There’s so much happening in Dreamworks Animation’s wildly inventive, frenetic ode to Filipino culture and female friendship, Forgotten Island, that it could get exhausting. But that’s okay, because there’s so much more to love that you’ll get over it pretty quick. The latest film from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish duo Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, has the potential to be Dreamworks’ next great animated franchise, or a truly spectacular standalone worth revisiting time and again.
The friendship between Jo (voiced by singer H.E.R and Kailey Crawford) and Raissa (voiced by Kayla Teruel and Liza Soberano) is at the heart of this story set in the Philippines of the 1990s. Jo is a wild child, abandoned by her father living in the United States, and now a troublemaker accustomed to bouncing from school to school. Her head is full of vivid, graphic Filipino folktales that she uses to terrify the kids at show and tell…even as they also make her an outcast. Raissa is an introvert, harboring dreams of becoming a scientist. When they meet outside of the principal’s office, they are accustomed to being alone. It only makes sense that they become best friends, and that they do, bonding over the years with the support of Jo’s grandmother, Lola (Dolly de Leon), who fills their heads with crazy stories of the magical fantasy land known as Nakali.
It’s so easy to adore the bond that Jo and Raissa share over the years. The film being set in the ’90s, it’s packed with tons of hip-hop from the era, which they frequently get down to. They mark every valuable moment with trinkets added to their matching charm bracelets. Pretty soon, the bracelets are bulky on their wrists, signifying their closeness but also the full lives they’ve led together. But years later, with Lola gone and graduation on the horizon, their friendship is finally tested when Raissa decides to fly away to college. While grieving the loss of Lola, Jo is still content to live a carefree life working at fast food joints. On their last evening of partying together, Jo and Raissa are magically transported to Nakali, the place they have been dreaming of going all of their lives.
What follows is like a mish-mash of The Hangover, The Wizard of Oz, and most crucially, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The girls awaken to discover that they can’t remember the events of the previous night, but they have strange tattoos, Raissa’s hair is singed, and they have no way of getting back home. Forgotten Island boasts a ton of colorful characters who aid in their journey to recover the memories and return home. Dave Franco is terrific as Raww, a weredog with an attitude; Jenny Slate is Batiba, an agoraphobic memory-eating demon; Manny Jacinto is Bungi, a giant demon-baby who really loves his mother; and Kevin McCann as Prince Mermahn, a vain mermaid with singing starfish as nipples. Other characters voiced by Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, and more add to this wonderfully vibrant tapestry.
Forgotten Island was clearly designed to be a film for all ages, and it works to its benefit. It leans pretty hard into horror aspects, especially with the film’s villain, Manang (Lea Salonga), a Slender Man-esque demon that looks like a Blumhouse creation. It can split its body in half to attack and kill its prey, and Manang has a pretty good reason to hunt down Jo and Raissa.
Another mature element is the story’s crucial turning point: to get home, Jo and Raissa must sacrifice all memories of their friendship. The girls discover that remembering everything comes at a cost, as well. Memories are treated as precious things in Forgotten Island, presented in the touching relationship between Jo, Raissa, and Lola. But they are also seen as things that must be nourished, built upon, and created anew. To stop creating new memories is to stop living. Our recollections can be fleeting things, vanishing in the blink of an eye if we fail to fully appreciate them.
Sony’s Spider-Verse movies have had a gigantic impact on the entire animation industry, with more films taking a similarly kinetic visual style. Forgotten Island does it better than most, with imagery that leaps off the screen and grabs you by the chest. You can see other influences, as well, particularly Japanese anime and even Kpop Demon Hunters.
In a sea of bland, flavorless animated movies, Forgotten Island is a breath of fresh air for highlighting Filipino culture. From the copious amounts of food (the lumpia looks good enough to eat!), to the mythology, to the score utilizing Filipino instruments, the cultural specificity is used to enhance the experience in every way.
Dreamworks Animation is on a roll right now, with The Wild Robot and Forgotten Island two of the best films it has ever produced. While Forgotten Island is busting at the seams there’s so much happening at any given moment, it’s also hilarious, beautifully animated, and just a joy to watch. Whether we ever see Jo and Raissa on the big screen again, this is a film that will surely be remembered when Oscar season comes around.
Forgotten Island opens in theaters on September 25th.
