‘Forgotten Island’ Review: DreamWorks Delivers a Beautiful Adventure About Friendship

Forgotten Island is a story that really comes down to one simple message: your best friend is worth fighting for.

Releasing in theaters everywhere on Friday, September 25, 2026, this new animated adventure from DreamWorks stars H.E.R. as Jo, with Bailey playing the younger version of the character, and Liza Soberano as Raissa, with Kayla Teruel voicing her younger version. These two young women have grown up together in the Philippines, and their friendship is at the center of everything that happens in this movie.

Jo and Raissa couldn't be more different. Jo is more of the dreamer who doesn't always think about the consequences of her actions, while Raissa is the more book-smart one who likes to stay focused and do things the right way. At one point during her childhood, Jo dreams about going to America to live with her father, while Raissa gets the opportunity to attend Caltech. Naturally, that creates some problems between the two best friends, especially when their lives start heading in completely different directions.

And that's when things get REALLY interesting. The two eventually find themselves transported into the fantastical world of the Forgotten Island of Nakali, and from there, this movie takes off. We get introduced to a really fun group of characters along the way, including Raww, a were-dog voiced by Dave Franco, Bungi, voiced by Manny Jacinto, and Mermahn, voiced by Kevin McCann. The movie also features Jenny Slate, Dolly de Leon and Lea Salonga, giving this film a pretty impressive voice cast.

But honestly, one of the first things that grabbed my attention was the animation. DreamWorks has always delivered some great-looking animated movies, but they really took things to another level with Forgotten Island. The anime and manga-inspired animation style was such a breath of fresh air. What I really enjoyed was that the movie doesn't stick to just one animation style. As the story progresses, the animation changes in different ways, and every time it happens, it adds something to what you're watching.

There is even a pretty obvious Dragon Ball homage at one point, and anybody who knows me knows I LOVE Dragon Ball, so yeah, that definitely got a reaction out of me. The movie is only 109 minutes, which I think is pretty much the perfect runtime for this story. It doesn't feel like it's rushing through everything, but it also doesn't feel like it is overstaying its welcome.

Another thing that surprised me was how much the movie pulls from Philippine mythology. Throughout the adventure, we meet all kinds of creatures, and apparently these aren't just random creatures created for the movie. They're based on demon creatures from Philippine mythology.

And you can tell the animators put a lot of work into making each one feel different. Every creature has its own look and personality, and I found myself wanting to see what weird creature was going to show up next. It's one of those little details that makes the world feel much bigger than what we're actually seeing on screen.

Then there's the music. Music plays a HUGE part in this movie, and considering H.E.R. is one of the main stars, that shouldn't come as a surprise. We get karaoke, freestyle raps and some really fun musical moments throughout the adventure. Hearing these characters break out into “Don't Stop Believin'” was one of those moments that just made me smile.

Honestly, that song feels like the spiritual theme of the entire movie. Because underneath all of the crazy creatures, comedy, different animation styles and fantasy elements, Forgotten Island is really a story about friendship.

Jo and Raissa have been best friends since childhood, but their friendship is being tested as they get older. Raissa's parents don't always want her around Jo because Jo has a tendency to get them into trouble. Raissa is also trying to build a future for herself, while Jo has a much harder time imagining a life outside of the world she's always known. And once they arrive on the Forgotten Island, those problems don't magically disappear.

If anything, they get worse. There are moments where Jo doesn't even want to find a way home because she doesn't want to lose Raissa. That's where the story really connected with me. Jo isn't necessarily trying to hurt her best friend. She's scared of what happens when they go their separate ways.

The movie also does some interesting things with memories, trust and the whole “we've been transported to another dimension” storyline. There are twists and turns that make you question who you can actually trust, and I appreciated that the movie didn't just give us a straight-line adventure from beginning to end.

And then you have the comedy. From somebody being called a “sweaty meat face,” to characters yelling out things like “Wapoosh!”, to characters literally puking and farting fire, this movie knows exactly how goofy it wants to be. There are also some fun pop-culture references, including Teen Wolf, that had me laughing.

That's what makes Forgotten Island work for me. It has something for pretty much everybody. If you want a beautiful animated adventure, it's here. If you like anime-inspired animation, it's here. If you want mythology, fantasy, comedy, music or a story about two best friends trying to figure out where they belong, it's here. But most importantly, the heart of this movie works.

I honestly feel like Forgotten Island is the Spider-Verse-style animated experience of the year. The animation is creative, the world is colorful and unique, the characters are fun, and the story actually has something to say about growing up and realizing that sometimes loving your best friend means fighting for them, even when life is trying to pull you in completely different directions.

DreamWorks really did their big one with this movie. Forgotten Island hits theaters everywhere Friday, September 25th, and best believe I'll be sitting in that theater with my family ready to experience this spectacle all over again.

And yes, I'll be back with a full spoiler review, because there is definitely a LOT more to talk about.