Forgotten Island

Forgotten Island is the story of two best friends become stranded on the mystical world of Nakali, where their only escape might cost them their shared lifetime of memories.

Introduction

Not gonna lie, Forgotten Island got me good! It’s essentially a love letter to Filipino culture, and yes it is directed by Januel Mercado, a Filipino-American, together with Joel Crawford (The Croods: A New Age). It is also starred by various known names in the Philippines film industry. It’s homey and very relatable to Filipinos.

“Best friends Jo and Raissa stumble upon a mysterious portal that transports them to Nakali, a fantastical island that’s filled with magical creatures. When they discover that the memories of their entire friendship are the price for returning home, they try to find a way to leave the island before they forget each other forever.”

Stacked Cast

Notable Filipino actors/actresses that starred in the movie are Liza Soberano, stand-up comedian Jo Koy, singer-songwriter H.E.R., and the world renowned singer, Lea Salonga. All of whom blended well with their respective characters.
The introduction of the characters, minor and major roles were just right that people aren’t getting confused on who is who. Which I think was done very well.

Smooth Pacing

Pacing and storyline was great. It seemed crazy and wild on the outside, but the story transitioned well and pretty smoothly. Even my 7 year old daughter was able to keep up with it. Also, this was one of the best I’ve seen on how to show “death” on screen for a movie that’s for the younger generation (another was from “Flow”).

Heartwarming Relativeness

The intro was a huge slap in the face (in a good way). It’s how we saw our parents/grandparents when we were young, they were, in a way, acted as such. Us, the crowd, laughed loudly as the representation was on point. Best examples were the throwing of the tsinelas (slippers), shouting at someone like you mean to kill them, the Karaoke section during a party, the eagerness to meet a celebrity and so on.

A couple of things I didn’t quite like (nitpicking)

There were two words that they kept saying “Tayo Na!” (it means let’s go), I think they used it a little bit too much that it went dull towards the end. And having the cast as Filipinos, it didn’t sound right that they had an accent in saying it (H.E.R. is a given).
The use of the Sun emblem (like the one on the Philippine flag) on the stone was a little bit overboard in representing the Philippines. I’m sure it’s just me and I just HAD to say it.

Supreme level of Animation

The animation sort of reminds me of K-Pop Demon Hunter and a little bit of The Wild Robot. Its very beautifully made and the details were popping here and there. Loved it!

Conclusion

In all honesty, I didn’t think I’d like it that much. The comedy was hilarious and very relatable to Filipinos. This was more of a millennial thing, us 90s babies will relate more than the younger generations do now. Regardless, people loved this because of how relatable it is. Unfortunately, it didn’t get the same praise it deserved in the West.