Finding ‘Ohana describe it as “
The Goonies but in Hawai’i” my immediate thoughts was “yes this idea is perfect, I hope they do it well.” The good news is that
Finding ‘Ohana doesn’t just live up to its great premise, it surpasses it, giving us a truly Hawaiian movie with thrills, laughs, loving homages, and an incredible amount of heart.
Finding ‘Ohana follows brother and sister Ioane (Alex Aiono) and Pili (Kea Peahu) along with their mother, Leilani (Kelly Hu) as they head from the home in New York where they’ve grown up back to O’ahu, Hawai’i after their grandfather, Kimo (Branscombe Richmond) suffers a heart attack. The kids don’t want to be in a run-down house with no wifi on an island they barely know, especially Pili, who misses geocaching and her friends at home. Not even meeting a new, rather odd local friend, Casper (Own Vaccaro) or Ioane’s instant crush on neighbor Hana (Lindsay Watson) make it worth it, until Pili finds a journal that might lead her to some hidden Spanish treasure that could pay of Kimo’s bills and get the family back to New York.