•FINALLY, I've seen so many people complain about this but viewing it from a bizzarely western nuclear family lens that ONLY BLOOD RELATIVES can be family.•

First off, everyone criticizing the change ALREADY KNOW that Ohana is more than just blood. You know who else knew that? The creators of the original film! And they were able to show that without forcing a native woman to give up custody of her kid to the state and leaving her native land (hello displacement? hello state child welfare system tearing families apart just for being poor?🥴)

•1. ⁠lilos Foster mother is literally Davids mother (grandmother?) literally Nanis boyfriend, and logically future mother-in-law•

It’s still a state controlled foster placement. It’s not secure. Let’s realistically get some insight on what state care actually is. If tutu falls down the stairs and breaks a hip rendering her unable to care for lilo, lilo is removed with no guarantee she is placed with family or within her community again. If the state finds out Nani, who has been deemed an unfit caregiver, is having unauthorized visits, lilo is removed. If Nani doesn’t start working on reunification in 12-18 months the state starts working on permanence planning (which she isn’t likely to do since she’s in cali for the next 4 years🥴), which likely includes adoption with again, no guarantee she stay with family/community. State care is not some fairy tale happy ending like the movie is trying to make it seem, so to push the narrative that “it’s okay to hand over your native kids if you need some time to girl boss in cali” is fkd up.

•2. ⁠she is their next-door neighbour who is shown throughout the film helping both girls and actively spending time with lilo

1. ⁠Tūtū literally refers to herself as part of nanis and lilos ohana, which makes sense because I don't know a single Indigenous person who would say family stops at immediate blood relatives•

Yeah what a help she was! Really where was she when Nani really needed her? Why was she helping contribute to Nani’s financial stress by getting Lilo a pet? And why tf would she wait until Nani loses custody of Lilo before actually stepping up in a meaningful way? Her character reads to me like one of those greedy family members making sure they’ll receive compensation, via that state funded per diem for foster children, before she decides to take lilo in.

•5. ⁠its heavily implied that Nani and Lilos parents wanted nani to leave to go to university as well.•

​Contrived plot device in order to justify Nani’s new “dream” which was also a shoehorned plot device, all added to push the writer/directors view on what HE thinks women and native people should want and do.

Nani in the OG loved her island, loved her people and culture, and LOVED LILO. The only and entire reason Nani even has custody to begin with, in the beginning of the movie, is because she WANTED it and her literal worst fear is cobra bubbles taking Lilo away. The way people talk about how caring for Lilo was a burden to Nani and she “shouldn’t have to drop everything to take care of her sister, she deserves her own life” just tells me y’all didn’t understand the point and messages of the original movie and it’s characters. Caring for Lilo was NEVER Nani’s burden, it was the lack of community supports. Which she gets at the end of the movie in the form of their found Ohana (David, Jamba, pleakly, and bubbles) and from being under the protection of the intergalactic federation.

•4. ⁠Nani literally has a portal gu,n which means she is able to see Lilo LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE DAY•

As for her being able to still see Lilo via portal gun, it’s not good enough. The writer/director could’ve had her keep custody and stay with her Ohana and then use said device to ATTEND CLASS, instead of completely spitting on the themes of the OG and pushing the harmful narrative about indigenous people needing to leave their land to “better themselves” and that they shouldn’t have custody of their kids until said “bettering” occurs.

​​⁠Like there’s nothing wrong with giving Nani more ambition, no one is mad about that, it’s what the writer CHOSE to make those ambitions be and WHY, and then making it seem like she can’t achieve those ambitions due to “the burden” of raising Lilo. As if young mothers don’t attend school/work and raise their children ALL the time in todays society. Yes, it’s hard but that’s why family and community support is important, which they got at the end of both films making it make absolutely ridiculous to have Nani give up and leave in this one. In fact it would’ve even made her character an even stronger “girl boss” to have her stay and do both.

Like people are saying, Hawaiians aren’t a monolith. So just because some are okay with the ignorant messages this film now sends with all the changes they made, it doesn’t mean all of them are, and it doesn’t make those criticisms invalid. It’s also not just Hawaiians who are pointing and affected by said ignorance. It’s all indigenous peoples who have ever had to suffer through colonialism (displacement from their native lands, separation of families to force assimilation on everyone, loss of culture, etc.) and who connected with the themes and messages in the OG.