2026 is shaping up to be a big year for animated movies. This spring, viewers were treated to hits Hoppers and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (the latter of which quickly became the year’s highest-grossing title so far), and the summer sees the premieres of Toy Story 5 and Minions & Monsters (which are both realistic candidates to join the $1 billion club). There are even more intriguing titles on the horizon later this year, including a new Cat in the Hat and the original Disney film Hexed, but animation fans shouldn’t let DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island slip under their radars. There’s still a handful of months to go before it releases, but it’s already generating strong buzz.
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On Wednesday, April 15th, an unfinished cut of Forgotten Island was screened at CinemaCon. Based on the early reactions, it sounds like DreamWorks has a winner on their hands. Take a look at some of the responses in the space below:
Forgotten Island Could Be the Next DreamWorks Animation Classic
DreamWorks has been making animated features since the late ’90s, and during that time, they’ve released some wildly successful films, including the Shrek franchise, the Kung Fu Panda series, and the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy. In addition to being commercial hits, some of DreamWorks’ projects have gone on to receive widespread critical praise. In its history, DreamWorks has been nominated 15 times in the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars, winning twice. The Wild Robot was the most recent DreamWorks movie to receive that nod, winning people over with its gorgeous visuals and poignant narrative. Forgotten Island seems like it could join that esteemed list.
DreamWorks and distributor Universal had to be supremely confident in Forgotten Island to do something like this at CinemaCon. Not only did they show an unfinished version of the film to attendees, they lifted the social media embargo. There’s a world where the screening went poorly and bad word of mouth sunk Forgotten Island‘s chances. Fortunately, that didn’t happen here. The film went over very well, earning praise for its emotional tale about friendship. The story revolves around Jo and Raissa, whose close bond is threatened when Raissa prepares to move from the Philippines to the United States. They’re mysteriously transported to the island of Nakali, where they embark on a fantastical journey together.
In the reactions, Forgotten Island drew multiple comparisons to The Hangover (with a family-friendly spin, of course), implying there’s a great deal of humor to complement the raw human emotions at the center of the narrative. Considering those parallels are as prominent as the reactions indicate, part of the plot will probably involve Jo and Raissa attempting to figure out how they ended up on the island, retracing their steps along the way. The high concept is being used as a springboard to explore themes of friendship and memory, extremely relatable topics that should resonate with viewers. Most everyone has been in a situation where they’ve feared saying goodbye to a long-time friend.
It’s unlikely Forgotten Island will end the year as the highest-grossing animated movie, but assuming the full reviews are as positive as these social media posts, it should do very well for itself. Forgotten Island is scheduled to come out in late September, where it won’t be facing much competition for its target demographic. Enthusiastic word of mouth could spark a strong box office run, which will ideally parlay into an Oscars campaign. There’s bound to be many strong contenders for Best Animated Feature this year, but Forgotten Island could be the one to beat.
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Image Courtesy of Netflix -
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