“Forgotten Island” Review
It seems like every couple of years we get an animated film whose core story is about friendship amongst girls. With films like Turning Red (2022) and Inside Out 2 (2024), Forgotten Island takes its place in the lineup of girl powered friendship. This movie can be described as overstuffed with characters, frenetic, and predictable; it can also be described as visually opulent, bittersweet and wildly imaginative.
Teenagers, Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) are the classic case of opposites attract. Jo is a tomboy who has a knack for getting in trouble and living loudly. Raissa has a knack for academics and flying under the radar. After an incident in class sends them both to the principal’s office, they officially meet for the first time and their unbreakable duo begins. Well…there’s kind of a trio with Lola (Dolly De Leon) Jo’s grandmother who not only stokes their love for movies and folk stories about the island of Nakali, but she also encourages their morale in ways their parents don’t.
The story really takes off when the girls are at a fork in the road of life. Raissa is going to go off to college in the United States, while Jo will stay in the Philippines where they grew up with a seemingly lack of a bright future. So with one last night to create another lasting memory, the girls go out to their favorite spot on the beach only to find the lost island of Nakali.
A candy colored palette paints the entire film and the use of animation is absolutely on display on overdrive. There is so much to take in with every frame of the film. As the girls meet friends, like Raww (Dave Franco), a shapeshifting dog, and enemies like Manang (Lea Salonga) on the island, a Hangover-esque plot unveils. While they try to put the pieces of what happened at the party last night together, they also must wrestle with the possibility of their friendship coming to an end.
Co-writers/directors Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado have crafted a pure film examining friendship and how it has to evolve over time. Drawing on his past as a Filipino American, you can see the love that Mercado has for his roots on the screen. The script is a little aimless at times, like its main character Jo, and has too many characters we’re introduced to that seemed to have gotten stuck somewhere between bit role and main character in the writing process. Yet, at its core, the friendship of Jo and Raissa is something we can all relate to. It’s a timeless story of the struggle of watching your best friend progress, not wanting to get left behind but also not wanting to hold them back. It’s a good time at the movies for any family, or friends.
Rating: B-
"Abominable" Review: Universal Themes Rise Above Predictability
Dreamworks Animation’s latest film, in collaboration with Pearl, is Abominable. It’s not like you haven’t seen this story before, you have. It’s just that you haven’t seen it from the perspective of this group of characters. So while co-directors Jill Culton and Todd Wilderman don’t have an instant classic, the message and themes that the movie puts forth are always a welcomed remembrance.
Abominable starts out with an escape from a fortified lab in China. It’s from the visual perspective of a Yeti we later learn is named Everest (Joseph Izzo). The first person nature of the escape allows the viewer to feel Everest’s distress and anxiety, as well as a sense of safety and protection when he finally finds a hiding spot on the roof of a housing building. It’s the same roof in which Yi (Chloe Bennet), a young girl living with her mother (Michelle Wong) and Nai Nai (Tsai Chin), reside. Having recently lost her father, Yi goes to the roof to escape and connect with him by playing her violin at night.
After the inevitable meeting of Yi and Everest occurs, it’s not soon after that she finds herself on voyage to return Everest home. She’s joined by her neighborhood friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), while being trailed by an old explorer named Burnish (Eddie Izzard) who had hired Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) to capture the Yeti. The resulting race and chase becomes a voyage for all to find themselves and friendship along the way.
The visuals in the film are a statement as to how far we have come with technology, but also reminder of how beautiful our planet is. The Chinese landscapes are jaw-droppingly beautiful as the main characters move through them. Unfortunately, the plot of the film is not always as stunning. The story is predictable in many ways, but still manages to keep its messages clear, universal, and heartwarming.
t’s great to see an animated film that’s entrenched in China. The scenic views, Chinese characters on posters and ads in the neighborhood, and the culture within the film is authentic. I look forward to the day when the language spoken is Chinese and we have to read subtitles, but as my seven year old daughter pointed out “it may not work for kids”. She’s right. Her little brother wouldn’t have been able to keep up, but it would have been awesome to be truly submersed.
In the end, Abominable is a feature in which a young, pure hearted kid wins the affection of a creature. That affection is a connection that transcends predictability and pierces the heart of anyone who knows what it’s like to be an outsider, alone, and/or feeling loss. That’s what makes this film worth a watch!
Rating: B-
"Trolls" Review: A Hairful of Happiness
I was expecting Trolls to be a snooze fest. After all, it’s been quite some time since we’ve heard about trolls. Those of us of a certain age remember playing with or seeing friends play with the long-haired dolls, and the 1992 cartoon. Dreamworks has reignited a franchise in a film that’s filled with humor and a touch of the feels.
Twenty years after her father, King Peppy (Jeffrey Tambor), saved the trolls from being eaten by ogre-like creatures called Bergens, Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) throws a commemorative party. It’s the loudest, happiest party ever, but unfortunately it’s also a calling card for Chef (Christine Baranski), a Bergen who has been searching for them since that date twenty years ago, to receive loud and clear. The Bergens are unhappy creatures, who are convinced the only way to experience happiness is by eating a troll.
With a fanny pack full of trolls, Chef sets off to reclaim her place of respect amongst the Bergens. Poppy, with the help of a surly troll named Branch (Justin Timberlake), pursues Chef in order to free her friends. Along the way they meet a Bergen scullery maid named Bridget (Zooey Deschanel), who they are able to help find happiness in the form of her love for King Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) through song and dance numbers that you can’t help but tap your feet to.
While the set up for Trolls is pretty unoriginal (an overly happy character teams up with an overwhelmingly unhappy character to accomplish a task), Kendrick and Timberlake make for a great duo. Their chemistry makes for an enjoyable ride. Writers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger draw up a world that is over the top infused with color and glitter, light hearted, and yet somehow grounded in a reality that’s emotionally tangible even for it’s youngest viewers.
Trolls has a clear message that anyone can be happy. Between its soundtrack and jokes, the film is guaranteed to make you leave the theater with a little bit of happiness in your pocket. So parents, don’t be surprised if trolls make an appearance in your home pretty soon. In fact, your old trolls stored away from long ago may make you cool this weekend!
Rating: B