There is much to say about the well-deserved excitement surrounding Forgotten Island, the long-awaited Filipino-inspired DreamWorks animated film making its way to international theaters and screens. It is directed and written by Januel Mercado and Joel Crawford, the duo behind the 2022 film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and the two take on the creative challenge of drawing from their Filipino ties and weaving Philippine mythologies, folklore, and familiar realities into a coming-of-age story.
Set in a small provincial town in the Philippines during the 1990s, the film introduces us to a young Jo (H.E.R.), a mischievous and enthusiastic girl who loves retelling her Lola Fatima’s (Dolly de Leon) mystifying story of Nakali Island. Her excitement, however, can be a little too much for her classmates, and her eagerness to express her imagination has a habit of landing her in the principal’s office.
But as the saying goes, you are never too much for the right person, in this case her friend Raissa (Liza Soberano). The two could hardly be more different. Jo is loud, audacious, and impulsive, with an easygoing nature that lets her chase whatever catches her interest. Raissa is more measured and methodical, with a scientific mind and an academic ambition so clear that her parents have already mapped out her future at Caltech. Yet beneath those differences is an insatiable curiosity that binds them.
Jo and Raissa take a selfie on a jeepney—as Pinoy as it gets.
At the heart of Forgotten Island is Jo and Raissa’s friendship, easily the film’s strongest element. Their chemistry gives the story warmth and emotional pull, making their serendipitous bond feel like a platonic match made in heaven. The rest of the cast merely revolves around them. Lola Fatima serves as an early bridge between them, but her own history is touched upon only briefly, leaving questions about her past in Nakali.
As the film follows them through grade school and high school, it puts weight on the idea of finding your person as they give each other room to be fully themselves. Jo never has to temper her imagination around Raissa, while Raissa gets to nurture Jo’s sense of wonder. They naturally become each other’s comfort zone, and the prospect of leaving for college becomes their greatest fear, especially for Jo. She has never quite prepared herself for the responsibilities of growing up or the possibility of building an independent life without Raissa by her side. Just a few hours before Raissa’s flight, Jo tries to derail her plans, and their fate seems to be on her side when the key to Nakali Island suddenly appears before them.
Given the circumstances, Raissa has every reason to be hesitant, but Jo is quick to see the opportunity for what she wants it to be—a chance to delay being away from her best friend. She leans hard on their shared dream to persuade, even pressure, Raissa to come with her. It is a telling moment in how the film explores the complexity of our feelings for the people we love most. Jo’s fear of being left behind is understandable, but it also makes her selfish, showing how easily our own fears can lead us to hurt the very people we are afraid to lose.
Raww, the werewolf-transforming ‘aspin’
The island turns out to be every bit as strange and wondrous as they imagined. Along the way, the girls encounter Raww (Dave Franco), a well-meaning werewolf-transforming aspin who becomes an unlikely companion, while Batiba (Jenny Slate), a demon capable of erasing memories, proves far less welcoming. Even Bungi (Manny Jacinto), a mischievous baby demon, ends up joining their growing circle.
Their journey also brings them face-to-face with the imposing Datu (Jo Koy), the eccentric King Truffle Wuffle (Ronny Chieng) of the duwendes, and the vain mermaid Prince Mermahn (Kevin McCann), each adding his own bit of absurdity to the strange world they’re in.
While many of the supporting characters could use more context and backstory, they are rarely reduced into simple heroes or villains
But getting back proves to be another challenge altogether. As the girls search for a way out, they are haunted by the Manananggal (Lea Salonga), who wants her stolen wings back. It is an underwhelming turn for a creature initially presented as one of the most powerful and feared beings in its world. Despite her imposing introduction, she is reduced into a haunting presence, with little context beyond her pursuit of the girls. Yet that threat helps expose something far more unsettling. As Raissa grows increasingly frantic about getting home, Jo remains strangely at ease and suspiciously dismissive of her friend’s concerns.
The real rupture comes when Raissa discovers that Jo has been deliberately sabotaging their chances of leaving, stretching out the time they have left together. With their friendship suddenly fractured by a betrayal neither can easily move past, the film turns its attention to a harder question: What does it take to forgive someone you love?
More than simply exploring what can break a friendship, Forgotten Island is interested in what can make one whole again. Its answer lies, largely, in memory. Jo and Raissa’s friendship bracelet, filled with charms representing the moments and interests they have shared over the years, becomes a tangible record of their bond. Even after the trust is broken, those memories remain, reminding them of the weight of what they have built together, and giving them something to hold on to as they reckon with what happened between them.
The film also resists making its characters too one-dimensional. While many of the supporting characters could use more context and backstory, they are rarely reduced into simple heroes or villains. Like Jo, they are given room to act on selfish motives, make questionable choices, and eventually grow beyond them. Raww and Batibat, in particular, become more complicated once their own hidden agenda and conspiracy are revealed, allowing their choices to develop into arcs of their own.
This also strengthens the film’s idea of finding your person. To be truly seen is to have someone look past the worst choices you make and recognize the kindness underneath them. Jo may hurt Raissa, just as the others may act out of their own selfish interests, but the people who know them best are also those who can see beyond their mistakes.
By the time we return to the real world, Forgotten Island leaves us with something worth remembering: the one who sees through you, even when you lose your way, is your person. It reminds us that the friendships that embrace every version of us are the ones worth celebrating.
‘Forgotten Island’ is now in cinemas nationwide.
