The movie draws heavily from Philippine mythology, bringing its creatures and stories to a global audience.
Lea Salonga's second fully animated feature length film to have her do the speaking voice of a character instead of only the singing voice. The first one was the English version of Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro (1988). Lea voiced the "mother" in the English dub.
The mystical world is called Nakali. Nakali is derived from the Filipino word "nakalimutan," meaning "forgotten".
Throughout the movie trailer, Jo and Raissa can be seen sitting on the hood of a dilapidated passenger vehicle. It is called a jeepney. During world war II, Willys jeeps were used by the US military. Following their departure from the Philippines, the Willys were left behind. Filipinos then recycled them to make stainless-steel mini-buses with fabric coverings instead of windows, and long benches meant to seat 20 or more passengers. Jeepneys are typically colorful, kitschy, and unique in design.
Aside from the co-writer and co-director Januel Mercado, most in the cast are FIlipino or Filipino descendants.
