So…a question about the new Lilo and Stitch movie that I know is only going to upset people.
But is it just me, or does it seem like this version of Nani doesn’t even like Lilo?
She misses Lilo’s performance. The car didn’t start, and she did absolutely nothing to try and get there in time.
She blows up at Lilo when she brings up “ohana” and tells the six-year-old that she needs to join reality. The grieving six year old who is talking about love and family, and whom is needing some of that love and support.
She hears Lilo make a wish for a friend, is literally right there in the room…and does NOTHING. It’s the elderly neighbor who takes Lilo to get Stitch (which is its own pile of problematic implications because I’ll admit that I’m not from Hawaii and I know very little about their culture so correct me if it’s different there, but I was under the impression that it’s generally a bad idea for a non-related person to be getting a pet for a child without the guardian being involved).
They kept the scene where Lilo has Stitch play the record and Nani isn’t even paying attention.
Nani just in general seems to be acting like Lilo is a problem by being there, and the ultimate lesson is that she’s right and Lilo is an inconvenience to her getting to “live her best life”.
I understand that parentification was a complaint about the original movie, but I am hard pressed to see where there’s supposed to be conflict in this one, because between Nani’s lack of care towards her sister and everyone supporting her and telling her that it’s totally good for her to leave Lilo behind, INCLUDING LILO, there’s nothing to show why Nani WOULD stay.
