Philippine Folklore Meets Full-Throttle Heart in “Forgotten Island”

DreamWorks Animation

It’s always pure magic when an animated movie takes a massive creative risk and the gamble actually pays off. Forgotten Island is that kind of movie. Directed and written by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, the creative duo behind Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, this film is a gorgeous, chaotic, heartfelt love letter to folklore and growing up that deserves to be seen on the big screen, proving that original animation can still shoot for the moon and deliver.

The visual composition throughout the film is a master class in texture, blending 2D and 3D styles in a way that gives the world real depth. In the spirit of visually daring touchstones like the Spider-Verse films, it uses its mixed-media approach not as a gimmick but to reflect the unpredictable energy of its characters’ world. Set in right in the sweet spot of ’90s and early 2000s childhood, it’s packed with era-specific details and pop-culture nods that land with precision rather than feeling like a lazy reference checklist.

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Beneath the kinetic visuals, the film tackles some surprisingly heavy thematic weight. Some early writeups tried to pitch Forgotten Island as The Hangover meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for kids, but these descriptors miss the mark. It’s an earnest, messy coming-of-age story that uses myth as a mirror for real adolescent grief. At its core, the story captures the heartbreaking drift between best friends Jo (HER) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) as their lives pull in opposite directions—struggling as one prepares to head off to higher education while the other tries desperately to hold on to the past—and the heavy, complicated nature of memories. It explores how our memories don’t just belong to us, but to everyone tied to them, and I appreciate how it handles even things like agoraphobia with unexpected tenderness and nuance. It asks hard questions about the friends’ fear of outgrowing each other and what it takes to accept who you are when your world is shifting beneath your feet.

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The voice cast is an absolute blast. The talent pool is stacked, complementing the main duo with brilliant scene-stealers voicing a hapless were-dog (Dave Franco), a chaotic baby demon (Manny Jacinto), a memory-obsessed spirit (Jenny Slate), and the royal prince of the Kataw people (Kevin McCann). Seeing figures of Philippine folklore brought to life with this much care, humor, and respect is fantastic on screen.

That said, don’t let the colorful animation fool you into treating this movie like an easy babysitter for young kids, as it doesn’t pull its punches. The central antagonist, the terrifying Manananggal (Lea Salonga), is brought to life with a jittery, fast movement style and unnerving sound design that makes her feel like a genuine threat. Much like Death from The Last Wish, this is a villain that will genuinely startle younger viewers by bringing an unexpected level of true intimidation to the screen. Honestly, I wouldn’t pick this for kids under seven or eight—between the complex character dynamics, mature emotional beats, and scary monster moments, it’s geared a bit older.

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If I have one minor critique, it’s that the movie is almost too stuffed with side characters. It moves at a fast pace, leaving a few important players sidelined when I really wanted to spend more time exploring their backgrounds and individual arcs. And at times, the sensory overload of colors and cuts flirts with being a bit overwhelming, though it never crosses the line into exhausting.

Forgotten Island had me cracking up in the middle of the theater and choked me up by the end credits. After walking out of the theater grinning from ear to ear, I immediately found myself tumbling down an internet rabbit hole reading up on Philippine mythology. It’s a messy, beautiful, fiercely loyal movie about friendship and the courage it takes to accept who you are—and absolute proof that animation remains the most exciting sandbox in modern cinema.

DreamWorks Animation