‘Forgotten Island’ review: DreamWorks delivers an epic adventure for weirdos

It wasn’t until Forgotten Island that I understood that Dave Franco was put on this earth to play a weredog screw-up named Raww.

Make no mistake, the voice-casting of DreamWorks’ latest animated adventure is absolutely flawless. R&B singer H.E.R. lending her voice to a high-energy chaos-curator called Jo, Liza Soberano as Jo’s straight-laced bestie Raissa, Manny Jacinto as a momma-obsessed demon baby, Jenny Slate as the memory-collecting Batiba, Dolly de Leon as a karaoke-loving lola (grandmother), Ronny Chieng as a furious ruler of the adorable Duwende — all perfection. But Franco’s raspy enthusiasm, previously channeled into a variety of lovable dummies from Neighbors to Together to Idiots, is brilliantly distilled as Raww, a boy who can’t control his shapeshifting, and who, at the sight of a stick, can’t resist going “full dog.”

And I’m elated to say this is just one of the wacky, wonderful treasures in Forgotten Island, a friendship comedy/road trip adventure that’s sure to thrill kids and grown-ups alike. 

Forgotten Island is a rollicking, imaginative adventure. 

Written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado, Forgotten Island is a celebration of friendship, Filipino culture and ’80s/’90s American radio. Its story begins in the Philippines, where Jo Yuson is new to school, and making a big impression with her family history project. Instead of your standard family tree illustration, she’s created an elaborate projector display about Nakali, a fantasy island where demons roam, including the dreaded Manananggal — a vampire who can fly and split into two to better conquer her prey.

While most of her peers snark at Jo’s island, bespectacled Raissa is enchanted. Using her advanced understanding of aerodynamics to defend Jo’s description of the Manananggal, she ends up at the principal’s office with her. 

There, a lifelong friendship between wonderful misfits is formed, which will be marked by a charm bracelet, bedecked with mementos of slumber parties, recognizing the glory of Predator, karaoke, and other shenanigans. However, as college approaches, Raissa is readying to travel to the U.S. to continue her education, while Jo is utterly lost and barely employed. It’s on their last night together that they tumble unexpectedly into Nakali. And things get really wild from there.

Awakening with new accessories, an unexplained haircut, and tattoos, the friends realize they can’t remember their first night on the island. With the help of the chaotic Raww, they retrace their steps to understand what happened and find a way home (in time for Raissa’s flight to California!) 

Forgotten Island pulls a page from Spider-Verse. 

Credit: DreamWorks

Crawford and Mercado embrace Filipino culture by displaying not only the natural beauty of the Philippines and the glorious bustle of its cities in the opening scene, but also through the rich lore in Nakali. Various mythical creatures pop up, bursting with character and color, welcoming the audience into the experience alongside Jo and Raissa. However, Crawford and Mercado also seem to pull inspiration from animated films like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and KPop Demon Hunters, embracing a variety of animation styles without reservation.

The colors in Forgotten Island are vivid, often neon, reflecting the American pop inspiration point that also allows for its soundtrack to boast tracks like Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” and Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It.” The kinetic animation style Mercado and Crawford favor likewise reflects their heroines’ liveliness, with spirited physical expressions and countenances that break the Disney princess mold. These girls scream, cackle, and ugly cry. And the animation style (and character models) shift to better allow for this expression. Then, as they hear their forgotten story recounted by others they meet, the 3D animation shifts more drastically, turning 2D and reflecting styles found in anime and manga, including chibi. For instance, Raww recounts how he met them with a flashback that looks like he’s gone full Goku.

This flexibility in style keeps Forgotten Island feeling unpredictable and exciting, as the girls race against the clock to reclaim their memory and their passage home. But that’s not all, because this movie — chaotic, comedic, and radiantly joyful — might also move you to tears.

Forgotten Island pulls a Sheep Detectives. 

Credit: DreamWorks

If you somehow missed The Sheep Detectives, one best movies of 2026 (that’s now streaming on Prime Video), allow me to explain. Like Forgotten Island, The Sheep Detectives seems like kid stuff. In that case: When a mystery-novel-obsessed shepherd dies under mysterious circumstances, it’s up to his flock of actual sheep to solve his murder. But despite the silliness and the adorableness of its heroes, The Sheep Detectives snuck up on audiences when it came to its depiction of grief and friendship. Forgotten Island pulls off this same trick, and fantastically so. 

It begins in the second act, where Jo and Raissa’s friendship is nurtured by the former’s lola. This moxie-rich old broad inspires the girls to love each other loudly and unapologetically, just as the weirdos they are. And, as you might guess from such a setup, Lola will die. By the end of this montage of growing up together, you might be on the brink of tears. But then comes island fun, and silly creatures, and terrifically executed Odd Couple banter. Your heart is light, your mouth smiling. And then Forgotten Island reconnects with the drama that kicked off before the girls fell to the eponymous land mass.

Credit: DreamWorks

How do you preserve a friendship when life is pulling you apart? Here’s where the script gets a bit hurried in tying up this storyline along with all the threads of the island misfits (including a comically vain merman voiced by Kevin McCann). However, amid a flurry of truly thrilling action, the tender drama at this movie’s core hits hard. Cheers to H.E.R. and Soberano, who bring Jo and Raissa to vivid life, whether they are fighting or frolicking. In their voices is etched the kind of easy intimacy that makes this lifelong friendship feel real, and yet frighteningly fragile. It’s in these moments that grown-ups might well cry, and when one vocal kid at our press screening let out a high chirp of distress. But fear not. Forgotten Island will deliver an ending that is sensational and satisfying, reassuring us that being a weirdo works out once you’ve found your wild pack.

All in all, this terrifically enthralling animated adventure is a wild ride that is absolutely not to be missed. 

Forgotten Island opens in theaters on Sept. 25.