Directors Joel Crawford & Januel Mercado, the Best Friends Behind Forgotten Island

Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado have spent much of the past twenty years making each other laugh. After instantly hitting it off as storyboard artists on Kung Fu Panda 2, the pair went on to become best friends and creative partners, earning a reputation for boundary-pushing animated storytelling with The Croods: A New Age and the Oscar-nominated Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Now, they're back with Forgotten Island, an original animated adventure inspired by Filipino folklore about two best friends who are transported to a mythical world where the very foundation of their friendship—their memories of each other—is put to the test.

In this episode, Joel and Januel join Jacqueline Coley to discuss Forgotten Island’s origins in their own 20-year friendship, using “every tool on their belts” as animators and filmmakers to explore the complexities of memory, and why H.E.R. and Liza Soberano couldn’t have been better cast as Jo and Raissa, the film’s leads. They also share memories from their early days working together as DreamWorks story artists, the lessons they learned from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’s slow burn box office run, and the cinematic and cultural influences they drew on for Forgotten Island, from 90s anime and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to The Hangover and Dumb and Dumber.

To watch the movies discussed in this episode and more, head to streaming.fandango.com