Lilo & Stitch: One of the Better Disney Remakes (Early Review)

As far as the track record for their live-action remakes go, Disney has played one losing hand after another, with remakes that were box office successes like The Lion King and Aladdin, but often critically maligned or very mixed, like the aforementioned two. Their latest effort, this year’s Snow White, was both a critical and commercial failure overall, seemingly signaling that this era of Disney’s movie output was drawing to a close, at least for now.

Enter Lilo & Stitch, based on the 2002 animated film of the same name, releasing in theaters this weekend. Similar to the original, Experiment 626 (Sanders) is an experiment created by Dr. Jumba Jookiba (Zach Galifianakis), a creature created to do nothing but destroy and programmed without an ounce of goodness within it. Exiled by the United Galactic Federation by asteroid so that nothing so evil can exist among them, 626 instead escapes and charters an escape ship that would crash land on Earth, specifically Hawaii. As the Federation set out to find him, he meets Lilo (Kealoha), a little girl looking to find a friend, who adopts the blue alien and names it Stitch.

Despite some changes throughout its narrative, Lilo & Stitch follows many of the original film’s beats, from its premise, to Stitch’s shenanigans, as well as the relationship between Lilo and her sister Nani (Agudong), Jumba and Pleakley (Billy Magnussen) trying to capture Stitch so he can be returned to the Grand Councilwoman (Hannah Waddingham) and exiled properly in exchange for Jumba’s freedom, to the appearance of Cobra Bubbles (Courtney B. Vance), all of which play a part of the action over the course of the film

Much of the live action Lilo & Stitch works thanks to its recreation of the story’s central dynamic. Lilo, played wonderfully by Kealoha who, at just eight years old, handily carries a major chunk of the film on her back. At the moment, her life is all over the place, from her relationship with her sister, which is dangling by a thread as they attempt to move past a recent loss, to the other kids not liking her and getting into fights with them. However, once Lilo meets Stitch, her outcast nature is mirrored in Stitch’s own outcast nature, as both are looking for friends and are called weird for being who they are, each finding laughter and joy in their mutual silliness. Kealoha juggles all these aspects to Lilo beautifully, delivering a star making performance.

Meanwhile, as Stitch, Sanders is once again terrific as the voice of the character. Complimented with the solid CGI work done to bring him to life and acting out his goofier moments, he also retains Stitch’s more emotional moments where he longs to have his own ‘o’hana’. Much like the original, Nani is doing everything to hold it all together, which isn’t helped by Mrs. Kekoa, a child services worker (Tia Carrere, who voiced the animated Nani) closing in on potentially taking away Lilo if Nani can’t get her life together within a specific timeline. This is a switch-up from Mr. Bubbles, who, this time, is just a secret agent investigating what may have landed from space. Apudong, plays Nani well, particularly in the film’s more emotional moments with Lilo, as the two sisters attempt to better connect with one another.

Where Lilo & Stitch falters, however, is in a few areas, such as the lack of a much stronger emotional backbone to support those moments, often feeling safer in its approach, unlike its animated counterpart which was arguably less afraid to get more up close with the emotional stakes of the story, taking a more mature stance compared to many Disney animated features. This new version, instead, opts for a more surface level approach, which can feel frustrating for fans to see. As such, the bursts where it leans into that space and finds some emotional catharsis, is where the film works best, while others times, it feels lighter and even empty. The CGI, aside from Stitch, can be wobbly at times as well, with the other aliens and environments ranging from somewhat effective to less so in some shots, particularly as the film hurtles towards the finale.

Throughout the film, Jumba and Pleakley are looking for Stitch and spend most of the time in disguise to mask themselves as humans, to hide the fact that they are aliens, the two are more effective within these moments, providing some good humor, while Galifianakis and Magnussen are having a blast throughout. However, towards the end, the film makes some changes to the story to make up for lack of some characters and the reframing of others, particularly with Jumba, that do not work and feel a bit rushed in their execution, in turn dampening some of the arcs and their emotional resolutions.

Yet despite these issues, Lilo & Stitch remains an endearing enough watch for families, thanks to its earnestness to the characters and their dynamics throughout. It may not top the original and more likely than not, audiences may still prefer to see the original version over this live action remake, but there is still enough here to enjoy, making for a fun diversion.

Score: 70/100

still courtesy of Disney

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Shaurya Chawla