Lilo & Stitch

by Tyler Glover

Photo: Disney

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp  
Starring: Maia Kealoha, Sydney Agudong & Chris Sanders 
Rated: PG (action, peril & thematic elements) 
Runtime: 1 hour & 48 minutes

​When the animated “Lilo and Stitch” came out in 2002, I was 15-years old. I was in that stage of life where I was “too cool” for so many things that used to bring me joy as a child. However, as a huge Disney fan, Stitch was able to break through and take me right back into my childhood. I wanted to dance to Elvis with him, go surfing some waves in Hawaii with him, and do whatever 626 things he could come up with.  

It was not too surprising that Disney decided to do a live-action remake of “Lilo and Stitch.” They have been producing them like crazy ever since the box office success of Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” in 2010. It is so tricky to do these remakes because from a creative perspective, writers want to feel that there is a reason for this update. They could shoot the movie scene for scene like the original but that would be seen completely as a cash grab. It would serve no creative purpose for existing. However, it is difficult for writers when making changes or adding to these beloved classics. They must keep the magic and what worked but try to find ways to update them that feel organic to the story. 

“Lilo and Stitch” is one of the best live-action adaptations in Disney history. It manages to keep the heart and the humor of the original while also making changes that are more grounded in real life. Speaking of keeping the heart of the original, the BEST decision made for this film was hiring Maia Kealoha as Lilo. There is no one that could have played her better. Kealoha captures the innocence, the mischief, the humor, the heart, and the essence of Lilo to perfection. Also, the animators managed to CGI Stitch to be just as adorable as we remember. Likewise, Chris Sanders, the voice of Stitch, captures the heart of Stitch just the way we always remembered it.   
 
Just like in the original, Lilo (Kealoha) is a lonely Hawaiian girl who is being raised by her big sister, Nani (Sydney Elizebeth Agudong) after the death of their parents. Nani is trying her best but is struggling with the responsibility and she has also had to set aside her dreams of becoming a marine biologist. One day, Lilo goes to adopt a “dog,” whom she names Stitch. It turns out, though, that Stitch (Sanders) is the galaxy’s most wanted terrestrial. Stitch is being hunted by his creator, Dr. Jumba Jookiba (Zach Galifianakis) and an agent of the United Galactic Federation tasked to join him, Pleakley (Billy Magnussen). Their mission is to bring him back to UGF. While Stitch has been created to destroy, Lilo shows Stitch the meaning of love, family and friendship. 

While the film does follow most of the story beats, there are several changes made in this update. For one, the character of Captain Gantu, the main antagonist, is absent and a new surprise villain takes over in the third act. The omission of Gantu did lead to a surprising twist that felt organic to the story, so I feel it was a great decision. Another change was that when Agent Pleakley is disguising himself as a human, he was not wearing women’s clothes. I felt this omission was unfortunate because it did add a lot of humor to the original. However, the decision to have them “morph” into human versions of themselves to blend in felt more grounded in real life. No one would buy an alien as a human by them simply wearing a dress and a wig if their body was completely in alien form. Live-action adaptations want to make these things feel more real even if they are rooted in fairy-tale storytelling. 

Most of the changes made felt that they were a way of taking this story and making it feel more centered into the real world. The change I felt was the most glaring was Agent Cobra Bubbles not being the social worker coming to their house to check on the well-being of Lilo being raised by Nani. It led to a lot of humor. For one, we are like is this guy really a social worker? He did not fit the normal profile of what you would expect from a social worker. In this version, the social worker is Mrs. Kekoa, played by Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani in the original. I loved this decision to have an original cast member be a part of it.  

The last and final major change was the ending of the story. In the original, Nani gets to keep Lilo, and they live happily ever after. However, I’m not spoiling the ending, this one manages to find a way for fans to have their cake and eat it too. I liked the ending, but I do see how some fans can feel it was a letdown. 

This live-action update of “Lilo and Stitch” manages to capture the heart and soul of the original, while finding ways to update the story to feel more centered in the real world.