Forgotten Island is DreamWorks Animation’s new original film, inspired by Filipino culture and mythology. Critics have praised it warmly, yet it opened weakly at the North American box office, and it keeps being set beside KPop Demon Hunters because both carry an Asian cultural identity and 3D visuals that mimic hand-drawn art. Here is what is worth knowing about the film.
What Is Forgotten Island?
Forgotten Island is produced by DreamWorks Animation, released by Universal Pictures, and written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, the duo behind Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022). Mercado is Filipino American and Crawford’s wife was born in the Philippines, so the film carries a deeply personal stamp for both. According to The Credits, published by the Motion Picture Association, it is the first Philippine-themed animated feature from a major Hollywood studio.
The project was announced in April 2025, previewed at CinemaCon on April 15, 2026, and received a standing ovation of about five minutes at the Annecy animation festival in June 2026. It reached US theaters on September 25, 2026, and opened the same day in Vietnam, right around the Mid-Autumn Festival, in a dubbed version.
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Studio / distributor | DreamWorks Animation / Universal Pictures |
| Directors and writers | Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado |
| Producer | Mark Swift |
| Music | Nathan Matthew David |
| Runtime | 109 minutes (English and Filipino) |
| Setting | 1990s Philippines |
| Release | September 25, 2026 (US and Vietnam) |
| Budget | About $80 million |
The Story: One Last Night Together
Jo (voiced by H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) have been best friends since childhood, and they grew up believing in the legendary island of Nakali from the stories they heard. On the night before Raissa leaves to study at Caltech in the US while Jo stays in the Philippines, the two fall through a mysterious portal and land on that very island. The name Nakali comes from the Tagalog word "nakalimutan", meaning "forgotten".
To get home before Raissa’s flight, they must retrace the journey that brought them there, but the price is their memories of each other. A demon who steals memories makes the already strained bond between the two even more fragile. The directors chose the pre-smartphone 1990s on purpose: parting then felt far more final, and objects such as friendship bracelets carry memories.
Nakali and Its Filipino Folklore Creatures
Much of the film’s appeal lies in how it turns Filipino myth into playful characters. Bungi (Manny Jacinto) is based on the tiyanak, a baby-shaped creature from folklore, but in the film he becomes a child more than 200 years old who has never left home. The idea came from creative consultant Anthony Francisco. Batiba (Jenny Slate) draws on the batibat, while Manang (Lea Salonga) is designed with a familiar villain palette to set up a surprise later.
The duo’s companions include Raww (Dave Franco), a talkative half-dog creature, Prince Mermahn (Kevin McCann) and many others. Many roles are voiced by Filipino or Filipino American actors, which is worth noting given how rarely Hollywood has given that community such roles.
| Character | Voice |
|---|---|
| Jo Yuson | H.E.R. |
| Raissa Molina | Liza Soberano |
| Raww | Dave Franco |
| Batiba | Jenny Slate |
| Bungi | Manny Jacinto |
| Manang | Lea Salonga |
| Datu | Jo Koy |
| Truffle Wuffle | Ronny Chieng |
| Lola Fatima | Dolly de Leon |
| Prince Mermahn | Kevin McCann |
The Look: CG Meets Anime, Filipino Art and Hand-Drawn Lines
Like Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and the Spider-Verse films, Forgotten Island uses computer animation that imitates the feel of hand-drawn art. The team blended influences from anime, Filipino art, graphic design and the rave culture of the 1990s. The hand-drawn 2D sequences were made with Snipple Animation, a studio in Quezon City in the Philippines, with Sony Pictures Imageworks also involved.
The visual language also changes between worlds. In the real world, the film uses long lenses and shallow depth of field for intimacy. Once in Nakali, the view opens up to 6mm to 8mm lenses to convey the vastness of a fantasy island. According to director Joel Crawford, the team built this "film language" with head of cinematography Scott Cullen.
The flashbacks of the companions are done in 2D anime styles, each reflecting the person telling the story: Raww’s tale draws on Dragon Ball Z, while Prince Mermahn, glamorous and narcissistic, leans toward Sailor Moon. As for set design, Nakali references Palawan and El Nido, the ground-shaking portal is modeled on the sun in the Philippine flag, and one village is shaped like the Chocolate Hills of Bohol.
