H.E.R. is best known as a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and musician, but Forgotten Island gives audiences a different side of her as a voice actress.
Jo is artistic, playful, deeply loyal and more spontaneous than Raissa. While Raissa is focused on plans and what comes next, Jo is reluctant to accept that her best friend is about to leave.
The filmmakers have even said that the personalities of the two actresses ended up matching their characters surprisingly well.
Director Joel Crawford described Liza as sharing Raissa’s responsible and thoughtful qualities, while H.E.R.’s energetic and free-spirited personality closely resembles Jo.
H.E.R.’s connection with the movie also goes beyond voice acting.
Her mother is Filipina, and she grew up with some of the same Philippine folklore that appears in Forgotten Island. Reuters reported that H.E.R. remembered hearing stories about the manananggal from her mother while growing up.
That makes scenes involving these creatures more than just fantasy references.
For many Filipino families, stories about aswang, manananggal, kapre, tiyanak and other creatures are things children genuinely grow up hearing from parents, grandparents and relatives.
That’s exactly the type of cultural memory Forgotten Island is tapping into.
Liza Soberano and H.E.R. as Raissa and Jo
The heart of Forgotten Island isn’t really the monsters.
It’s Jo and Raissa’s friendship.
The mythology provides the adventure, but the emotional question underneath everything is much simpler: what happens when two people who have always been together suddenly have to move forward separately?
Jo doesn’t want their friendship to disappear simply because Raissa is leaving.
Then Nakali turns that fear into something literal.
The girls discover that escaping the island may require sacrificing the memories they have created together throughout their lives.
That’s what makes the casting of Liza and H.E.R. important.
They aren’t merely two actresses guiding audiences through a fantasy world. Their performances have to make viewers believe that these two characters have known one another practically their entire lives.
And because Forgotten Island is so heavily rooted in Filipino culture, having two performers who personally understand that culture gives those characters another layer of authenticity.
Lea Salonga as Manang, the Dreaded Manananggal
Then we have what might be the most fascinating piece of casting in the entire movie.
Lea Salonga voices a manananggal.
Yes, that Lea Salonga.
The internationally acclaimed singer and actress known for Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Aladdin and Mulan is playing one of the most feared creatures in Philippine folklore.
Her character is called Manang, also referred to as the Dreaded Manananggal.
DreamWorks describes her as the most feared creature on Nakali.
If you grew up in the Philippines, you probably don’t need much of an introduction to the manananggal.
It is one of the country’s most famous mythical creatures, traditionally depicted as a frightening winged being capable of separating its upper torso from its lower body.
But Forgotten Island appears to give the creature much more personality and emotional depth than the usual horror interpretation.
Vogue Philippines describes Manang as powerful, majestic and feared, while also noting that the character carries tragedy and emotional weight. Salonga’s performance makes use not only of dialogue but also of her musical abilities.
So don’t expect this to be simply Lea Salonga putting on a scary voice.
There appears to be much more happening with Manang.
And if you look at the movie’s soundtrack, Salonga’s involvement becomes even more significant. She performs on several pieces connected to the character and the movie’s Filipino-inspired world.
Dolly de Leon as Lola Fatima
Another major Filipina performer joining the cast is Dolly de Leon.
She voices Lola Fatima, Jo’s grandmother.
Lola Fatima represents something very different from the fantastic creatures of Nakali.
She represents home.
Jo was raised by her grandmother, and the character connects the movie’s supernatural adventure to a familiar part of Filipino family life: the incredibly important role grandparents often play in raising children and passing down family stories and traditions.
Reports describing the film identify Lola Fatima as Jo’s loving grandmother, with Dolly de Leon bringing a recognizably Filipino personality and accent to the character.
For Dolly, Forgotten Island adds another major international project to a career that expanded dramatically after Triangle of Sadness, which earned her international recognition and a BAFTA nomination.
Seeing Lea Salonga and Dolly de Leon in the same DreamWorks movie is already notable.
But they’re far from the only familiar Filipino names in the cast.
Manny Jacinto as Bungi
Manny Jacinto voices Bungi.
