Januel P. Mercado

Joel Craw­ford grad­u­at­ed from the Cal­i­for­nia Insti­tute of the Arts, while Januel P. Mer­ca­do stud­ied Animation/Illustration at San José State Uni­ver­si­ty. Both joined TV chan­nel Nick­elodeon before mov­ing to Dream­Works Ani­ma­tion as sto­ry­board artists. In 2020, Joel Craw­ford direct­ed The Croods: A New Age, on which Januel P. Mer­ca­do served as Head of Sto­ry. They went on to co-direct the 2023 Acad­e­my Award, Gold­en Globe and BAF­TA-nom­i­nat­ed Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. For­got­ten Island is their sec­ond ani­mat­ed fea­ture as co-directors.