Follow
Link copied to clipboard
Austin Manchester is a writer and editor living in New York City. At Polygon, he covers gaming and entertainment news, reviews new video games, interviews behind-the-scenes talent, and more. He enjoys discovering hidden gems and sharing them with Polygon's audience. Previously, he was the gaming editor for AIPT Comics and has written for other outlets like XDA, How-To Geek, and The List.
He enjoys soulslikes, character-driven RPGs, and third-person shooters plucked straight out of the Xbox 360 era. He also likes to flex his non-video game nerdy knowledge sometimes, whether that's explaining who's who in the new Wolverine game or recommending a comic book series about a sentient sword.
WAPOOSH! You can watch Forgotten Island at home next week
Sign in to your Polygon.com account
A bevy of must-watch movies came out in September, like Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, Resident Evil, and Primetime. The animated fantasy film Forgotten Island mostly slipped through the cracks, failing to make much of a splash at the box office despite a wave of positive critical and audience reviews. (It currently has a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.)
Whether it wasn't marketed much or just had bad timing, Forgotten Island has largely come and gone from theaters unnoticed. But, starting next week, you can check out the most underrated film of the year from the comfort of your couch.
On Tuesday, Universal announced Forgotten Island will be available to rent and purchase digitally starting Oct. 27, months before it hits streaming services. Its physical editions will be released just over a month later on Dec. 1.
From writer-directors Januel Mercado and Joel Crawford, who also directed 2022's Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Forgotten Island is about best friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) on their last night together before their lives take them in different directions. They get swept away to a mythical island filled with fantastical creatures, but can't remember the night they spent there. They then search for a way home and piece together the events of their adventure-filled night while being reminded of why their friendship is so strong.
Forgotten Island's cast and crew go behind the scenes
Forgotten Island takes full advantage of its setting, Filipino mythology, and its medium. It's full of anime references, like a scene where Dave Franco's Raww goes full Super Saiyan. "It was a really cool opportunity to have a Filipino studio bring their craft and themselves to this story celebrating Filipino culture," Crawford told Polygon.
Stars H.E.R. and Soberano's Filipino heritage helped them make their characters' relationship feel authentic. "It was just so organic, especially because we're both Filipino. We've been talking so much about how when you meet another Filipino, immediately you're like family. […] You relate to each other, and it's like a safe space. We experienced that recording together," H.E.R. said to Polygon while breaking down what the film's "Tayo na!" catch phrase means.
With its authenticity, comedy, and beautiful animation, Forgotten Island is easily one of 2026's best movies. "Forgotten Island plays with ideas that have been brought to the screen over and over, about how the official transition from childhood to adulthood is scary and melancholy as well as exciting, and how relationships are built on shared memories. But the creators put their own unmistakable stamp on those ideas. It seems uniquely appropriate for a movie built around the importance of memories to be this memorable itself," Polygon's Tasha Robinson wrote in her review.