Movie Review: Forgotten Island

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

A very pleasant surprise.

In this movie two girls dream about going to the mystical world of Nakali as little kids. With this dream the two become incredibly close friends. As they grow up and are about to head for college, they are going to have to part for the first time since their friendship started. Before this can happen though they finally find the mystical world.

After the previews, I had little hope for this movie. I thought it simply looked obnoxious and annoying. What I did not expect is that this film would have such a strong emotional core. I grew to really care about these two girls and their friendship. Both of these characters are completely realized and quite well thought out on their own. However together is when the really shine. Each brings out something in the other, making the other feel more whole and complete. Because of this, we can see how these two were meant to be best friends even if on the surface they seem quite different. As their friendship is put to the ultimate test here, the emotional stakes become quite high. There are some very emotional moments here that quite moved me. 

The humor is very hit and miss for me though. The character-based humor probably hits the best. This is why the early scenes in the real world are funnier than when they actually reach the magical world. Watching these two play off each other is a lot of fun. Jo's wild antics and her school performances having splash zones is hilarious. However, once they reach the fantasy world the humor becomes less about the characters and more about the absurdity of the setting. This is decidedly less funny. The humor can feel random for the point of being random. The delivery of this humor is not much better. It is so fast paced and loud that it can come off as kind of obnoxious (in the way I feared this whole movie would be). 

Despite some weak humor, this film hits very hard emotionally.