Is Forgotten Island (2026) Worth Watching in Theaters? Deep-Dive Review and Audience Response
I’ll be honest: when DreamWorks announced an original animated movie for 2026, my first reaction was a shrug. Sequels are the safe bet these days, and studios love safe bets. Then I saw who was directing, read what the film was actually about, and the shrug turned into a countdown.
Forgotten Island hits US theaters on September 25, 2026. It’s DreamWorks Animation’s 50th feature film, it’s distributed by Universal, and it comes from Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, the duo behind Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. If that movie made you rethink what a studio cartoon can look like, keep reading.
What’s the Story?
Picture the 1990s. Jo (voiced by H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) have been best friends since grade school, and tonight is their last night together before graduation splits them onto different paths. Anyone who’s ever watched a best friend move away knows that particular ache.
Then a hidden portal opens and drops them into Nakali, a forgotten paradise packed with spirits, deities, and creatures straight out of Filipino folklore. Giant birds, legendary beings, the stuff their families once described at bedtime, now walking around in neon-soaked jungle.
Here’s the hook that got me. Nakali feeds on the memories of anyone who wanders in, and the price of the portal home is every memory the girls share with each other. Leave, and the friendship is wiped clean. You escape, but you don’t remember who you escaped with.
That’s a brutal setup for a family film, and I mean that as a compliment. It’s the same territory Inside Out mined so well: the stuff that makes us who we are is fragile, and losing it hurts more than any monster could.
Along the way, the girls team up with a hapless, lovable weredog named Raww (Dave Franco) and a gang of magical misfits. Their final boss is the Manananggal, the island’s most feared memory-vampire, voiced by Lea Salonga.
The Cast: Filipino Talent Front and Center
The casting is a big part of why this film is all over TikTok, X, and YouTube right now. Mercado is a Filipino-American filmmaker making his feature directing debut, and he pulled from his own family and friendships to build Nakali. That personal stamp shows up in the cast list.
| Voice | Role | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| H.E.R. | Jo | Soulful, vulnerable lead who carries the emotional core |
| Liza Soberano | Raissa | The fierce, charismatic half of the friendship |
| Dave Franco | Raww the weredog | Broad, goofy comic relief for the whole family |
| Lea Salonga | The Manananggal | A villain who reportedly turns out strangely tragic |
| Manny Jacinto, Jo Koy, Dolly de Leon | Supporting spirits and creatures | Comic timing, warmth, and some serious acting weight |
| Jenny Slate | Supporting role | Extra Hollywood comedy firepower |
Lea Salonga as the villain is the pick I’m most excited about. This is a woman whose voice has carried Disney princesses and Broadway stages, and now she gets to play the scariest thing on the island. Expect goosebumps.
What I appreciate is the balance. The film sounds specific, rooted in real traditions, without becoming homework for viewers who’ve never heard of a Kapre or a Tikbalang. Good animation should do that: make you curious rather than lectured.
The Look: DreamWorks Keeps Pushing
If The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish made you fall for DreamWorks’ painterly, comic-book-flavored style, this is where that road leads. Forgotten Island mixes hand-drawn 2D sensibility with modern 3D rendering and visible anime influences.
Nakali looks like a tropical fever dream, glowing and shifting, and the environments change constantly. That’s a smart choice for a story about memory, since memories don’t hold still either. Trailer breakdowns online keep singling out the action scenes, where the frame rate shifts on the fly so fights land with that punchy, panel-by-panel comic energy.
The creatures also seem to hit the sweet spot between spooky and silly. Kids get monsters that are fun; grown-ups get designs that are actually imaginative.
I’m not a “you must see everything in theaters” person, but this is the kind of film where the big screen matters. Neon color, huge mythical beasts, and fast stylistic shifts shrink badly on a phone.
The Sound: Gongs, Flutes, and P-Pop
The score comes from Nathan Matthew David, who blends traditional Filipino instruments like the kulintang (gong chimes) and bamboo flutes with a sweeping modern orchestra and upbeat ’90s synth beats. That’s an unusual cocktail, and on paper it sounds fantastic.
Then there’s the soundtrack. Original tracks from BINI and SB19, two of the biggest names in P-pop, are woven into the story rather than slapped on as end-credit filler. If you have access to a Dolby Atmos theater, this is the movie to test it on.
What Are Critics and Viewers Saying?
Early reactions are strong, with a few honest caveats.
- IMDb: around 7.5/10 from early international screenings and premieres
- IndieWire: a B, with the reviewer joking it’s a kid-friendly mash-up of The Hangover and Inside Out steeped in folklore
- The common complaint: the first act lingers on ’90s high-school tropes before the portal opens
- The common praise: once the girls reach Nakali, the movie takes off
On Letterboxd and film forums, people keep coming back to the ending. The pattern is consistent: viewers expect a goofy weredog comedy, then get hit by a finale about friendship, identity, and the painful business of letting go. A lot of comments mention crying in the theater and stack it up against Pixar’s most devastating third acts. That’s a big claim, and I’ll believe it when my own eyes are wet.
I’d take a slow first act over a rushed one any day. If the payoff really is what people describe, the setup is doing its job.
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Should You Buy a Ticket?
Yes, and here’s my case in three points:
- It’s built for a big screen. The hybrid 2D/3D style and glowing landscapes need room to breathe.
- It’s built for good speakers. Folk instruments, orchestra, and P-pop in one mix is an audio treat.
- The emotional hook isn’t niche. Sure, it’s a landmark for Filipino representation, but everyone knows what it feels like to be scared of losing a best friend.
There’s also a bigger reason to show up. DreamWorks spent its 50th film on something new instead of a safe sequel. Originals only get made when audiences prove they’ll turn out for them, and opening weekend is when that message gets sent.
Bring a friend, the kind you’d hate to forget. Maybe sit through the credits too, since the soundtrack seems built for it.
