A plucky Polynesian teen and the hunt for elusive pocket monsters brought welcome relief to Hawaii in a year otherwise consumed with hardball presidential politics.
Other divertissements in 2016 included a string of sold-out concerts by a pop music diva and country royalty, and the renewal of a Waikiki shopping landmark.
DISNEY MAKES GOOD ON ‘MOANA’
There’s no telling how far Disney’s latest animated blockbuster, “Moana,” will go at the box office. The voices of Dwayne Johnson as Maui and Hawaii’s Auli‘i Cravalho as the title character helped drive the film to critical acclaim and global success.
As of Friday, “Moana” had earned over $200 million domestically since its Nov. 23 release, with an additional $152 million from international audiences.
Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, who were also responsible for Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin,” the film features an Oceania-themed story that was shunned by some over issues of cultural sensitivity. “Moana” producer Osnat Shurer worked with the directors and an assembled group of about a dozen anthropologists, educators, linguists and others to create the Oceanic Story Trust, to help bring a degree of cultural authenticity to the filmmaking.
Cravalho, a Kamehameha Schools student who was pegged a rising star for “Moana,” told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in November that she was “thrilled to be playing a Disney heroine.”
— Jason Genegabus
‘POKEMON GO’ WAS A SENSATION
People walking around in a zombielike trance, disregarding road hazards, as if hypnotized by their smartphones. Crowds gathering at seemingly random locations at odd times of the day.
Was it a brain-eating viral epidemic? Well, sort of.
The “Pokemon Go” craze seized the isles this summer after Niantic’s U.S. launch of the GPS-enabled, virtual-reality app July 6. National news reports warned of game players falling off cliffs, being lured to ambushes by thieves or trampling over graveyards and national monuments.
In Hawaii it was mostly a fun, new pastime that reminded many of the Nintendo games or cartoons they grew up with. The steps of Kapolei Public Library, the streets of Kakaako and Waikiki Aquarium were three heavily trafficked Pokemon hot spots, and for local businesses the game became a novel way to draw in customers by advertising Pokemon menu specials and selling Pokemon-related wares.
Hard-core enthusiasm has since waned, but Niantic is adding new creatures and making other improvements to maintain momentum. The newest updates arrived in December, with more slated for 2017.
— Nina Wu
SUPERSTARS FILL BLAISDELL
Honolulu music fans eagerly opened their wallets to drive a series of sold-out concerts at Blaisdell Arena in 2016.
UB40 Reunited, featuring original UB40 members Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue, packed the Blaisdell Arena on Jan. 28 and 29, selling out the second show. Actor-comedian Kevin Hart, who smashed records for stand-up tickets sales nationwide in 2016, filled Blaisdell Arena twice for concerts April 30.
But the biggest appearance of the year, in terms of money spent, was Mariah Carey’s “Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour,” with “Empire” star Jussie Smollett in tow for performances Nov. 23, 25 and 26, with tickets selling for up to $255 each. “Mimi” brought her full stage act, including dancers who carried her in on a couch, along with multiple costume changes.
The highest-volume appearance of the year, in terms of fans in seats, was Garth Brooks at Blaisdell Arena with wife Trisha Yearwood, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. The country-star couple, who covered their own expenses and performed for free, donated all proceeds to preservation efforts for Pearl Harbor historic sites. After selling out two Dec. 10 concerts, they agreed to two more, Dec. 8 and 9.
Over at Blaisdell Concert Hall, noteworthy headliners included the national touring production of the raunchy, Tony-winning “The Book of Mormon” in April, which brought equal parts laughter and offense, and Ballet Hawaii’s spectacular re-imagining of “The Nutcracker,” which combined themes from Hawaiian history, culture, flora and fauna with ballet routines both classically elegant and hysterically fun (an acrobatic clown-fish dance stole the show this year). This is one “Nutcracker” you’ll want to see for years to come.
— Elizabeth Kieszkowski
SLOW START FOR INTERNATIONAL MARKET PLACE
The newly redeveloped International Market Place opened in late August with the expectation that it would change the face of Waikiki, transforming a ramshackle warren of ticky-tacky tourist kiosks and a claustrophobic food court into a gleaming three-story mall with a top floor devoted to upscale restaurants.
Shoppers came to look, then for the most part went back to their lives before the Market Place, because one-hour parking validations weren’t good enough, and the opening coincided with a general retail malaise as consumers tried to cope with rising costs of living.
It didn’t help that Kalakaua Avenue-facing tenants have yet to move in, giving the facility little street presence on the main drag. With nothing to look at, tourists simply walk by, missing the entrance completely.
One bright spot and possible savior will be the arrival of The Street HNL: A Michael Mina Social House, tentatively set to open in spring. The food hall will feature such Mina Group concepts as The Ramen Bar, International Smoke, Kai Poke and Lamill.
— Nadine Kam
MOFFATT, VAUGHAN ARE GONE
An era in island entertainment ended last month with the death of “Uncle Tom” Moffatt, two weeks before what would have been his 86th birthday. Moffatt had been a uniquely popular figure in Hawaii for more than 60 years and entertained island audiences as a pioneering Top 40 radio personality, television show host, record label president, newspaper columnist and promoter of some of the biggest concerts in island history.
Moffatt’s longtime radio partner at KPOI, Ron Jacobs, also signed off in 2016. He died March 8 at age 78. Jacobs was a major creative force in Top 40 nationally and in Hawaii.
Hawaiian recording artist Palani Vaughan, 72, best known for his commitment to honoring and perpetuating the cultural legacy of King David Kalakaua, also died in December. Jimmy Borges, 80, known for years as Hawaii’s foremost male jazz vocalist, died in May.
Hawaii also mourned the deaths of jazz pianist Betty Loo Taylor, 87, in December; Waikiki showroom headliner Iva Kinimaka, 76, in August; jazz bassist and arranger Steve Jones, 61, in June; and Hawaiian/country music innovator Ernie Cruz Sr., 76, in May.
Two of Cruz’s talented sons — Ernie Cruz Jr., 56, and Guy Cruz, 49, both of them Hoku Award-winning recording artists — died in September.
— John Berger
