We’re having an incredible year for shows and movies centered around girlhood right now, and each time it results in the kind of cathartic experience I never want to take for granted. From unexpected treasures like this year’s Sterling Point to the newest animated feature from DreamWorks, Forgotten Island, everything about the women-focused narratives delivers something that’s not only significant but deeply necessary.
More importantly, the art of celebrating excitement and understanding the value of embracing our desires is a huge theme that we could always use more of in every medium. The joy of these details, coupled with the heartbreak centered around big changes, is a balm in more ways than one, and it makes the film an unmistakable treat at the movie theaters.
It also bears noting that before I walked into the movie, I knew absolutely nothing about it. I hadn’t seen trailers, nor did I do my research on what it’d be about. All I knew was that it would feature Filipino characters, and that was all I needed. And then I wept through the entire credits because the movie’s such a gorgeous love letter to friendships that all I could think about was how deeply I love my own Filipina best friend. For a story that centers around the importance of memories and how they shape us, it nails the emotional crux of friendships beautifully. You can feel just how profoundly Jo (voiced by H.E.R.) and Raissa (voiced by Liza Soberano) love each other, and there’s inexplicable warmth in that detail.
There’s warmth in the idea of one last adventure before everything changes and you have to go off to college. There’s warmth in the way that two very different people can find a home in each other. There’s warmth in redemption and second chances. Forgotten Island does so much in its nearly two-hour runtime that it’s both rare and incredible. Vibrant and bold, the movie feels like something straight out of the early aughts with its coloring, and that’s also something we’ve been severely missing in the past few years.
So much of the film’s premise is in the title. Nakali, the Forgotten Island in question, opens up for Jo and Raissa during an emotional moment, and they get swept into one last adventure before Raissa’s big move. Featuring the myths they grew up loving, an endearing good time ensues, all while emotions are tested, significant conversations are brought to the surface, and their friendship shines throughout.
While its one sole flaw is slight pacing issues toward the middle, everything else sparkles hilariously to life with the kind of narrative that feels both fresh and comfortingly familiar at the same time. The soundtrack is a blast, the voice acting is fantastic, the story is endearing, and the animation is stunning. Every minute of it comes to life with the kind of opening that immediately grips you and doesn’t let go, even after the credits start rolling.
Perhaps what’s most surprising is also its means of balancing genuinely dark matters with laughter and light. Elements of the film can be a little too scary for younger kids who are more faint-hearted, but it leaves us with a lovely message of hope at the end. It doesn’t shy away from raw emotions that orbit around how loneliness can be our biggest burden and how we can get caught up in matters that could turn into the most tangled web. Everything about it works, and the layers scattered throughout each frame are no small feat.
Lastly, it’s a wholesome love letter to the Philippines, the beauty of finding home in those who love us, the food and culture, as well as the people who step in when everyone seems to love. Movies like Forgotten Island should be on everyone’s radar. And movies like Forgotten Island should be a signal to executives that these are the kind of stories we want more of—stories where more people get to see themselves represented on-screen, with narratives that aren’t just good, but brilliant and thoughtful from beginning to end.
Forgotten Island is now playing in theaters.
First Featured Image Credit: ©DreamWorks