Forgotten Island is a head-spinning, vivid DreamWorks romp through Filipino fantasy

Replacing The Last Wish‘s fairy-tale conceit with Philippine folktales, Crawford and Mercado make Nakali their playground for visual invention. Populated by mythic creatures as big as trees and small as marshmallows—most memorably the proud Duwende people led by Truffle Wuffle (Ronny Chieng), who go nuclear at the word “adorable”—Nakali throws a lot at Jo, Riassa, and the audience. But most of the time, we’re stuck with our island guide Raww (Dave Franco), a reactive, enthusiastic weredog, who’s just happy to be part of “The Wild Pack” and, unfortunately, the least exciting character on the island. 

On top of all this, there’s a Hangover component to Jo and Raissa’s trip. Upon meeting Raww, the three become fast friends and go on a potion-downing bender that leaves them several Polaroids short of a clear picture of their wild night together. More importantly for plot purposes, while making merry, they lost the sand dollar that opened the portal and must retrace their steps to find it. Mapping a drunken night out onto a kids’ fantasy will certainly help parents engage with the film on a deeper level, while these somewhat older characters engage with preteen viewers who are just beginning to imagine what their grown lives will be like. Like Toy Story 5, or most Toy Story films actually, the pangs of adolescence should sting all ages. 

But not to worry: Forgotten Island has a lot going on; it’s filthy rich with incident. We haven’t even gotten to the looksmaxxing merman, Mermahn (Kevin McCann), the unsettling demon baby Bungi (Manny Jacinto), the memory-hoarding Batiba (Jenny Slate), or the villainous winged vampire Manang (Lea Salonga), whose wings Raissa wakes up wearing. Nor have we mentioned the film’s karaoke book of needledrops, which situates the film in a confusing era. (One really shouldn’t be wondering what year DMX’s “Party Up (Up in Here)” came out while trying to watch a children’s movie.) Crawford and Mercado are more than happy to ignore foundational table-setting to follow the fun, but that unsteady sowing makes for unsatisfying reaping when the film needs the audience to feel deeper emotions. 

Somehow, though, Forgotten Island keeps much of its chaos straight. The striking animation overwhelms the senses as rapid-fire jokes, both verbal and visual, keep the film’s energy up. As in Last Wish, the filmmakers are never afraid to go for it, whether it’s sudden drops into anime-inspired reveries, emoji-infused thought bubbles, or getting into how a weredog marks his place in the world. They carry over their penchant for wish-granting MacGuffins and multi-colored portals, making the film’s overarching message easy for its young audience to follow, even as it gives Jo and Raissa one trial too many. It’s funny and charming, but when the film slows down for an emotional catharsis, Forgotten Island struggles to tie its disparate charms into a single bracelet. It has all the right parts in all the right places; it simply has too many of the right parts in too many of the right places. Like the many baubles dangling from Jo and Raissa’s wrists, it could stand to lose a few. 

Director: Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado
Writer: Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado
Starring: H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng, Lea Salonga
Release Date: September 25, 2026