The Music: From BINI and SB19 to INXS
The score is by Nathan Matthew David, a Filipino American composer, who mixes traditional Filipino and Indigenous instruments with modern sounds. The soundtrack album arrived digitally on September 18, 2026, via Back Lot Music, featuring Filipino artists such as BINI, SB19, Ruby Ibarra and KATSEYE’s Sophia Laforteza, along with H.E.R. and Liza Soberano.
Highlights include "A Parallel World", an original song by BINI produced by Nathan Matthew David and Shawn Wasabi; Sophia Laforteza’s reimagined version of INXS’s "Never Tear Us Apart" for an emotional moment between the two friends; and SB19’s cover of Francis M.’s "Mga Kababayan".
Why Is Forgotten Island Compared to KPop Demon Hunters?
KPop Demon Hunters, produced by Sony Pictures Animation, premiered on Netflix on June 20, 2025, directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. It became Netflix’s most-watched title ever with 325.1 million views after 91 days and won the 2026 Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song ("Golden"). Because both are animated films rooted in an Asian culture, with 3D visuals imitating hand-drawn art, female leads and a heavy role for music, media often mention them together.
| Aspect | Forgotten Island | KPop Demon Hunters |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / platform | DreamWorks Animation, theatrical (Universal) | Sony Pictures Animation, released by Netflix |
| Culture | Filipino myth and everyday life | K-pop and Korean mythology |
| Visuals | CG imitating hand-drawn art, anime, Filipino art, 2D hand-drawn | CG imitating hand-drawn art, anime style |
| Music | Traditional instruments, Filipino pop (BINI, SB19) | K-pop, central to the plot |
| Main themes | Friendship, memory, growing up | Self-acceptance, teamwork |
| Characters | Two best friends about to part | Girl group Huntrix hunting demons |
That said, the overlap is mostly in approach rather than story. KPop Demon Hunters is an action musical about a girl group fighting demons, while Forgotten Island is a story about friendship and memory with comedy and adventure. Asked why Manang’s palette recalls villains such as Ursula and the demons of KPop Demon Hunters, director Januel Mercado said it was deliberate: the film uses the familiar purples, blacks and blues of villains in order to subvert expectations later.
Praised but Underperforming: The Forgotten Island Paradox
On quality, the film has earned plenty of praise: 95% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes (105 reviews, 7.9/10 average), 73/100 on Metacritic, an A CinemaScore, and 83% of viewers saying they would recommend it on PostTrak. Critics singled out its imagination, the relationship at its core, and how it keeps cultural specificity while staying accessible.
At the box office, however, it opened to $12.8 million in North America (fifth place that weekend) and $7.8 million internationally, for $20.6 million across 35 markets, against a budget of about $80 million. That is one of the five lowest openings in DreamWorks Animation history, and according to Wikipedia its cumulative worldwide gross is about $26 million.
Analysts point to several causes. The first trailer leaned on references to the 80s, 90s and 2000s and slapstick humor but left out the emotional core of Jo and Raissa’s friendship, and critic David Ehrlich called the film so overstuffed that its main plot is hard to follow. The opening audience resembled that of The Wild Robot: 25% under 18, 46% aged 18 to 34 and 31% over 35. Experts expect it to break even through post-theatrical revenue, and the wider context is tough, since no original animated film has crossed $500 million worldwide in nine years.
There are two bright spots beyond North America. In the Philippines, the film earned P97,236,533 on its opening weekend, which Universal Pictures Philippines says is the biggest opening for a DreamWorks Animation film there. Several outlets also see it as a notable contender for Best Animated Feature at the 2027 Oscars.
OtaHub’s Take
Forgotten Island suits viewers who like animation with a clear cultural identity, inventive visuals and a friendship story sincere enough to land emotionally. Its biggest strength is how it brings Filipino mythology into a modern story without turning it into mere decoration.
One caveat is that the pacing is fast and dense, which may be hard to follow for some viewers. If you enjoy animation with an anime flavor, you may also like our guide to the best A-1 Pictures anime. And if you would rather see Forgotten Island on the big screen, it has opened in Vietnamese cinemas in a dubbed version.
Source: Compiled from Tuổi Trẻ, The Credits (Motion Picture Association), Wikipedia, TheWrap, SlashFilm, Elle Vietnam, Philstar and other outlets. Images belong to Universal Pictures / DreamWorks Animation and are used for informational purposes.