Forgotten Island

"Forgotten Island" ultimately is the story of longtime besties Jo and Raissa, whose strong bond is tested as forces threaten to pull them apart. With all it has going for it, we easily can forgive a few faults. And "Forgotten Island" may be one of those movies you won't soon forget.

'Forgotten Island' takes a familiar story about friendship, growing up and letting go and gives it a distinctly Filipino flavour. The film does not get everything right, but its humour, imagination and affection for its characters keep it engaging. It is a colourful, unusual adventure with enough personality to keep you hooked.

While "Forgotten Island" is relentless, distractable, and overstuffed to a degree that waters down the simple power of its message (and makes it difficult to understand the basic principles of its plot), none of its lovingly sourced ingredients ever lose the basic essence of their flavor. If the plot of "Forgotten Island" can frequently be too busy in a way that distracts from the purity of its central friendship, the film always holds together — by something more than just centrifugal force — because the bond shared between its co-leads is strong enough to withstand a lot more than that.

Forgotten Island is a rollicking, imaginative adventure... a celebration of friendship, Filipino culture and '80s/'90s American radio. And, as you might guess from such a setup, this terrifically enthralling animated adventure is a wild ride that is absolutely not to be missed.

Forgotten Island with its retro animation inspired by Filipino folk art and the graphic style of the '90s with eye-popping colours, makes you feel as though you are on a sugar rush after a triple shot of espresso. All the weird and wonderful creatures from Filipino folklore lend an endearing freshness to the film, while Jo and Raissa's friendship and shared adventures give the story a solid emotional core.

Frantically and even stroboscopically over-energised, this big new movie from DreamWorks about best friends for ever seems to me another example of exhausting AI-type content production in animation. Forgotten Island is over-controlled and over-determined, a movie that never, or hardly ever, takes its pedal from the metal, never takes a breath or a moment to let its characters come to life.