And Bungi is definitely one of the more unusual characters in the movie.
He is connected to the tiyanak, another famous creature from Philippine folklore.
The tiyanak is traditionally depicted as a supernatural creature taking the form of a baby, although Forgotten Island gives the concept its own playful interpretation.
Bungi has been described as a sweet, three-eyed giant baby who is still attached to his mother, Bungisngis. Their relationship becomes one of the film’s comedic representations of the close and sometimes hilariously difficult-to-escape bonds within Filipino families.
Manny Jacinto is especially familiar to international audiences through The Good Place, Top Gun: Maverick and other Hollywood projects.
Born in Manila and raised in Canada, Jacinto has become one of the more recognizable Filipino-heritage actors working in Hollywood.
Giving him a character specifically inspired by Philippine mythology makes his participation in Forgotten Island even more fitting.
Jo Koy as Datu
Filipino-American comedian Jo Koy also joins Forgotten Island.
He voices Datu, a character associated with the kapre.
The kapre is another creature almost every Filipino kid has probably heard about at some point.
Traditionally, it is described as a huge, dark, tree-dwelling being often associated with enormous old trees and, depending on the story you’ve heard, smoking.
Forgotten Island takes those familiar ideas and incorporates them into the much larger fantasy world of Nakali.
Jo Koy’s involvement makes sense given how much of his comedy has revolved around his Filipino-American upbringing, his Filipina mother and the cultural differences between life in the United States and the Philippines.
Now he’s essentially entering Filipino folklore himself.
Ronny Chieng as King Truffle Wuffle
Ronny Chieng voices the wonderfully named King Truffle Wuffle.
He is connected to the duwende.
Duwende are goblin-like or dwarf-like supernatural beings found throughout Philippine folklore. Stories about them differ depending on where you grew up, but many Filipinos will immediately recognize traditions like saying “tabi-tabi po” when passing places believed to be inhabited by unseen beings.
In Forgotten Island, King Truffle Wuffle is presented as the ruler of the duwende people.
Chieng is widely known through The Daily Show, Crazy Rich Asians and M3GAN.
His comedic style should fit naturally into a movie that mixes mythology with DreamWorks-style humor.
Jenny Slate as Batiba
Jenny Slate voices Batiba.
The character is based on the batibat, a creature from Philippine folklore associated with nightmares and sleep paralysis.
That’s a particularly interesting myth to introduce to an international audience because the batibat isn’t necessarily as internationally recognizable as the manananggal or even the kapre.
Slate is known for projects including Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and several animated roles, making her another experienced comedic performer within the ensemble.
In Forgotten Island, Batiba is presented as one of Nakali’s strange supernatural inhabitants and is associated with sleep, nightmares and stolen memories.
Dave Franco as Raww
Dave Franco voices Raww, one of Jo and Raissa’s companions during their adventure.
DreamWorks describes Raww as a well-meaning but hapless “weredog.”
Filipino coverage has gone one step further and called him a “were-aspin,” connecting the character to the aspin, or native mixed-breed dogs commonly found throughout the Philippines.
Raww joins Jo and Raissa as they explore Nakali and encounter its strange collection of monsters, magical creatures and inhabitants.
He’s basically part guide, part companion and, judging from everything we’ve seen about the movie, probably a major source of comedy.
Other Filipino and Filipino-Heritage Voices in Forgotten Island
The cast goes deeper than the performers highlighted in the main posters and trailers.
Additional credits include Amielynn Abellera as Raissa’s mother, Filipino-American actors Eugene Cordero and Nico Santos in supporting voice roles, and director Januel Mercado himself providing voices for characters including Manny Molina and Dry Mermahn.
Sophia Laforteza of global girl group KATSEYE is also connected to the movie. She appears among the voice credits and performs “Never Tear Us Apart” on the Forgotten Island soundtrack.
The result is an unusually deep Filipino presence for a major American animated studio production.
It’s not only happening in front of the microphone, either.
Filipino artists contributed to the actual animation. The film incorporates 2D animation work produced by Manila-based Snipple Animation Studios as part of its visual style.
Who Directed Forgotten Island?
