“Forgotten Island,” written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, is the newest animated film to be produced by DreamWorks Animation. Famous for iconic films such as “Shrek,” “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Kung Fu Panda,” the minds at DreamWorks have cemented the company as one of the most influential and profitable animation companies in existence.
In April 2025, many film critics and casual moviegoers were excited to hear that DreamWorks would soon begin production on an animated film set in the Philippines with many story aspects based on Filipino folklore. Released in September of 2026, “Forgotten Island” is the first animated film from a major Hollywood studio to predominantly feature Filipino culture.
In an article for Refinery29, Filipina writer Bernice Corral describes how it was “comforting to finally see parts of myself reflected on screen in a way I never got to experience growing up.”
Sentiments such as these have been shared by countless individuals of Filipino descent around the world. Because of this, “Forgotten Island” quickly rose to the top of the box office in the Philippines during its opening weekend.
Not only has this film been celebrated for its respectful and accurate representations of Filipino culture, but it has also received high praise from critics. “Forgotten Island” is currently standing at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes’“Tomatometer” and a 7.8 out of 10 on IMDb.
“The movie is so imaginative, energetic, and sincere that it should be fun for just about everyone,” said film critic Matt Zoller Seitz.
Despite all the praise that has been sung about “Forgotten Island,” the film is currently struggling at the box office. As of Sept. 28, three days after its release, the movie has only grossed around $23 million. The film’s budget was $80 million.
Due to this lackluster opening weekend, fans of “Forgotten Island” are attempting to improve the film’s revenue by encouraging others to see it in theaters. This “word of mouth” strategy was used to exponentially boost the box office performance of Crawford and Mercado’s previous DreamWorks film, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”.
Despite this film originally having a similarly unprofitable opening weekend, its critical success allowed it to gross around 35% more during its second weekend in theaters. If this strategy prevails once more, it will illustrate to the film industry that cultural representation in animated films is not less profitable and is worth the investment.
