JacobsonCinemas

Don’t you forget about me

DreamWorks Animation is like a roller coaster. It has many highs (such as the Prince of Egypt or How to Train Your Dragon) but also many lows (such as Turbo or the Boss Baby). Their newest film Forgotten Island is about two girls in the Philippines named Jo and Raissa who have been best friends all their lives. After graduating high school Jo finds out that Raissa is attending college at Caltech in America. While celebrating their last day together they fall through a mysterious portal and end up on an island named Nakali with no memory of what happened. Now they must find a way home before they end up forgetting their friendship and memories.

The heart of Forgotten Island is the friendship between Jo played by H.E.R. and Raissa played by Liza Soberano. Both leads are very likable, have distinct designs that perfectly match their distinct personalities. I like how their unique charms on their bracelets represent their memories. You really do believe their friendship and the decisions they make feel believable too. SPOILER WARNING: There is a liar revealed moment which involved Jo making a very selfish but understandable decision that almost gets the duo trapped on Nakali forever. Later when Raissa enters Jo’s memories to save her she finds out how much their friendship means to each other. I will admit I almost teared up during the emotional climax. I also think the voice acting is really good especially from H.E.R. and Liza Soberano as the main duo. Even their child actors do a fantastic job portraying the main duo perfectly. Another standout is Dave Franco (who already impressed me this year with his role as King Titus from Hoppers) as the were-dog Raww.

The other highlight from this film is the gorgeous animation. The director of this film Joel Crawford also directed Puss in Boots the Last Wish and that has some of the best eye-popping animation from any DreamWorks film. So, it’s no surprise that his next film Forgotten Island is just as amazing to look at. Forgotten Island is one of the most gorgeous and vibrant films DreamWorks has ever done. This film also uses the same fast paced and colorful style as Puss in Boots 2. DreamWorks took a lot of inspiration from Philippines culture and anime from the 90s. Speaking of which, I felt that way this film depicts Philippines culture was done very well. The main setting of Nakali particularly is very well done and full of Filipino influence. One thing I’ve seen people nitpick about Forgotten Island is that it has too much energy and too much happens on screen and yeah those are good points. I can understand people finding that either annoying or distracting but me it wasn’t really a problem.

In terms of DreamWorks’s highs and lows that I mentioned at the beginning of this review, Forgotten Island managed to be one of DreamWorks’s highest highs. It has an amazing duo with a believable friendship and some of the most amazing animation the studio has ever done. It is definitely an animated film that will not be forgotten anytime soon.

Verdict:

+Jo and Raissa 

+Philippines depiction

+The animation

+The voice acting

Score: A+