Forgotten Island (2026) Universal/Comedy-Adventure RT: 109 minutes Rated PG (animated sequences of scary action, language, rude humor, thematic elements, some violence) Director: Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado Screenplay: Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado Music: Nathan Matthew David Release date: September 25, 2026 (US) Cast: H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Jo Koy, Dolly de Leon, Ronny Chieng, Lea Salonga, Kailey Crawford, Kayla Teruel.
Rating: ****
I have no doubt that Toy Story 5 will be among the five nominees for this year’s Best Animated Feature Oscar. It deserves to be. However, it’s not the one I want to see walk off the statuette. No, that would be Forgotten Island, the newest film from DreamWorks Animation, the home of MVPs like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon. It’s easily the best animated film of the year.
I figured I’d like Forgotten Island based on the trailer. I didn’t expect I’d love it, but I did. Written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish), it’s very edgy for a so-called kids movie. I’m not so sure I’d even call it a kids movie. I mean, it’s not not for kids. I just don’t like to minimize it by labeling it as such. I truly believe teens will enjoy it too as will many adults. I guess what I’m saying here is you shouldn’t dismiss it as a movie for children. It deserves better.
Jo (R&B singer H.E.R.) is one of those little girls with an active imagination. She loves to tell stories about a magical island called Nakali, a place her grandmother Lola (Leon, Nine Perfect Strangers) claims to have visited. Jo is also one of those kids with a knack for causing chaos wherever she goes. It’s just her nature.
Jo befriends a quiet, intelligent girl named Raissa (Soberano, Lisa Frankenstein). She’s the only one who sticks up for Jo after her oral report on Nakali is ridiculed by her classmates and teacher. They become the best of friends and stay that way all through school. Then young adulthood comes knocking at the door.
Raissa breaks the news to Jo that she’ll be attending college (Caltech) in America which means they’ll be separated. Jo, alone since her grandmother’s death, can’t bear the thought of it. On their last night together, she finds a glowing circular stone on the beach. It opens a portal that transports both girls to the place they’ve been obsessed with finding since they were kids.
They wake up on a beach the next morning with no memory of what happened the night before. All they have to go on is a bunch of Polaroids (did I forget to mention it’s set in the 90s?) and the word of unreliable were-aspin Raww (Franco, Now You See Me). He takes them to see Batiba (Slate, Zootopia 1 & 2), an agoraphobic cat-like creature who promises to send them back home. All it’ll cost them is their memories. But first, they have to locate the magical stone that brought them there. To find it, they have to retrace their steps with the help of Raww.
This is what makes Forgotten Island so edgy. It’s basically a much cleaner version of The Hangover. Who does that? Who takes the premise of a raunchy R-rated comedy and turns it into an animated movie aimed at families? Okay, the makers of Paws of Fury (Blazing Saddles set in feudal Japan instead of the Old West) did it, but who remembers it? Crawford and Mercado don’t stop there. They include a scene of the girls watching Predator at a sleepover. SAY WHAT?! It takes cojones to include something like that. I LOVE IT!
Steeped in Filipino culture, Forgotten Island is a brilliant introduction to mythical creatures from the folklore of the Philippines like Slate’s Batibat and the fearsome female vampire-like demon (Salonga, KPop Demon Hunters) who wants back what the girls took from her. Visually, it’s a marvel to behold. Highly stylized and energetic, it employs a myriad of animation styles from traditional 2D to anime. All of it is vibrant and beautiful. It’s not often an animated film resembles a work of art, but Forgotten Island belongs in a museum. It’s as rich and colorful as any Matisse or Van Gogh.
I love the characters in Forgotten Island and the actors providing their voices are a big part of it. H.E.R. and Soberano sound great as two childhood friends navigating early adulthood. It’s that precarious time when the realization that one has outgrown the other hits. As Raissa’s mother puts it, her daughter is like a rocket and Jo is the boulder keeping her from taking off. The dynamic between the two girls is both authentic and believable.
Franco’s natural neurotic energy perfectly suits his character, a hybrid character that can’t control when he transforms. Comedian Jo Koy (Easter Sunday) earns laughs as a mer-man character who’s kind of like a less self-grandiose version of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Slate imbues her character with vulnerability and sugar-coated deceitfulness in equal measures.
Forgotten Island zips along at a fast pace. It positively overflows with crazy energy. It’s very funny and even moving at times with its message about the bonds of friendship. I think it’s one of the best movies of the year.
