DreamWorks Animation officially announced the film in April 2025, with Crawford and Mercado attached to write and direct. They drew inspiration from their friendship and Philippine mythology. Initial members of the cast were announced in October 2025, with further casting later confirmed the following March.
Following early "work-in-progress" screenings at the 2026 CinemaCon and at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Forgotten Island was theatrically released in the United States on September 25, 2026, by Universal Pictures. The film received critical acclaim for its visuals and cultural representation, with some calling it one of DreamWorks Animation's best films. It has grossed $61 million worldwide against an $80 million budget.
Plot
In the Philippines during the 1990s, Jo Yuson presents a story to her class about the island of Nakali (short for "nakalimutan", meaning "forgotten" in Tagalog) and the dreaded manananggal. When her classmate Reynaldo mocks her, Jo attacks him and is sent to the principal's office, where she meets Raissa Molina, another classmate who had defended her. Jo invites Raissa to a sleepover with her grandmother, Fatima, who tells them about her travels to Nakali. The girls become best friends, making matching charm bracelets that represent significant moments in their friendship. Fatima later dies of old age, leaving Jo heartbroken.
After graduating high school, Raissa reveals that she is attending Caltech in the United States, disappointing Jo, who is trying to make ends meet by working at a fast food restaurant. At Raissa's farewell party, Jo overhears Raissa's mother expressing disapproval over their friendship. Jo and Raissa sneak out to the beach, where Jo discovers a magical sand dollar that serves as a portal to Nakali. Despite Raissa's hesitation, they enter together, awakening the next morning with no memory of the previous night. Raissa discovers half of her head shaved and that she has grown wings belonging to Manang, a Manananggal who attacks them. They escape with help from Batiba, a batibat who offers to send them home in exchange for their bracelets and the memories attached to them, as she perpetually stays in her cave and lives vicariously through the memories of others due to her agoraphobia. The girls refuse and flee with Raww, a were-aspin who claims to have hung out with them the previous night and becomes their guide.
At a market, the trio meet Bungi, a tiyanak who tells them that the "Jewel of the Sea" they seek was stolen by a duwende king. Their search leads them to Mermahn, a kataw who claims the sand dollar is in his kingdom. Feeling excluded, Raww lashes out until Jo reassures him and shares her fear of being abandoned by Raissa. Following Raww's suggestion, Jo takes them to Kapre Village, where they learn that they had previously saved the villagers from Manang, after which Raissa stole her wings. Manang attacks again, separating Bungi from the group. After escaping, the group learns that Mermahn lied about the sand dollar, while Raww reveals that he works for Batiba, who is actually a demon. He also admits that he had lured Jo and Raissa to Batiba the previous night, after which they relinquished their memories of their time in Nakali.
Batiba recaptures them and restores their memories, revealing that Jo, afraid of losing Raissa, had hidden the sand dollar after Batiba gave it to them to prevent them from being able to return home. Furious, Raissa reveals that she herself disapproves of Jo, and leaves to retrieve the sand dollar, ending their friendship. Manang attacks Raissa and reclaims her wings, but Raissa informs her that Batiba has stolen from her. Jo then reveals that she offered Batiba her memories of their friendship in exchange for saving Raissa. Raissa is sent back to the Philippines, while Jo stays behind. Back on the beach, a remorseful Raissa adds a leftover firecracker to her bracelet, sending her back to Nakali. Reconciling with Raww, she enters Jo's fading memories and admits how much their friendship shaped who she is, reconciling with her. Manang arrives, and Jo and Raissa, aided by Raww, Bungi, and Mermahn, attempt to fight her, but Batiba, finally understanding the value of memories, willingly returns Manang's stolen memories, causing Manang to become docile. Jo finally accepts Raissa's decision to attend college overseas, and the girls head home while Batiba finally goes outside.
A few years later, Jo visits Raissa at Caltech to promote a book she has published based on their adventures. Before Jo heads on another flight, the two use their bracelets to reopen the portal so they can visit Nakali once more.
Voice cast
H.E.R. as Josephine "Jo" Yuson, Raissa's rowdy and rebellious best friend and a gifted comic-book artist
Kailey Crawford as young Jo
Liza Soberano as Raissa Molina, Jo's ambitious and intelligent best friend who is initially set to leave her home in favor of attending Caltech
Kayla Teruel as young Raissa
Dave Franco as Raww, a well-meaning but unlucky were-dog. According to Crawford, Raww is centuries-old being who is the only were-dog in Nakali. He had never had a connection prior to Jo and Raissa's arrival. The character is also alternatively characterized as a "were-aspin".