Forgotten Island is written and directed by Joel Crawford and Filipino-American filmmaker Januel Mercado.
They previously worked together on DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, with Crawford directing and Mercado serving as co-director.
Their real-life friendship helped inspire the central relationship between Jo and Raissa.
That detail makes the movie’s story about friendship even more personal.
Mercado’s Filipino background also played a major role in shaping the movie. He has discussed consulting his own parents about Filipino language and culture while developing the story, including conversations about how certain expressions should be written and spoken.
The movie was produced by Mark Swift.
Why the Forgotten Island Cast Matters
The easiest way to describe the Forgotten Island cast would be to call it “star-studded.”
And technically, that’s true.
You’ve got an Oscar and Grammy-winning musician in H.E.R., international theater icon Lea Salonga, Hollywood actors like Dave Franco and Manny Jacinto, acclaimed actress Dolly de Leon, comedian Jo Koy, Liza Soberano and several other recognizable names.
But there’s something more interesting happening here.
The Filipino actors aren’t simply being placed around the edges of somebody else’s story.
They’re telling a story deeply connected to Philippine culture.
Liza Soberano and H.E.R. are the protagonists.
Dolly de Leon is the lola at the center of Jo’s family.
Lea Salonga becomes a manananggal.
Manny Jacinto becomes a tiyanak-inspired character.
Jo Koy becomes a kapre.
And the entire world surrounding them draws heavily from stories generations of Filipinos have heard growing up.
Reuters described Forgotten Island as a significant moment for Filipino representation in mainstream Hollywood animation, with the movie placing Philippine mythology and culture at the center of a major DreamWorks production.
That’s what makes this cast different.
For once, Filipino culture isn’t simply a small reference hidden somewhere in a Hollywood movie.
It is the world of the movie.
Is Forgotten Island a Musical?
Not exactly in the traditional Disney-musical sense, but music appears to play a significant role.
That shouldn’t be surprising considering H.E.R. and Lea Salonga are part of the cast.
H.E.R. and Liza Soberano perform “BRB,” while the soundtrack also features Filipino artists including BINI and SB19. Lea Salonga performs on several tracks associated with Manang and the world of Nakali.
The soundtrack includes songs and score titles using Filipino words and mythology references such as “Tayo Na,” “Nakalimutan,” “Kapre,” “Bungi,” “Ang Manananggal Suite” and “Paalam, Nakali.”
Again, it’s another example of how deeply the Filipino identity of the movie has been built into the production rather than simply added as decoration.
When Is Forgotten Island Showing in the Philippines?
Forgotten Island officially opens in Philippine cinemas on September 23, 2026.
Tickets went on sale earlier through major cinema chains including SM Cinemas and Megaworld Cinemas, and special nationwide sneak screenings were also held ahead of the regular release.
Interestingly, the Philippines is getting the regular theatrical release ahead of the United States, where DreamWorks lists the film for September 25.
Considering how central the Philippines is to the movie, that feels appropriate.
Final Thoughts
Forgotten Island already stands out because you don’t often see Philippine mythology treated as the foundation for a major Hollywood animated movie.
But the cast makes the project even more interesting.
Liza Soberano as Raissa and H.E.R. as Jo give the story its emotional center. Lea Salonga gets one of the movie’s most fascinating roles as Manang, the Dreaded Manananggal. Dolly de Leon brings the familiar presence of a Filipino grandmother to Lola Fatima, while Manny Jacinto, Jo Koy and other Filipino-heritage actors populate Nakali with characters inspired by creatures generations of Filipinos have grown up hearing about.
Then you add Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Ronny Chieng and the rest of the international ensemble.
It’s a huge cast, but more importantly, it feels like a cast assembled specifically for the story being told.
For Filipino audiences, part of the fun will probably be recognizing the mythology.
But another part will simply be hearing these characters speak, joke, argue and come alive through performers who understand where many of these stories came from.
And seeing Liza Soberano, H.E.R., Lea Salonga, Dolly de Leon, Manny Jacinto and other Filipino talents together in one DreamWorks movie?
That’s already something worth talking about.
