This was one of my favorite Scooby Doo movies as a kid, but it's lost its enchantment as I've gotten older. This whole show is steeped in tiki culture. For a start, tikis are Maori-from New Zealand, not Hawaii. A thirty second google would have given the creators plenty of actual Hawaiian deities and entities to choose from-the volcano goddess Pele, protective 'Aumakua spirits, the huaka'i po (walking ghosts that can kill you if you see them by night)... there were options here. I know it's just a kid's show, but there's a difference between simplifying things for children and completely disregarding reality. It would be so easy to be both entertaining and respectful, so the fact that they didn't do that makes the disregard for the culture and history of the setting they chose all the more blatant. Plot wise it's a classic Scooby Doo mystery, and the adventure elements are fun. It really used to be one of my faves! It just makes me sad to see this culture that is so dear to me so needlessly diminished into coconut bra and tiki torch stereotypes.
Review of Aloha, Scooby-Doo!
