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Januel Mercado, Fil-Am co-director of 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,' meets Dolly de Leon
LOS ANGELES — "I have always wanted to meet Dolly de Leon all throughout awards season, but our paths never crossed. I wanted to tell her how inspired I was by her captivating performance in 'Triangle of Sadness,'" revealed Fil-Am co-director of Oscar-nominated animated film "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" Januel Mercado told us.
The charming and humble Mercado did bump into de Leon when they saw each other at the Governors Ball after the Oscars Awards show.
Mercado revealed, "I finally seized the chance to meet Dolly when we spotted her at the Governors Ball, following the show. It was a treat to see her eyes light up when I told her I was the co-director of 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.'"
"I told Dolly that her performance had me leaning in my seat the entire time. I was so honored to take a photo with her, and I was pleasantly surprised at how equally enthusiastic she was in making sure she captured one with her phone too."
Born to Filipino parents—his mom is from Santa Cruz, Zambales and his dad is from Manila—Mercado described his first Oscar experience as "surreal and incredible."
He added, "I grew up watching the Oscars with my family. To actually be in the theater and know my family was watching, and rooting for our film was such a gift of an experience."
A graduate of San Jose State University where he studied animation and illustration, Mercado told us in an earlier interview that his being Filipino is "so inherently part of his personality. My love and care and my Filipino culture is very universal as well. It's just like the connection and the closeness that you have with your family. And it's often that the people who you're closest to are the ones, that you buttheads and bicker with the most because you have that trust and you have that relationship and I'm very proud to say that, that's that specific experience. And the way I live is tied to the emotion of the film and the character dynamics."
He displayed his patriotism, in fact, when he wore a Barong Tagalog to the Oscars.
He said, "My family has always been my biggest supporters. Their level of excitement for the film's success has been through the roof. I wanted to represent and honor my family... our culture, on this huge night for the film. So it felt right rocking the Barong Tagalog at the Oscars. And not just any Barong, but my dad's custom one that he wore at my sister's wedding."
Mercado, who has shared with us that he is lucky that his parents have supported his creative dreams ever since he displayed his passion for doing comic arts in grade school, is very proud to wear his dad's Barong Tagalog to the recent Oscars.
He narrated, "This particular Barong Tagalog was custom-made for my dad in the Philippines nearly a decade ago. He has quite a collection of Barongs. I loved the modern fit and clean embroidered details of this one. This piece retained the traditional traits of a Barong, but felt more contemporary, having less of the usual box shape, having more tuxedo-styled buttons."
He continued, "I also wore another Barong from his collection at the NAACP Image Awards Luncheon earlier this year. A piece that is more than 20 years old. It is an honor to represent the Philippines."
Born and raised in Stockton, California, Mercado, who has worked in such films as "Kung Fu Panda 2" (2011), "Penguins of Madagascar" (2014), "The Lego Ninjago Movie" (2017), and "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" (2019), told us that there were a couple of highlights for him on his first Oscars experience.
He said, "Being able to celebrate the film's nomination with some of our crew in attendance and toasting the film during the commercial break was a joyous experience.
"Witnessing firsthand fellow Asian artists Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, and Daniel Kwan win in their respective categories was so thrilling and historic.
"Their acceptance speeches were some of the most inspirational and emotional ones I've ever seen. Hearing Michelle say, 'for all the boys and girls that look like me, this (the Oscar) is a beacon of hope.' And hearing Ke say, 'please keep your dreams alive..." was to me: everything, everywhere, all at once..."
—MGP, GMA Integrated News
