DreamWorks’ ‘Forgotten Island’ Release Date, Cast, and Plot Details Ahead of Its Theatrical Debut

DreamWorks Animation is preparing to send audiences to an entirely new world this fall, and ‘Forgotten Island’ has quickly become one of the studio’s most talked about original projects in years. The film marks a departure from established franchises, pairing two rising directors with a story rooted in Filipino mythology and friendship.

With the theatrical release now just weeks away, fans searching for concrete information on when to see it, who voices its characters, and what the story actually involves finally have answers pulled directly from studio materials, trade coverage, and early festival reactions.

‘Forgotten Island’ Release Date and Showtimes

‘Forgotten Island’ is scheduled to open in United States theaters on September 25, 2026, with the studio confirming preview screenings the night before on September 24. The film comes from DreamWorks Animation and is being distributed theatrically by Universal Pictures.

The project was first announced by the studio back in April 2025, giving the filmmakers roughly a year and a half of promotional runway before release. Notably, ‘Forgotten Island’ is set to be DreamWorks Animation’s 50th animated feature film, a milestone that has added extra attention to its rollout.

Running time listings have varied slightly depending on the outlet, with some citing a runtime of 108 minutes and others listing it as one hour and 49 minutes, a difference that likely reflects rounding rather than any actual cut change. Either way, moviegoers should expect a standard feature length appropriate for a family adventure film.

Ahead of the wide release, the film also received early promotional pushes at major industry events, including a work in progress screening at CinemaCon and a more developed presentation at the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, both of which helped build word of mouth well before the September date.

The Voice Cast Behind ‘Forgotten Island’

The film centers on two lead performances, with H.E.R. voicing Jo and Liza Soberano voicing her best friend Raissa. Around them is a supporting ensemble that blends established comedic voices with award winning dramatic performers.

The wider cast includes Dave Franco as Raww, Manny Jacinto as Bungi, Jenny Slate as Batiba, and Lea Salonga as The Dreaded Manananggal, a central antagonist figure drawn from Filipino folklore. Salonga’s casting has drawn particular attention given her stature as a Tony winning performer with deep roots in musical theater.

Additional casting news arrived later in the production cycle, when the studio confirmed in March 2026 that Jo Koy, Dolly de Leon, Ronny Chieng, and Amielynn Abellera had joined the cast. That group brings its own range of recognition, from Dolly de Leon’s BAFTA nominated work in ‘Triangle of Sadness’ and ‘Ghostlight’ to Ronny Chieng’s Emmy winning run on ‘The Daily Show’.

Behind the camera, ‘Forgotten Island’ is written and directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado, with Mark Swift producing. For Crawford specifically, this marks his third directing credit for DreamWorks Animation, following ‘The Croods: A New Age’ and ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,’ and the first of the three that is not a sequel to an existing DreamWorks franchise.

What ‘Forgotten Island’ Is About

The story follows Jo and Raissa, described as lifelong best friends who are celebrating their last night together as high school graduates when they stumble upon a mysterious portal. That portal transports them to the fantastical world of Nakali, an island built around figures and creatures pulled from Filipino mythology.

Once there, the pair discovers that the memories of their entire friendship are the price required to return home, setting up a race against time that doubles as an emotional reckoning with growing apart. Along the way they are joined by allies including the well meaning but hapless weredog Raww, while facing off against the island’s most feared resident.

The setting draws heavily on the personal backgrounds of its directors, with the studio noting that Crawford and Mercado built the world around their own friendship and elements of Philippine mythology. According to festival programming notes, the pair spent nearly six years fine tuning and crafting the story before it reached screens.

Reflecting on the film’s themes, co-director Januel Mercado offered a line that has been picked up in coverage of the project, describing the idea that people are not so much getting older as they have simply “been younger, longer,” a sentiment that reviewers have connected directly to the film’s focus on memory and friendship.

The ‘Forgotten Island’ Trailer and Early Reactions

DreamWorks released its first teaser for ‘Forgotten Island’ months ahead of release, introducing Jo and Raissa as two lifelong friends who grew up together in the 1990s in the Philippines. A more detailed second trailer followed later, expanding on the film’s world building and supporting characters.

Speaking about the choice to keep that first teaser light on plot details, director Joel Crawford explained the reasoning directly to Cartoon Brew, saying the team wanted the footage to prioritize feeling over exposition. He noted the goal was making sure the trailer highlighted the emotional stakes of the central friendship rather than spelling out the mechanics of the plot.

Early reactions to the finished film have been notably strong. Following its Annecy screening, the response reportedly included more than five minutes of sustained applause, cheers, and tears from the audience, with one trade outlet calling it one of the biggest success stories of the entire festival.

That enthusiasm carried over into early press coverage following the CinemaCon preview as well. TheWrap described the work in progress footage as bold and dazzling, framing ‘Forgotten Island’ as representative of the more experimental direction DreamWorks Animation has taken in recent years following films like ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ and ‘The Wild Robot.’

With festival buzz building and a wide theatrical release now set for late September, ‘Forgotten Island’ looks positioned to be one of the more distinct original animated films of the year. What do you make of DreamWorks leaning so heavily into Filipino mythology for Jo and Raissa’s journey through Nakali?