DreamWorks Animation has been on a fantastic run in recent years with films like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and The Wild Robot. They have a new movie out in theaters titled Forgotten Island. Does this new flick carry on the studio’s hot streak? Let’s explore to find out.
The Good
Forgotten Island is an extremely emotional movie. This is heavily due to the fantastically written and relatable friendship. One of the main themes throughout the story is that even if we need to say goodbye to friends or life takes us in different paths, the memories we made together made the friendship worth it. It showcases the value of memories, even if they were small ones. These memories that we’ve made with the people in our lives are what shape us as people. It’s very beautiful, and when a friendship and their memories are on the line, the audience truly feels it. It’s enough to tear up over.
The movie is also absolutely hilarious. One-liners and references fill the witty dialogue throughout, almost always leading to big laughs. There’s also plenty of situational humor, and even some slapstick. It’s consistently funny while never taking away from the more emotional moments.
One of the film’s most impressive elements is its animation. It’s visually stunning with a unique aesthetic and fluid animation. What elevates it to another level, though, is that the movie uses a wide variety of animation styles throughout, including a 3D animation, 90s anime style, and other forms of 2D hand-drawn animation. It’s all blended together well and used in the perfect situations. Everything in the movie is a treat for the eyes.
The characters are especially memorable, and one of the reasons for that is that the voice performances are top-notch. These actors add so much heart, emotion, and personality to each role. They all feel like real people, and that goes for the minor side characters as well.
Forgotten Island also serves as brilliant and welcome representation. The two leads are both women while still having the story be relatable for everyone. On top of that, it showcases the Philippines, its people, culture, and mythology. People who are from the Philippines will likely feel so seen by this movie and its positive representation, which is something that hasn’t appeared in American movies a whole lot.
The Bad
When Jo and Raissa are in the Philippines before heading to the mythical island of Nakali, they get into a lot of trouble. We see their shenanigans punished with school detentions, police involvement, and the like. That being said, they’re somehow able to leave a van stuck on a beach for years and dismantle another person’s car to turn it into a rocket with no consequences whatsoever. This doesn’t really hurt the movie whatsoever, but it’s weird they get away with things that are so much more extreme than other things they’ve done.
Another minor issue is how little it takes for Batiba the Memory Demon to change her mind and help the main heroes. She’s the primary antagonist, but she easily changes her mind and motivation without much convincing. One could chalk it up to her not being an entirely bad person and being a complex individual, which is probably the case, but these shifts feel sudden and convenient at certain moments.
The movie can move a little fast at times. This results in certain characters not getting their screen time and moving on from emotional moments a little too quickly here and there. The pacing ultimately works quite well for the movie, but there are times when it could have benefitted from slowing down just a little bit to let the scene breathe.
Conclusion
Forgotten Island is a breath of fresh air. It’s a completely original movie with brilliant animation, relatable characters, terrific humor, and heartfelt moments that will make you cry. It tells a story that any type of moviegoer will get something out of. It tells a complete story without needlessly setting up a franchise like every other movie released today, which is welcome. It’s overall a fantastic time for moviegoers of any age. This is one that deserves to be remembered for a long time.
Rating: 9.5/10
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