Forgotten Island ★★★

Released: 16 October 2026

Director: Januel Mercado/Joel Crawford

Starring: Liza Soberano, H.E.R, Dave Franco, Lea Salonga

Film animation is most certainly living in a post Into the Spiderverse world. Since 2018 when the hugely popular superhero blockbuster burst onto screens with its breathtaking creative vision, the bar has been raised. That’s not to say animation as a medium was in any way homogenous beforehand, but the enthusiastic response to the Spiderverse has seen the animated films that followed become bolder, and more stylistically distinct to capture the imagination of their audience. Dreamworks’ latest offering Forgotten Island is particularly conscious of this visual shift, offering a whirlwind tour of references and techniques across its runtime. While impressive, when paired with the story’s overexuberant pacing, it makes for a feature that’s high on ideas, but low on breathing room.

Written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, Forgotten Island is based on Mercado’s familial heritage and takes place in the Philippines, following best friends Jo (H.E.R) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) who bond through being eccentric outsiders. The girls grow up together gaining a shared love of tales about Nakali, a forgotten island filled with mythical creatures from Filipino folklore. These stories, passed down by Jo’s grandmother, connect the girls to their culture and heritage, while the years that follow see them build a treasure trove of memories together as a duo. A crossroads comes when Raissa, the more measured and studious of the two, receives an offer to study in the U.S, while Jo, seems content working at their local chicken shop and centering their friendship above all else. They have one more unexpected adventure when they stumble upon a talisman that plunges them through a portal to Nakali.     

Forgotten Island moves at breakneck speed. The film, quite like Jo, remains at a constant 10 with the fun yet frantic energy of a Saturday morning cartoon. The girls wake up on the island’s beach without their talisman, realising they’ve been in Nakali longer than they remember. In somewhat Hangover-like fashion (unexpected reference for a family film, but apt) they must retrace their steps, and meet more of the island’s residents along the way. The jokes come thick and fast, with Crawford and Mercado demonstrating a quirky, confident humour that is genuinely funny. Unfortunately, as Jo and Raissa must reckon with what they will sacrifice in order to go home, the constant quips never let up enough for the quieter, more emotional beats of the story to unfurl and truly resonate. 

At the heart of the film is an emphasis on the value of friendship, the redeeming nature of shared memories, and the notion that letting go doesn’t mean losing touch entirely. While this lesson isn’t particularly new, exploring these themes through Filipino lore brings a unique perspective that feels fresh and personal.

In trying so hard to be visually and comically thrilling, Forgotten Island crowds out its real point of difference: a heartfelt, culturally rooted story about friendship. The result is a film that’s thoroughly enjoyable in the moment, but struggles to feel impactful after the credits roll.