Forgotten Island Review: Dreamworks Animations Latest Celebrates Filipino Folklore With Dazzling Wit and Imagination

There’s so much going on thematically and visually in DreamWorks Animation’s new effort that audiences may have a hard time keeping up with it. But that’s all to the good for this rare example of original animated storytelling in a sea of IP and sequels. Utilizing elements of Filipino culture in its wildly imaginative storyline about two friends transported to a mythical land, Forgotten Island marks another winner for directors-screenwriters Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, who previously punched above their weight with 2022’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

Set in the Philippines in the 1990s, the story revolves around schoolgirls Jo (Kailey Crawford and singer-songwriter H.E.R. as the younger and older versions), a mischievous troublemaker who regales her class with extravagantly bloody and horrific folkloric stories passed down from her beloved grandmother Lola (Dolly de Leon, Triangle of Sadness), and the more serious-minded Raissa (Kayla Teruel and Liza Soberano), who dreams of becoming a scientist.

The two girls’ friendship, marked by matching charm bracelets, is tested years later after graduating high school. Lola has died, Jo is working none too successfully at a fast-food restaurant, and Raissa is preparing to leave the country to attend Caltech and pursue her dream of working for NASA. During their last night together, they pass through a magical portal and find themselves on the fantastical island of Nakali that Lola had told them so much about.

Waking up with no memory of the last 12 hours and changed physically — both of them have strange new tattoos and Raissa has half her hair missing and has sprouted wings — they encounter a variety of mythical creatures in their Wizard of Oz-style quest to find a way to return home. Among them is Raww (Dave Franco, stealing the film), a friendly were-dog who claims they spent the last 12 hours together and offers to be their guide; Batiba (Jenny Slate), a memory-eating demon; Bungi (Manny Jacinto), a giant demon baby prone to emotional outbursts; Datu (comedian Jo Koy), the leader of the tree giants; King Truffle Wuffle (Ronny Chieng), who angrily lords over the fairies and elves; and the vainglorious Prince Mermahn (a very funny Kevin McCann), who’s just like a mermaid except, well, you know, he has singing starfish covering his nipples.

To get home, Jo and Raissa must overcome the island’s dreaded and ferocious Manang (Lea Salonga), who has the ability to divide her body into two halves when necessary (the character is but one of many elements of the storyline that lean into horror, making the film deserving of its PG rating). They discover that the price for returning home is sacrificing their memories of their deep friendship.

If all that sounds like a lot, well, it is, with the filmmakers perhaps piling too many characters and situations into the mix. But the convoluted story is told with so much wit, humor, energy and visual invention that it becomes easy to get swept up in the fantastical proceedings, and the film’s touching portraits of the relationship between the two girls and lovable Lola, and with each other, provide genuine emotion.

The animation is dazzling and tremendously fast-paced, revealing influences ranging from anime to Studio Ghibli to Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse (the impact of which seems to be gaining with every passing year), with the character designs particularly impressive. Besides the several covers of ‘90s-era pop music classics by the likes of INXS and Tina Turner, composer Nathan Matthew David has contributed an original soundtrack incorporating traditional Filipino and Indigenous instruments.