Forgotten Island arrives for digital purchase and rental on Oct. 27, Universal announced on Tuesday. The animated fantasy won’t reach streaming services for several more months. Its physical release follows just over a month after the digital debut, on Dec. 1.
Critics and audiences responded favorably, but the movie drew little attention during its September 2026 theatrical run. Its current Rotten Tomatoes rating stands at 94%. September’s other releases included Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, Resident Evil, and Primetime. Polygon describes Forgotten Island as the year’s most underrated film and suggests that limited marketing or unfortunate timing might explain its quiet run in theaters. Neither possibility, however, is an established explanation.
The film’s writers and directors are Januel Mercado and Joel Crawford, who also directed 2022’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. At the center of the story are best friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano), whose lives will soon head in separate directions. Their last night together takes them to a mythical island populated by fantastical creatures. Neither can subsequently recall what happened that night.
The friends search for a route home while reconstructing their forgotten adventure. Along the way, they rediscover what makes their friendship so strong.
Forgotten Island’s cast and filmmakers discuss the film
Polygon praises the way Forgotten Island uses its setting, Filipino mythology, and animation. Anime references appear throughout, including a scene in which Raww, the were-dog voiced by Dave Franco, goes full Super Saiyan. As Crawford told Polygon, “It was a really cool opportunity to have a Filipino studio bring their craft and themselves to this story celebrating Filipino culture.”
H.E.R. and Soberano’s Filipino heritage gave their characters’ friendship a sense of authenticity. In a conversation with Polygon about the meaning of the movie’s “Tayo na!” catchphrase, H.E.R. described how their shared background informed the recording process: “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,” she said.
The film’s authenticity, humor, and beautiful animation earn it a place among 2026’s best movies in Polygon’s assessment. Tasha Robinson’s review praises the distinctive treatment the filmmakers bring to familiar themes: “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,” she wrote.
