Forgotten Island (PG) – 109 minutes

Featuring superb, vibrant animation and a compelling, up-tempo soundtrack, Forgotten Island presents a fresh, rich, dynamic and subversive story about friendship.

Young Jo doesn’t run with the pack. She likes telling scary stories, just like her beloved grandmother, with whom she lives. 

Jo’s favourite concerns the threats that await on the island of Nakali, which is populated by magical and mythical creatures.

Having just transferred to a new school, Jo is sent to the principal’s office for taking things too far.

There she is joined by brainiac Raissa, who has defended her.

The two become inseparable besties, who have enormous fun together, especially when they are breaking the rules. 

Upon graduation, that is set to change when Raissa is headed away to California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Jo doesn’t want her to leave.

Suddenly, on the eve of her departure, the pair is thrust into an unlikely adventure when a mysterious portal transports them to Nakali.

There they encounter a series of colourful characters – friends and foes, some not so trustworthy.

The most ferocious is The Dreaded Manananggal, who is gunning for the pair.

Still, Raissa is desperate to lay her hands on the key that will transport her back from whence they came, in time to catch her flight to Caltech.

Forgotten Island concerns itself with memories and the bond these can create.

The origins of the story are Filipino folklore.

At the centre of that mythology is the Aswang, shapeshifting supernatural beings rarely represented in mainstream animation.

Capitalising upon that makes for compelling filmmaking. Plaudits to writers/directors Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado.

The series of characters to whom we are introduced are all flawed and the screenplay exploits that.

Forgotten Island has a really bright look to it and the narrative is action packed.

There is an enormous amount of colour and movement built in. Quite stunning actually.

The voice talent, that includes Dave Franco as a well-meaning but hapless werewolf called Raww, does a fine job. 

I loved the familiar pop tunes and the irreverent humour that are so much a part of Forgotten Island.

My only reservation is the running time. It felt long at 109 minutes, so I would have liked to have seen it cut back to 90 or 95.

It has a few scary scenes, which give it a PG rating, so not one for small children.

However, it should go down well with an audience drawn from young secondary school students and those who appreciate good animation.

It scores a 7½ out of 10.