The directors of *Forgotten Island* explain that its occasional 2D anime-style sequences were inspired by their childhoods and used to reveal characters’ personalities. References to *Sailor Moon*, *Dragon Ball*, and *Street Fighter* add comic, exaggerated flashbacks that contrast with the film’s predominantly polished 3D animation.

Writer-directors Januel P. Mercado and Joel Crawford matched each character’s worldview to different anime influences, including Raww’s Street Fighter- and *Dragon Ball*-style vision of himself as an impossibly muscular warrior. The 2D scenes were produced by Snipple Animation Studios in the Philippines, whose experience in American and Japanese television animation helped bring Filipino creative talent to a story celebrating Filipino culture.