Here’s a pretty mind-blowing fact about tiki bars: they were invented in 1930s California, then reimported to Hawaii for tourists who wanted to live out a tropical fantasy. How a Hollywood novelty concept bar still persists nearly 100 years later is the story behind a new documentary called The Donn of Tiki , which is screening at the Hollywood Theatre this Sunday, Nov. 30.

The Donn in question is Donn Beach, creator of the tiki bar. Before that, he was known as Don the Beachcomber, and before that, Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt. Since Donn Beach died in 1989, directors Alex Lamb and Max Well have to get creative with how to make their central character come to life. They do it with a combination of traditional and stop-motion animation, archival footage and interviews with many a Hawai

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