'Forgotten Island': Filipino Mythology Meets Friendship Tale — SkimNews
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- 'Forgotten Island' is Universal's animated adventure co-directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado (the duo behind 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish'), making it the second of at least five 2025 films built around a magic-portal plot.
- H.E.R. and Liza Soberano voice Filipino classmates Jo and Raissa, who are transported to the real island of Nakali via a magical sand dollar, where they encounter a were-aspin (a dog-human hybrid from Filipino folklore) and other creatures from the country's mythology.
- The supporting voice cast includes Dave Franco as Raww the were-aspin, Jenny Slate as the catlike Batiba, Manny Jacinto as a literal baby demon, Kevin McCann as narcissistic merman Mermahn, Ronny Chieng as cuddly Duwende king Truffle Wuffle, and Lea Salonga as the fearsome vampire-like Manang.
- Despite its PG rating, the film includes gross-out humor (a gastrointestinal episode dubbed 'fire-rrhea,' rendered in anime-style 2D) and a genuinely terrifying antagonist in Manang — the review flags this for parents of younger viewers.
- The film is frontloaded with '80s and '90s songs, most crucially INXS's 'Never Tear Us Apart,' paired with a score by Nathan Matthew David, while the visual world blends digital precision with hand-sketched details inspired by three-color comic-book printing.
- The review praises the density of Filipino cultural reference — Raww is modeled on free-ranging Filipino street dogs, and creatures like Manang and Mermahn draw directly from the archipelago's folklore — as the element that distinguishes this from other portal-driven animated films this year.
Why it matters: For Universal and its 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' directing duo, 'Forgotten Island' stakes out an underserved niche by centering Filipino mythology rather than the European or East Asian folklore that dominates the animated space. A wide theatrical audience depends on whether PG-rated parents embrace — or shy from — a film the review calls genuinely scary in places despite its kid-friendly trappings.
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