yes, basically

I have not seen this movie nor will i see this movie, I was born & raised in Hawaii & was fortunate enough to grow up around native Hawaiian culture. So let me explain how casting a white actress as Nani then putting her in brown face is not the only thing they did wrong w her character, it is definitely the worst thing they did but it isn't the only thing they did

To have Nani pursue marine science... isn't necessarily a bad thing if it was what she wanted in the original but her actual dream in the original movie was to b a professional surfer. She has surfing trophies in her room in the original movie!

surfing holds an extremely important role in Hawaiian culture its not simply a sport or past time. Surfing has roots of hundreds of years in Polynesia as a whole & in Hawaii specifically. In tht tradition u don't simply buy a board: u make it. You have to find a tree tht u feel is ur board & u make ur board yourself, that's without even mentioning tht these boards were often made from a tree considered sacred in Hawaiian cosmology

It was a native Hawaiian man, Duke Kahanamoku, who brought surfing to the world & dreamed of it becoming an Olympic sport. He's the reason Australians even know what surfing is much less how to surf. Tht board tht life guards have at beaches exists because Duke once saved every man from a sinking vessel with his surf board alone when the actual life guards had no way of getting out to the wreck bc of waves. The most prestigious surfing event is an invitation only event named for & honoring another native Hawaiian man, Eddie Aikau, who was both a phenomenal surfer & legendary life guard. There's a saying in Hawaii "Eddie would go" bc he would go out in the worst & most extreme conditions in his duty as a life guard when his fellow life guards wouldn't. To remove Nani from tht heritage not just by casting a white woman in brown face but abandoning her connection to surfing compounds the disrespect native Hawaii is put thru in this remake especially when the original movie was so respectful & caring of the native Hawaiian culture

A movie abt fucking surfing penguins is more respectful of surfing than this movie, don't give this movie money by going to see it & don't give it money by streaming it

EDIT: also going to study marine science on the continent just shows how little actual research was done bc one of the most sought after marine science schools is IN HAWAII

Also grew up in Hawaii, and I don’t plan to ever see this movie because everything I learned about it made me more and more angry about it, even before all this bullshit. The original movie is, to me, one of the most accurate depictions of Hawaii I’ve seen, and has very strong and important messages about family. Also there’s an autistic-coded kid!!! Who is treated with respect and as a person by the narrative!!!! From my perspective and understanding, everything relating to Hawaiian culture, both past and present, in the original was portrayed with respect and beauty.

The fact that they have apparently trashed all that makes me angry. Don’t even give the film the respect of hate-watching this.

Also where the fuck did marine bio come from? Don’t get me wrong, marine biology is one of my special interests, but like??? Nani has a poster of Duke in her room, one of her whole connections to David is that they both love surfing, she’s clearly good at it judging by the amount of trophies she has in her room, and why the hell would you go to California of all places when Hawaii has one of the most fascinating, diverse, and unique marine ecosystems AND they have some of the best marine bio and environmental programs available???? And some of the coolest conservation internships?????? AND (last I checked, at least, maybe this changed) PRIORITY AND SCHOLARSHIPS ARE OFTEN GIVEN TO NATIVE HAWAIIANS?????????

Basically, the movie’s shit. Don’t fucking watch it.

^all of this thank u for this addition, reblog this version too please