Friends Travel to FORGOTTEN ISLAND

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Coming to theatres this Friday, from writers/directors Joel Crawford, Januel Mercado, DreamWorks and Universal Pictures bring the story of friendship that faces a challenge on FORGOTTEN ISLAND.

In the Philippines, a very young Jo (H.E.R.) is in class, telling the story of the forgotten island of Nakalimutan, or Nakali for short. To get her point across, she invokes the bloody story of Manananggal, which doesn't go over very well. Landing her to wait for the principal, she is joined by a very young Raissa (Liza Soberano) who the same teacher sent for defending Jo's position. Discussing their reasons with each other, it becomes very clear that these two were fated to be best friends.

Jo is a talented artist, and Rais is a brainiac, yet the two get along famously. Every adventure they go on adds to the bracelets they both wear. Rais also spends a lot of time listening to more stories of the forgotten island from Jo's grandmother, Lola (Dolly de Leon), who has actually been there through a magical portal! Their goal? They both want to find the island too.

As the years go by, Jo is finding her way while Rais has found her direction – and it's off to America to attend Caltech. Celebrating their last night together, the shell they had been looking for appears, taking them away to the forgotten island. They wake up on the shore of the island and meet Raww (Dave Franco), who agrees to act as their tour guide because the girls don't remember much of the prior night. Raww takes them to see Batiba (Jenny Slate) to help get their memories back, but it comes at a price.

On their journey to remember and find the missing portal key, Jo and Rais meet Tiyanak (Manny Jacino) the extremely large demon baby, Datu (Jo Koy), King of the Duwende Truffle Wuffle (Ronny Chieng), and Mermahn (Kevin McCann), the outrageous, well, Mermahn. The creature they are running from is the dreaded and feared Manananggal Manang (Lea Salonga). The goal is to get back home for Jo and Rais, but something wonderful happens along the way, and it's something neither will ever forget.

H.E.R. and Soberano as Jo and Rais are everything one would want in a childhood best friend. They may have different areas of interest, but that doesn't stop them from finding common ground. So much so that they are practically joined at the hip, and best friends wouldn't want it any other way. Like sisters, there are moments of tension, but it doesn't diminish the love they have for one another. They learn misunderstandings hurt, but a hug can heal so much in the heart. I just loved watching these two characters go through their journey, and it is H.E.R. and Soberano that kept my attention on the screen from start to finish.

Franco as Raww is hilarious, especially when his character sees a stick because, for anyone with a dog, we know it's true. He is charming, strange, and full of twists and turns, but lovable to the end. Jacino as Datu cracked me up so much, becoming part of the band of misfits. McCann as Mermahn just shot out of nowhere in the film and made himself right at home with the gang. He is colorful, emotional, and an all-around good friend to have. Salonga as Manang is the creature the whole island fears, and with good reason. Shout out to Koy at Datu; I recognized his voice immediately, as well as his tone of humor.

The film is set in the 1990s, which offers up the use of some pretty awesome music that will have some in the audience singing along rather quickly. This is the first animated film based on Philippine mythology, bringing the culture of family and traditions to the screen. The mixture of animation techniques (shifting from computer-generated to anime animation) adds so much more fun to the story from Jo's side of the talented duo. Those techniques were inspired by Filipino art and graphic style.

FORGOTTEN ISLAND comes in at one hundred and eight minutes of fun, laughs, action, color, friendship, mythology, and the wide human scope of love with all the problems that come with it. Generations in the family will find something heartwarming in this film. There is humor for all ages as well, which makes this a perfect family film to see from grandparents down to grandkids. It is films like this that allow families to come together, have a good time, and learn about another culture and its own mythology.

The film is beautifully done, exceptional in the animation, wonderful in the choice of cast, and when you mix that all together, FORGOTTEN ISLAND won't be forgotten any time soon.

In the end – no memory left behind!