‘Forgotten Island’ Review: Two Filipino Best Friends Go On A Stunning Manga-Inspired Adventure
“Original” is a hot buzzword in the movie business these days, but Hollywood animated films have a long list of misses in that regard. Especially this past decade. Leave it to DreamWorks Animation, a studio with a long history of adapting all sorts of books and IP, to unleash “Forgotten Island,” one of the best original animated films of the year. An intoxicating fantasy flick from the minds of directors Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado (“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”) that opens a door to a universe of Filipino mythology unknown to most of the rest of the world.
The story begins with two elementary school girls, Jo and Raissa (initially voiced by Kailey Crawford and Kayla Teruel), who quickly become best friends over their love of the creatures from the mythical island of Nakali, a land filled with Aswang, or shapeshifting magical creatures (think vampires, demons, and giant tree people). Except Jo’s Lola (grandmother in Tagalog), Fatima (Donny de Leon), insists she’s actually been to the island. One day, a magic seashell washed up on the beach and transported her there, and she returned with enough stories to tell for a lifetime. We never learn that much more about Fatima’s actual adventure, but the two girls become obsessed with searching the nearby beach for the magic seashell. And as they grow up, getting into one fracas after another, they still believe they will find their way to Nakali.
When High School graduation arrives, Jo and Raissa (now H.E.R. andLiza Soberano, respectively) have the first real test of their friendship. Raissa is heading to America after accepting admission to Caltech, even if she claims her parents insist she go for her future. Jo is a talented artist, but has no college plans. Her immediate plans appear to be just working at a local chicken sandwich shop. The night before Raissa is supposed to get on a plane to cross the Pacific, fate unfurls her tantalizing web and the seashell they have searched a lifetime for appears. When they wake up on the shores of Nakali, though, they quickly discover they can’t remember the past 12 hours, but there is evidence they have had quite the night. New tattoos, hairstyles, a crown on Jo’s head, and, oh yeah, Raissa has the wings of a demon vampire clinging to her back.
The duo soon team up with a motley crew including a shapeshifting boy-dog, Raww (Dave Franco), a hilariously vain Prince Merman (Kevin McCann), and a gigantic demon baby, Bungi Tiyanak (Manny Jacinto), as they hunt for the missing magical seashell that can get them home. Because as fun as Nakali is, Raissa has a plane to catch. Along the way, they encounter an agoraphobic memory demon, Batiba (Jenny Slate), and battle the dreaded Manananggal (or Manang) (Lea Salonga), who definitely wants her other set of wings back. And their close friendship, already strained by Raissa’s pending departure, is put to the test. Best friends forever, right? Right?
Happily, Crawford, Mercado, and their animation team give the film an intoxicating energy that’s impossible to resist. There are classic manga animation inspirations throughout the picture, and the production design frames Manila in an almost Polaroid-inspired filter, while Nakali Island is subtly painted with colors pulled from the lighting rig at an early ’90s rave. It’s easy to suggest the overall look is inspired by the groundbreaking aesthetic “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” threw on the screen almost a decade ago – and that may partially be the case – but it also feels like an evolution of the looser, thick-lined aesthetic from the director’s previous work, “Puss in Boots.”
The filmmakers also intentionally set a majority of the narrative in the 1990s. There are no cell phones. Everything is analog. Mixtapes and boomboxes. Not a CD to be found. And, oh yeah, not a hint of the internet. They embrace Filipinos’ love of Karaoke and 80s tracks such as “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journeyand “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS, among others. The movie also includes a new version of the latter by KATSEYE member Sophia Laforteza and a catchy new song, “BRB” by H.E.R. and Sobrenano, that fits in perfectly. As a love letter to Filipino culture, it will tug at the heartstrings of a whole nation, those living overseas and maybe everyone else watching, too.
Is the story increasingly messy as it goes on? A little bit, sure. Does it maybe take a bit too long to get to all the fantastical magic stuff? Again, sure. But the voice actors are absolutely euphoric and perfectly cast, and there are multiple scenes where the animation is so inspired, so creative, and spellbinding, you sort of can’t believe it. And, more importantly, you hope Crawford and Mercado get to make something completely original, on this scale, again and again and again. [B+/B]
“Forgotten Island” opens nationwide on Friday.
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