Forgotten Island (Movie Review)

I was invited to watch DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island earlier, and I figured I write a short review of it here and now. I was already encouraged to watch the movie weeks prior.

I watched the movie with friends (the one who invited me is a newfound friend who made her vacation here from the US). The animated film is currently 95% on Rotten Tomatoes (Certified Fresh) as of the time I wrote this, with a star-studded cast featuring the voices of H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dolly De Leon and Lea Salonga.

Given that I watched the movie without looking at any references (I glossed over the movie poster, even), I only have my preconception of how Filipino-Americans interpret Filipino culture and folklore (without living long enough in the country) with me. Yep, that’s how biased I am.

Having finished the film (1 hour and 40 minutes running time), I can say I’ve survived. It was after leaving the movie theater I have figured that this movie is divided in 3 acts:

• Act 1: World-building. How the main characters met each other, how they grew up, and the showcase of their contrasts as they grow up. How the elements (such as the eight-ray sun you see in the Philippine flag) are placed. How the neighborhood these two mains grew up with was illustrated.

  • Aesthetically, I am also impressed of how they seamlessly weave specific moments, like 3D animation to 2D.
  • There are several moments from this first act that made me laugh, but let’s also not overlook the times I felt irked, such as the way they say “Tâyo Na!” (Let’s go) — it took me a bit to brush the feeling off.

• Act 2: If you passed through Act 1, congratulations — you’re about to enjoy the moment they entered Nakali, short for Nakâlimûtan (Forgotten).

  • If you don’t pay close attention to the details, you will tend to overlook important elements of the movie’s plot.
  • This act poses an important question to the viewer: What did they forgot at the Forgotten Island? This is when we are introduced to the colorful cast of characters residing at Nakali. Just like Act 1, you will feel how liberated the story’s creativity is.
  • My advice is don’t lean too much on your little knowledge of the hidden City of Biringan, or what you’ve learned about Philippine folklore in general. I also figured that this movie was never based on it, so I treated Nakali as what it is: A work of fiction. Appreciate Nakali as a strange new place.
  • Sidenote: Whoever made the interpretation of Duwende in this movie must have seen Indonesian brainrot. Why make the Duwende so, so cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute here?

• Act 3: The conflict and resolution. I did not see a “main characters vs common enemy” scenario here.

  • The way I interpret this movie is that the supporting characters including the story’s causes of conflict are not exactly shown as villainous, but but rather it’s the nature of how they were conceived as characters and the abilities they have.
  • Each character learns a lesson or two as the movie ends. You’ve got to find out for yourself how each character resolve their inner conflicts.

Overall, I’m satisfied with the movie, and would encourage others to watch it with these ideas in mind.