Voice actors often experience animated films as audience members, viewing the final product years after their contributions were made. This extended production pipeline means surprises abound, even for those who lent their voices to the characters. Dave Franco, who stars in the fantasy adventure Forgotten Island, highlighted this unique aspect of animation.
"What's so amazing about animation is that it's such a long process, putting these films together," Franco stated. "I think our directors have been on this movie for over five years. And then we come in, and we're in the recording booth for — I maybe went in eight to 10 times. Which is a very small part of the whole scheme of things. So when we see the final movie, we really get to watch it objectively. There's so much they've done over the last five years. I'm like, ‘Oh my God, this is what you guys have put together? And we get to be a part of it?'"
Franco, along with co-stars Jenny Slate and Manny Jacinto, voice mythological creatures from Filipino folklore. Franco plays Raww, a were-dog companion to the main characters. Slate voices Batiba, a rune-covered catlike demon with magical abilities, while Jacinto portrays Bungi, a large, blue, three-eyed demon baby. Both Slate and Jacinto expressed surprise at their characters' final on-screen portrayals.
"I just really, really, really love when Batiba lights up," Slate commented. "Even though I knew she did that, I really enjoyed it."
Jacinto echoed this sentiment, noting the animators' skill. "When Dave and I watched it the first time, it wasn't complete yet," he said. "So when you watch the finished product, you just really notice how talented the animators are. You do this voice in a booth, and you don't know how it's gonna look. But they bring it to life, and give it so much emotion and character. My character specifically, I love that the whole time, he's thought of as a big demon baby, but at the end, he kinda gets to save the day a little bit with his massive pinkeye blast. That was very satisfying to see."
Franco found a particular challenge in a scene where Raww recounts an adventure with a tone that parodied ’90s anime. "There's a scene where my character goes full Dragon Ball Z," he recalled. "I'm recounting this memory, and I'm talking about myself like I'm way more macho than I really am. So I got to do a deeper, stereotypical masculine voice for that. And then I'm voicing the two girls in the scene as well. I was like, ‘OK, there's a lot of different ways to do this. Let's just throw everything against the wall, have fun, and be as silly as possible.'"
Slate discussed the complexity of her character, Batiba, who trades magic for memories. "Batiba has a couple things going on at once," she explained. "When a character is presenting themself one way, but maybe they have something else that's actually the real objective, you don't want to give it away. So it's about having a light touch while still being entertaining. I enjoyed finding that balance."
Jacinto focused on the delicate balance required for his character, Bungi, who is both childlike and a conduit for exposition about the film's antagonist, the Manananggal. "With Bungi, there's a couple of times where he recounts Manananggal’s terror around the city," he said. "And it's a fine line between horror and comedy. Focusing on those particular scenes was a bit of a challenge, because how far do you take it each way? Those [sequences] were particularly interesting."
