FK Reviews Forgotten Island: Is This Hollywood’s Version of the Philippines?

This Forgotten Island review is pretty simple: I liked the movie, and a big reason why is that the Forgotten Island movie actually feels Filipino.

Not perfect. Not flawless. But Filipino enough that I found myself recognizing things throughout the movie instead of constantly wondering whether the people who made it had ever actually been around Filipinos.

The story follows Jo and Raissa, two best friends whose lives are starting to pull them in different directions. Raissa is preparing to leave the Philippines for college in the United States, while Jo is struggling with the idea that their friendship might change once they go their separate ways.

Then, because this is an animated fantasy movie, things get considerably more complicated. The two end up in Nakali, a mysterious island filled with creatures from Filipino folklore, and suddenly their friendship becomes part of a much bigger adventure.

The Filipino Details Actually Work

I’ve seen plenty of movies try to represent the Philippines and end up feeling like someone Googled “things Filipinos like” five minutes before filming. DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island doesn’t really have that problem.

The Filipino details feel much more natural. The food, family gatherings, karaoke, Tagalog, jeepneys, folklore, and little cultural references are actually part of the world instead of being random things thrown into the background.

It’s also nice seeing Filipino culture treated as something that can simply exist in an animated movie without constantly being explained to the audience. You recognize it if you recognize it, and there is a lot to recognize.

The Forgotten Island film also benefits from having Filipino filmmakers at the center of it. Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado direct and co-write the movie, while the voice cast includes H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, and Lea Salonga.

That probably helps explain why so many of the smaller details feel specific rather than generic.

The Monsters Are One of the Best Parts

The Filipino mythology gives the movie some of its personality.

Nakali is filled with creatures inspired by Philippine folklore, and some of them are genuinely fun to watch. The movie features creatures such as the manananggal and tiyanak, alongside other strange characters that make the island feel distinctly different from the usual fantasy worlds in animated movies.

The manananggal is probably the standout for me.

It’s actually creepy. The movie doesn’t completely turn these creatures into cute, harmless mascots, which I appreciated. There are moments when the monsters feel like the kind of creatures you might have heard about as a kid and then spent the night wondering whether they were actually outside your window.

The tiyanak gets a much more comedic treatment, which also works. The Forgotten Island animated movie isn’t afraid to let its monsters be funny, weird or unsettling depending on the scene.

There is a lot of mythology packed into the story, though, and sometimes you can feel the movie trying to fit too much into one adventure. Still, seeing Filipino folklore creatures treated as major characters rather than background decoration is one of the movie’s biggest strengths.

The Best Part Is Still the Friendship

For all the monsters and mythology, Jo and Raissa are still what kept me interested.

They’re best friends who have known each other for years. Then one of them is about to leave, and suddenly they’re forced to deal with something pretty ordinary: people you grew up with eventually start building lives that don’t necessarily include you in the same way.

That’s a simple conflict, but it works because neither of them is completely wrong.

Jo doesn’t want to lose the person who has been there for most of her life. Raissa, meanwhile, wants to move forward and pursue the future she’s been working toward.

That tension gives the Forgotten Island film something more grounded underneath all the fantasy. At its core, it’s still a story about two friends trying to figure out whether growing up means growing apart.

And that part felt real.

READ: We Ranked 6 Pinoy Monsters from Least to Most Scary

The One Thing That Took Me Out of the Movie

There wasn’t much that bothered me about the Filipino culture in the movie itself. The one thing I kept noticing was the pronunciation of some Filipino words.

There are moments where the delivery doesn’t sound quite right. And because Filipino actors are already part of the voice cast, I couldn’t help wondering why some of those lines weren’t cleaned up.

It’s a small thing, but Filipinos are going to notice it.

What’s frustrating is that the movie clearly put effort into getting so many cultural details right. When a familiar Filipino word suddenly sounds awkward, it stands out more because everything around it has been handled with so much care.

It’s not enough to ruin the movie for me. But it is probably the biggest thing I would have fixed.

So, The Review: Is Forgotten Island Worth Watching?

Yes.

The Forgotten Island movie isn’t perfect. The pacing gets hectic; there are probably more creatures and plot ideas than the story needs, and some of the Filipino dialogue could have been handled better.

But I had a good time watching it.

More importantly, I liked seeing a major animated movie take Filipino culture and folklore seriously without reducing the Philippines to a background setting. The monsters are fun, the friendship works, the family dynamics feel familiar, and there are enough little details throughout the movie that Filipino viewers will probably recognize something from their own lives.

That’s ultimately why this Forgotten Island review is a positive one.

It’s not because the movie gets everything right. It’s because it gets enough right that, for once, I didn’t have to suspend disbelief every time the Philippines appeared on screen.

Rating: 4/5