DreamWorks Animation has released the new trailer and poster for Forgotten Island, and the studio’s next original film already looks like a visually rich, emotionally sharp adventure built around friendship, memory, and myth. The story follows lifelong best friends Jo and Raissa, voiced by H.E.R. and Liza Soberano, as one final night together turns into a journey to the magical island of Nakali, a place filled with the mythological creatures they grew up hearing about from their Filipino families. With a premise that mixes fantasy spectacle with the fear of growing apart, Forgotten Island looks ready to hit that sweet spot between crowd-pleasing fun and full emotional damage.
A Friendship Story With Real Stakes
What makes the trailer land is how quickly it establishes the emotional core. Jo and Raissa are not just two heroes thrown into a fantasy world. They are best friends standing at the edge of adulthood, with separate futures already pulling them in different directions. That makes Nakali feel like more than a magical setting. It becomes the place where everything they mean to each other gets tested.
The hook gets even stronger once the cost becomes clear. To make it home, Jo and Raissa risk losing the memories of their entire friendship. That is a brutal emotional engine for a family adventure, and it gives Forgotten Island something heavier and more affecting than a standard portal fantasy. The movie is not just asking whether they can survive the island. It is asking whether they can hold onto each other.
Nakali Looks Like a DreamWorks Playground
The world of Nakali also gives the film a strong visual identity. DreamWorks is filling the island with magical and mythological creatures, some friendly and some absolutely not, which gives the movie plenty of room for wonder, comedy, and chaos. Among them is Raww, a well-meaning weredog voiced by Dave Franco, and The Dreaded Manananggal, voiced by Lea Salonga, who sounds like exactly the kind of larger-than-life threat this story needs.
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That mix of heart and weirdness feels promising, especially with Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado writing and directing. The filmmaking team behind Puss in Boots: The Last Wish knows how to balance emotional stakes with big fantasy energy, and Forgotten Island already looks like it wants to bring that same spark to a completely original story.
The Forgotten Island Cast is Built for Heart and Chaos
The voice cast gives the film even more personality. Alongside H.E.R., Soberano, Franco, and Salonga, the movie also features Jenny Slate, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, and Ronny Chieng. That lineup should help the film swing between warmth, humor, and full-scale animated mayhem without losing sight of the friendship at its center.
DreamWorks has built some of animation’s most memorable duos over the years, and Forgotten Island clearly wants Jo and Raissa to join that conversation. Based on this trailer, it has a strong shot.
Forgotten Island opens only in theaters on September 25, 2026. Audiences will be able to experience DreamWorks Animation’s new original adventure exclusively on the big screen.
Are you sold on Forgotten Island from the trailer alone? Does the friendship angle make this one hit harder for you? Which magical creature are you most excited to meet when the movie hits theaters? Share your thoughts in the comments or @me.
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