IR Film Review: FORGOTTEN ISLAND [Dreamworks/Universal]

“Forgotten Island” like some of Dreamworks Animation’s recent non-franchise endeavors in that it has a neat story and fantastic possibility. "The Wild Robot" was something completely different. "Forgotten Island" is a more fringe version of something like "Onward". It mixes different animation styles and places the film in an interesting offshore spot which is likely Indonesia or the Philippines. Directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado who directed "Puss In Boots: The Laast Wish" tell the story of Jo and Raissa, two kids that find each other when both are out on the outskirts in middle school. Jo is raised by her grandmother who tells them stories of a lost island she visited but never could get back too. The movie keeps making references to these girls through to their teenage years listening to Journey and 80s tunes with Gramma Lola while doing karoake and causing mischief. The progression is fun and fluid but doesn’t really connect to the demo that would be coming to see this. A lot of the jokes (especially one that happens towards the end that references a slap) are a little more adult and do border on cringe though they do have an edge.

The mythology involving a memory demon and making people forget obviously harks back to Peter Pan but makes it its own. The ancillary characters like a baby demon, mushroom warriors that want to murder but look cute, a merman who shrivels into a mummy and a winged female demon that splits in two are just some of the out there concepts. Dave Franco plays a shape-shifting dog that is both empathetic but also skirts the line of correctness as well. The girls (played by H.E.R. and Liza Soberano) don’t pull punches and literally lose their minds in a way. The conceptual build of memory erasure towards the end moves like the cool ending of "Thunderbolts" did. "Forgotten Island" takes a lot from different places but makes it its own with a cool mishmash of styles, jokes and q tone that might be too scary for some children and go over other's heads. It is a pretty cool and interesting swing which actually would make a great midnight movie at times but as a mainstream animation release is an interesting creation (but might not work in that context). It is a beautifully intricate experiment but not sure it will reflect in box office. That said it is a ride. 88%/B+

By Tim Wassberg