Released in theaters on June 21, 2002, Lilo & Stitch was the first Disney movie to be based in Hawai‘i, specifically on the island of Kaua‘i. Since then, Stitch and company have spawned three direct-to-video sequels, one television show, and plentiful merchandise that can be found at Disney stores worldwide. Lilo & Stitch grossed $245,800,000 worldwide, but most of its viewers aren’t immediately aware of the movie’s fallacies on Hawaiians and their lifestyle. Lilo Pelekai, the human protagonist of the movie, is a 5-year-old Hawaiian girl who lives with her older sister Nani on the island of Kaua‘i. However, she is voiced by Daveigh Chase, who was raised on the West coast of America. Throughout the movie, Chase was incapable of accurately pronouncing Hawaiian words, including “aloha,” “‘ohana,” and even “Nani,” Lilo’s older sister’s name.
Subsequently the Hawaiian language was also integrated and tweaked, and the changes finalized in the third Lilo & Stitch movie, Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch. “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” was originally performed by Mark Keali‘i Ho‘omalu and the Kamehameha Schools Children’s Choir (KSCC) for Lilo & Stitch. The song features the Hawaiian language in its verses, usually allotting two lines per verse to be sung in Hawaiian. Both Ho‘omalu and KSCC pronounce the Hawaiian words with clarity and precision, but when the song was covered by Jump5 in 2005 for Disneymania 3 and Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch soundtracks, the Nashville, Tennessee natives completely butchered the song’s eight Hawaiian lines. The lines read:
Aloha ē aloha ē, aloha ē aloha ē
‘Ano ‘ai ke aloha ē, ‘ano ai ke aloha ē
‘Āwikiwiki, mai lohilohi,
Lawe mai i ko papa he‘e nalu
Pi‘i nā nalu, lā lahalaha,
‘O ka moana, hānupanupa
Lalala i ka lā hanahana,
Me ke kai hoene i ka pu‘e one
Hele, hele, mai kākou ē
Hawaiian roller coaster ride
When Jump5 attempted to read these lyrics, disaster resulted – it was a jumble of words, both Hawaiian (read with lackluster pronunciation) and not Hawaiian. The following is an attempt to phonetically spell out what Jump5 sang, using Hawaiian pronunciation:
Alohae loha e, alohae loha e
Ano ai ki alohae e, ano ai ki alohae e
Awikiwiki mai lohilohi
Laue mai ko papa ‘e nalu
Pi‘i na nalu la lahalaa
O ka mouana hanupanupa
Lalala i ka la halahala
Me ke kai houene i ke pue one
Helehele mai kaikou e
Hawaiian roller coaster ride
