2.5 out of 5 friendship keepsakes (Decent)
Forgotten Island had me intrigued with its 1st act, annoyed by its 2nd, and crying by its 3rd. It’s a celebration of friendship with all the ingredients to be great that’s bogged down by an overly wacky middle before delivering a closing emotional punch so effective I thought it had come from a different version of the movie. The kids in my theater seemed to enjoy that wackiness while the parents and I laughed at the adult jokes, but I wish Forgotten Island could’ve jettisoned some of its style to focus more on the strong central friendship at its heart.
Proverbial loose cannon Jo (voiced by H.E.R.) and the more studious-minded Raissa (voiced by Liza Soberano) have been best friends since middle school: jamming to karaoke, getting into shenanigans, and collecting keepsakes from their adventures. Jo’s recently passed grandmother Lola (voiced by Dolly de Leon) told tales of the mystical island Nakali, full of wonder but overseen by the villainous vampire Manang (Voiced by Lea Salonga), which our heroines hope to find one day. Cut to the present and Raissa’s about to head overseas to Caltech, which Jo fears will end their friendship.
On their last night together, Jo and Raissa find an item that opens a portal to Nakali, jump down it and….. wake up on its beach 12 hours later with no memory of last night’s events. Guided by the energetic were-dog Raww (voiced by Dave Franco) and avoiding Manang and the other inhabitants, our leads must relocate the portal key and get home in time for Raissa to make her early-morning flight, realizing the true strength of their bond along the way.
Forgotten Island is like a friend who’s amazing on their game but irritating off of it. Jo and Raissa’s friendship is endearing (though Jo’s introduction where she tackles and starts smacking another child across the face isn’t my ideal first impression), the animation is strong, and the 3rd act got some tears out of me. The movie understands the positive impact friendships can have on us and ends on one of the best closing lines I’ve heard in quite some time. I thought about how my closest friends and I have influenced each other over the years during this section and applaud the film for emphasizing platonic bonds.
Unfortunately, the middle of Forgotten Island is stuffed with overly-stylized gags and 2 supporting characters annoyed me (though both are necessary). The middle school target audience will likely dig that stuff, but great animated family films keep kids happy without parents scrambling for an Advil. Act 3 largely drops the visual noise, but I wish the entire film was as strong as its ending. There’s a great movie in here, but the roller-coaster ride it took me on was so odd that the best I can say is that it’s fine when it could have been fantastic. Forgotten Island has a strong central dynamic, several good jokes, and a knock-out finish, but a visually cacophonous midsection keeps it from achieving its full potential. I’ll remember it for the good times, but would have treasured it with more consistency.
Rated PG for Animated Sequences of Scary Action, Language, Rude Humor, Thematic Elements, Some Violence, and Brief Tobacco Imagery