DreamWorks is dropping Forgotten Island this September 25, and honestly—it feels different in the best way. Yeah, they’ve given us iconic friendships before with How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek, and The Wild Robot, but this one hits closer to home, especially if you grew up around Filipino stories.
At the center are Jo and Raissa, voiced by H.E.R. and Liza Soberano—two best friends about to go their separate ways after high school. That “last night together” feeling? Bittersweet already. But then things take a wild turn when they end up on this magical island called Nakali, packed with creatures straight out of Filipino folklore.
And that’s really what makes this stand out. This isn’t just fantasy for the sake of it—these are the kinds of stories you hear growing up. The scary ones, the weird ones, the ones your family casually drops like they’re normal. Seeing something like the manananggal (voiced by Lea Salonga, which is perfect) in a big DreamWorks film? That’s kind of surreal—in a good way.
It also helps that there’s real Filipino representation behind and in front of the scenes. Co-directed by Januel Mercado, and featuring talents like Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, and Ronny Chieng, it doesn’t feel like Filipino culture is just being “used”—it actually feels part of the story.
At the end of the day, Forgotten Island still looks like a fun, emotional ride about friendship. But there’s something extra here. It feels like those childhood stories—yung mga kwento ng lola—are finally getting their moment on a global stage.
And yeah… that alone makes it worth watching!