Interestingly enough, “Forgotten Island” regularly had me remembering “The Wild Robot” because it was a much better viewing experience from DreamWorks Animation.
The latest film from the studio is set in the Philippines during the 1990s and centers on a pair of young women who’ve been friends since childhood. Raissa (Liza Soberano) is the more serious and studious one, while her bestie Jo (Gabriella “H.E.R.” Sarmiento Wilson) is often rebellious.
The two remain closely tied together, but that appears to be ending as Raissa is looking to move to the United States to study at the California Institute of Technology. Before she can take off, though, Jo brings Raissa out for one last party, and during the event, the two are transported to a world they’d wanted to go to since hearing about it in legends.
The first trailer for “Forgotten Island” certainly showed promise. A buddy film about two young women driven by the foundation of a strong friendship in a fantasy setting offers plenty of potential. To the movie’s credit, some of that is featured in this animated family flick.
However, the movie also becomes a cluttered ensemble with several other characters joining the quest. The inclusion of these added figures, who stick around throughout the runtime, make the film feel overly crowded. The emotional of core of the picture is the friendship between Raissa and Jo, and it is present in several key scenes.
But their actual character arcs and combined hero’s journey often comes across as just part of a hodgepodge, with the antics of others usually overshadowing their bond. Making matters even worse is the side characters range from one dimensional to downright annoying. That’s especially true with the main side character, Raww, a shapeshifting werewolf like guy who’s perpetually irritating.
He is a generic zany, hip character who feels like he belongs in an early 2000s movie. There’s another issue, too, and that’s in relation to him and the other characters, as well as the pacing of the movie’s story. This is a film that just never stops. Gags are thrown at the audience a mile a minute, characters are hyper-reactive to everything and the film seems to speed through plot points.
The film rarely takes time to just be and allow its characters to process and absorb what’s happening. Even in moments where the characters are taking a break on their quest, the sequences are often frenzied or frantic. That’s not to say the film needed to swing the pendulum to the completely other side and sap all energy, but toning things down and striking a greater balance would have been welcome.
It’s a shame because there are some really good elements in this flick littered throughout. The friendship between these two characters feels authentic and heartfelt. The journey they go on also brings them to rather fascinating places, making for a few exciting set pieces. There’s also a great commitment to embracing Filipino culture.
The voice acting by Wilson and Soberano is quite good, too. There’s an especially great moment late in the film where they really nail the delivery of some emotional dialogue. The picture is also well complimented by its animation. The film’s fantasy world is a beautiful setting, and the animation team did wonderful work with creative creature designs and capturing the mysticism.
At the same time, some of the film’s hyper-activeness seeps into the animation. There are a few moments where the expressions are over-exaggerated. As an anime fan, these are fine sparingly, but “Forgotten Island” ends up overplaying its hand. That’s representative of the movie overall. There are quality aspects, but the film ends up drowning these out with a lack of balance in its humor, character work and storytelling. 2.75 out of 5.
Photo courtesy DreamWorks Animation
