Filipino Artists Are Scoring a DreamWorks Film
DreamWorks Animation’s “Forgotten Island” opens in Philippine cinemas on September 23. The soundtrack is almost entirely Filipino and Filipino-American artists.
The film is directed by Academy Award nominee Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, the team behind “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.” It follows two best friends, Jo and Raissa, voiced by Grammy winner H.E.R. and actress Liza Soberano, whose post-high school plans start pulling them in opposite directions. A night of karaoke and food leads them to Nakali, a mysterious island filled with creatures drawn from Philippine mythology.
Music shapes the 1990s setting throughout.
The Songs
H.E.R. and Soberano perform the title track, “BRB,” which H.E.R. wrote with Tagalog lyrics to reflect the bond between their characters. Lea Salonga is also part of the cast and contributes to the soundtrack.
BINI performs an original song called “A Parallel World,” produced by Nathan Matthew David and Shawn Wasabi. The group was brought in early. Angela Leus, Filipino-American Senior Vice President of Film Music at Universal Pictures, said the directors already had a strong creative vision for what the music needed to be, which made the conversation easy. “There’s this group called BINI; they’re amazing,” she told the directors. “It was a no-brainer.”
For BINI, this is their first DreamWorks project. Member Maloi said it was the group’s first time being part of a DreamWorks project, and that being in a Filipino-centric film made it feel significant. “We’ll be hearing our voices sa isang movie that represents the Philippines,” she said. “Is such a big deal for us.”
SB19, KATSEYE’s Sophia, and Ruby Ibarra are also among the featured acts, contributing to a soundtrack that spans OPM, Filipino-American hip-hop, and pop.
What’s Different Here
Filipino artists wrote the actual songs. They are not featured in the end credits or brought in for a regional release version. BINI, H.E.R., Soberano, and Salonga shaped how the film sounds from the beginning. For anyone who has followed OPM, hearing BINI on a DreamWorks release is a different kind of news.
“Forgotten Island” hits Philippine cinemas on September 23.
