Forgotten Island Review [MIFF 2026]

Forgotten Island is like The Hangover but for all-ages and family audiences. That said, I think the villain may be too scary for some kids. But this new animated film from DreamWorks Animation is sensational, blending styles and characters inspired by Philippine mythology to make for one of DreamWorks’ best.

Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) meet in primary school. Jo is a wild child who loves her grandmother’s stories of creatures found on the mysterious Nakali Island. She nearly gets her class caught in the “splash zone” while putting on an elaborate show-and-tell about family history. Raissa is generally a good student and more timid, but is quickly drawn into Jo’s world, and the two make a promise to find a way to Nakali and explore together.

Years later. When Raissa is getting ready to leave for the United States to study there, the two are finally drawn, almost called, into a mysterious portal that takes them to Nakali. However, when they awaken, it’s not them arriving on the island—they’d already spent a whole day there; their memories have been lost, and they now have to retrace their steps to find a way home so Raissa doesn’t miss her plane.

The retracing-the-steps part, along with some wild revelations of what the two got up to the night prior, some of which do even involve tattoos, is what leads me along the Hangover comparisons. But these two films also share a unique friendship bond.

The characters that Jo and Raissa meet along their adventure are some of my favourite in recent American animated films. Raww (Dave Franco) is well-meaning, and the third part of their new trio were-dog; Batiba (Jenny Slate) is a memory-dealing tree spirit; King Truffle Wuffle (Ronny Chieng) spends his time in the film trying to exact revenge on our group for dishonouring him in their now-forgotten first night. However, my favourite is easily Bungi (Manny Jacinto), a big baby who agrees to cut his umbilical cord, still attached to his mother, so he can help Jo and Raissa on their adventure. Yes, some really wild things happen at times in Forgotten Island. Stuff that will go over kids’ heads at times, but is a lot of ridiculous fun for an adult like me.

The character designs, stories, and personalities all match this eccentric, unique world, throwing babies and a vampiric creature (Lee Salonga) at our heroes. Thankfully, the animation matches the tone and variety, making Forgotten Island something special. Although the art direction and world may be inspired by Filipino art, the animation direction seems to have come from what director Crawford learned while working on Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. A traditional animated sequence fits right in a DreamWorks library. Still, it also mixes in 2D, Japanese-inspired animated parts that pop up out of nowhere to keep you visually engaged at all times. Thrown in with how well the action comes to life, Forgotten Island is sure to be one of the best animated films from a pure visual perspective of the year.

At the core of Forgotten Island is a message about friendship that you can easily dismiss early in the film as something you’ve seen before. And to a degree, plenty of animated films have touched on this subject, but when it’s done this well, in a world this exciting, with characters this engaging and great to spend time with, I’m more than happy to go over it all again.

[Dylan attended a screening thanks to the Melbourne International Film Festival]