Kevin McCann as Mermahn, Prince of the Kataw and the Jewel of the Sea
Additional cast members include Amielynn Abellera as Jane Molina, Raissa's mother, the film's co-director Januel Mercado as Manny Molina, Raissa's father and Mermahn's dried up self, Eugene Cordero as Mr. Lopez, Jo and Raissa's schoolteacher, Tania Gunadi as Zippy, a potion fairy, Eric Bauza as Button Wutton, General of the Duwende under Truffle Wuffle, and Nico Santos as Mermahn's Starfish Pasties. Harvey Guillén, Wagner Moura, and Sophia Laforteza of Katseye all have voice cameos in the film. Guillén and Moura previously appeared in Crawford's previous film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).
In April 2025, DreamWorks Animation announced that an original animated adventure comedy film inspired by Philippine mythology, titled Forgotten Island, was in development, with Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado signed to direct. Crawford and Mercado, who had worked together at the studio since Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), drew inspiration from their friendship.
Crawford and Mercado had H.E.R. in mind from the beginning for the role of Jo noting her previous work on a video for Vogue Philippines. The directors found her persona to be "cool" for her tendency to wear sunglasses while noting her bubbly demeanor when talking about Filipino food which led the duo to find H.E.R. suitable for the role of Jo. Meanwhile, Soberano, originally auditioned for the role of Jo but was invited back to try for the role of Raissa instead. Crawford and Mercado found Soberano was able to bring humor and emotion to Raissa's character. Some of Soberano's audition lines made to the final film. Salonga and de Leon were approached by the production team for their roles.
Animation and design
The film's animation style is similar to that of DreamWorks' previous film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022), also directed by Crawford. Mercado and Crawford stated that the visual style was inspired by Filipino art and 1990s graphic design. The animation style varies throughout the film, periodically shifting from its primary contemporary computer-generated animation to anime-influenced 2D animation. These stylized 2D sequences are used during flashbacks, referencing the style of anime series such as Dragon Ball Z, Street Fighter, and Sailor Moon, depending on which character recalls a memory. These sequences were animated by Manila-based studio Snipple Animation, reflecting the history of Philippine studios working on outsourced anime series. At the film's Annecy presentation, the filmmakers highlighted the contributions of these Filipino animators, noting that the local culture served as the project's foundation rather than a mere influence. Sony Pictures Imageworks also assisted on the animation in some shots throughout the film.
Music
Forgotten Island (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
The soundtrack album was released digitally by Universal's Back Lot Music label on September 18, 2026, ahead of the film's release date. It features performances by local Filipino acts Bini, Lea Salonga, SB19, Francis Magalona, Katseye's Sophia Laforteza, Ruby Ibarra and Carl Angelo, in addition to leads H.E.R. and Liza Soberano.
The first trailer was released on March 25, 2026. On July 24, members of the cast took part in the 2026 San Diego Comic-Con to promote the film. They were joined by Bini, who performed one of the film's songs, titled "A Parallel World".
Jollibee collaborated with DreamWorks and released food offerings tied to Forgotten Island in the Philippines.
Release
Forgotten Island was released in the United States on September 25, 2026. A work-in-progress cut was screened at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on April 15, 2026, and at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France on June 24, receiving a five-minute standing ovation at the latter festival.
The film was released with limited direct competition, with the animated film The Cat in the Hat set to premiere in November.
Home media
Forgotten Island will be released on digital download on October 27, 2026.
Reception
Box office
As of October18,2026[update], Forgotten Island has grossed $35million in the United States and Canada, and $25million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $61million.
In the United States and Canada, Forgotten Island was released alongside Primetime, Heart of the Beast, and Avengers Endgame: Encore, and was projected to gross $15–17 million from 3,548 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $4.3 million on its opening day, and went on to debut to $12.8 million, finishing in fifth place. The film finished in sixth place in the next two weekends, grossing $7.2 million and $4.3 million, respectively. The FranchiseRe newsletter using the $14.6 million as the reference point, noted that Forgotten Island had a weaker than average opening gross for an original animated film from a major studio.
In the Philippines, Forgotten Island started strong with a ₱97.2 million box office gross on its opening weekend which marked as the best performing non-franchise DreamWorks Animation film of all time in the country.
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of 121 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10.The website's consensus reads: "A candy-colored ode to friendship and Filipino folklore, Forgotten Island bursts at the seams with imagination while never losing sight of the compelling relationship at its core."Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while 83% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend it.
Matt Goldberg of TheWrap gave the film a three-and-a-half out of five rating and wrote, "With influences ranging from The Hangover to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the DreamWorks animated feature is admirably ambitious." Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film three-and-a-half out of four rating and says: "The movie is so imaginative, energetic, and sincere that it should be fun for just about everyone."
