“Ohana means family,” a little blue alien named Stitch once said. “Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.”
Now, the term is being used in a similar light with Netflix’s new family film, “Finding ‘Ohana.” It follows two siblings from Brooklyn, Pili and Ioane, who are dragged to rural O’ahu, Hawaii, for their summer vacation as their grandfather attempts to reconnect them to their Hawaiian heritage. When Pili discovers an old pirate’s journal, she sets off with her brother and new friends Casper and Hana to find a hidden treasure that could save their ancestral home from being snatched away.
With the first month of 2021 already filled with an insurrection, an impeachment and a presidential inauguration, a way to take a breather would be to watch “Finding ‘Ohana.” It features mostly up-and-coming stars, with 13-year-old Kea Peahu making her movie debut as Pili. Ryan Higa, a well-known YouTube comedian, is also in the film alongside Marc Evan Jackson of “The Good Place” and former Disney Channel star and singer Ricky Garcia.
Ever since the film was announced, many critics have compared it to a beloved classic, “The Goonies.” It revamped the 1985 poster and even includes Ke Huy Quan, who played Data. Screenwriter Christina Strain told Movie Web she set out to purposely write “a Goonies style movie in Hawaii that was about family, culture, and heritage.”
However, it is evident that the movie will hold its own identity. It showcases the directorial debut of Jude Weng (“Young Sheldon”) and takes on a modern twist with gorgeous Hawaii as a backdrop. It maintains appropriate representation with three of four starring roles being played by Asian and Pacific Islander actors and was written, directed, purchased, and produced by an Asian-American woman.
“This makes me feel like EVERYTHING is possible,” Strain wrote.
Just from the trailer being released, Tom Reimann of “Collider” agreed it will be “charming and fun, aided in no small part by the fact that it takes place in a literal island paradise which is incredibly appealing to someone having spent the past 10 months looking at the same four walls.”
Maui Mayor Mike Victorino shared Reinmann’s excitement, declaring Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, as “Finding ‘Ohana” Day so the world would know the importance of ‘ohana in Hawaii. Actor Branscombe Richmond, who plays Kimo in the movie, received the official certificate from Victorino on Jan. 19, 2021.
“Inclusion will heal the world,” Richmond said. “And I want to say thank you to Netflix which took the opportunity to make the film about island life, about folks in Polynesia, about this wonderful Hawaiian family we have.”
“Finding ‘Ohana” is now streaming on Netflix.
