The arms race of animation is something to take note of. We are living in a time when animators are pushing boundaries for the look of movies, in the same way that Pixar pushed at the boundaries of what the subject of animated films could be. And now Pixar is changing their animation style up, with the upcoming Gatto being hand painted animation, even folks that have a house style are buying into it. One of the first that highlighted this race was Dreamworks Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, a movie that performed incredibly well at the box office and was adored by critics and audiences alike. The look of the film was a highlight, and now directing partners Januel Mercado and Joel Crawford are teaming up again on their Philippine mythology based animated feature Forgotten Island.
The film follows two best friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano), living in The Philippines, hanging out, telling each other stories of a mysterious island that Jo’s grandmother alleges she went to when she was younger. It’s a traditional odd couple pairing, with Jo being the risk taking daredevil artist and Raissa being the more buttoned down college bound girl. Raissa lets Jo know that her plans are to go to college in the US, leaving Jo behind and essentially starting a new life without her. As the two fight about their future they get teleported to Nikali, the very same island that Jo’s grandmother would tell stories about.
The unwinding of their tale has fun wrinkle. They wake up, having no memory of the time they spent on Nikali. They seem to have had quite an adventerous evening, gotten tattoos, Raissa shaved her head, they have a new talking dogman friend named Raww (Dave Franco) so the movie unspools itself by having them solve the mystery of the night before in a The Hangoveresque adventure.
The look of Forgotten Island is something that should be highlighted, much like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish it’s got it’s special sauce, from classic anime frames and cartoon animation tricks, to gorgeous CGI renderings of the Philippine islands. It’s such a feast it can at times feel like there’s too much to focus on. On top of the friendship that the two protagonists have, we also have a cornucopia of Philippian myths all getting a moment to shine on screen. From a tree dwelling demon named Batiba (Jenny Slate), to a giant baby demon named Bungi (Manny Jacinto), a potion selling fairy, a vicious vampire queen, and even a merman that looks like the cover of a romance novel from the 80s, there’s plenty to keep track of and enough visual gags to fill out every second of the feature.
As original as the setting and source material feel, there’s a lot of plodding towards the end result. Between occasional fights between our odd couple heroes, and a classic third act falling out it’s about as predictable of a structure as one could guess at the outset. Which is disappointing because everything surrouding the movie feels so fresh. The other note is that it is perhaps time we have some villians in movies, particularly children’s movies, remain villains. It’s beginning to feel a little played out when every raging demon, or vicious wolf, is simply misunderstood. It’s ok to have a bad guy be a bad guy, it’s something Toy Story 5 did this year as well and it’s beginning to feel incredibly rote.
If you’re a fan of new and exciting animation styles, Forgotten Island is absolutely worth your time. It’s a visual feast if nothing else, and while some of the structure may feel less exciting than the setting and the style, there’s plenty to fall in love with here. From the dynamic of our heroes (when they’re being friends specifically) to the bits set up by the menagerie of characters, it’s so full of excitement it verges on being overstuffed. Which can be good if that’s what you’re looking for.
3.5/5
