Forgotten Island Review

I watched the movie Forgotten Island in theaters recently, a Dreamworks original made by the same team as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. The trailers were not particularly good but I gave it a chance because it got 95% on RottenTomatoes from critics and audiences alike, I liked the creative team, it is on track to be a box office flop and I like supporting original movies, and, yes, all the furries on my timeline were simping over one of the characters.

The story follows troublemaking best friends since childhood Jo and Raissa, whose friendship is threatened with Raissa going to college in the US. On their last night together before Raissa's plane leaves, they find a portal to the Forgotten Island, a legendary land from the stories told by Jo's grandmother. On the other side they wake up on the island without the portal key and no memory of the night before and must find out what happened to get home.

The friendship between the two main characters carries the movie with a beautiful emotional core. The animation is lovely, very colorful and saturated, giving the movie a dreamy surreal feeling with a brilliant mix of styles and clear influences from both Western and Eastern animation. The side characters fit the surreal environment well while still being funny and having some depth. The soundtrack of 80s and 90s music fits well. The story is entertaining, but is too fast paced and busy in a way I've noticed with lots of modern movies trying to keep people from looking at their phones. As a result some of the story beats and comedic timing suffers from not having space to breath. But overall it's a great movie and I hope more people see it and turn it into a success.