DreamWorks Animation has been on a roll for the past few years now, gracing the genre of animation with exactly the type of original storytelling and creativity that has been sorely missing from animated cinema in general. In 2022, DreamWorks gave us Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, a Shrek spinoff bolstered by its stylized animation and themes of mortality. In 2024, DreamWorks gave us The Wild Robot, an absolute masterpiece of a feature (arguably one of DreamWorks’ best) that followed a robot on its heartwarming journey of self discovery and learning the irreplaceable value of environmentalism and found family. Now, we have Forgotten Island, a fantasy adventure film deeply rooted in Filipino culture & mythology that follows two best friends, Jo and Raissa, as they get transported to the island of Nakali and must find a way back home before their memories disappear forever. Firstly, I must give props to the voice performances. The whole cast was superb, including Dave Franco as the film’s shapeshifting comedic relief Raww and Lea Salonga as the terrifying Dreaded Manananggal (The animation used for this antagonist was shockingly scary, by the way. Her appearance in the film always made for a thrilling action set piece.), but especially Grammy award winning R&B artist H.E.R. as Jo and Liza Soberano as Raissa. Each character had so much heart and personality lovingly crafted into them, with the central friendship between Jo and Raissa being the film’s main source of emotional resonance. (The tone and dialogue of the film only added to this, ranging from delightfully comedic to emotionally powerful. A very wide and surprisingly diverse range of tonality for a film aimed at younger audiences.) As for the animation, I think it’s safe to say that the Spider-Verse films spawned a renaissance of unconventional animation. To say the animation was creative would be an understatement. The utilization of different animation styles and vibrant color palettes used on the environments, creature designs, and character emotes ensured that this film did not have a single frame that could even be considered stale or uninteresting. Not to mention the excellent soundtrack that emulated the 90s time period the film takes place in. The island of Nakali, and even elements of Jo and Raissa’s everyday world, were filled to the brim with multiple references to Filipino mythology and culture, and as I mentioned earlier, the genuine care with which this film was made, actually encouraged me to learn more. Part love letter to Filipino culture, part fantasy adventure with a message of friendship that can resonate with all ages, Forgotten Island is quite a refreshing watch if you’re looking for an original animated story to take your family to. It’s also important to support original films like these so they can continue to be made. Score: 9/10
