Filipino folklore takes centre stage in DreamWorks’ animated film Forgotten Island

(From left) Jo (voiced by H.E.R.) and Raissa (voiced by Liza Soberano) in Forgotten Island.

Listen LOS ANGELES – Oscar-winning R&B singer Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, professionally known as H.E.R., was transported back to the Filipino folktales her mother used to tell her while discussing DreamWorks’ upcoming animated film Forgotten Island.

The black and Filipino-American singer, who voices one of the movie’s lead characters, said her mother often focused on the fearsome manananggal, a creature from Filipino folklore known for splitting its body in two.

“When I was a kid, that was the one that my mum would always tell,” the 29-year-old said. “She’d be like, ‘The manananggal is gonna get you.’ We went to the Philippines, and I saw the bats, and she’d be like, ‘It’s the manananggal.’”