What’s It About
The film tells the story of “the bond formed between a lonely human girl named Lilo and a dog-like alien named Stitch, who is engineered to be a force of destruction. Pursuing aliens, social workers and the idea of the bond of family figure into the proceedings
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
Disney launched yet another “mission impossible” of adapting the beloved 2002 animated movie Lilo & Stitch into a live-action film. The task falls on the shoulders of director Dean Fleischer Camp, who made the amazing Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. But does he succeed, or does the mission implode? In 2002, Lilo & Stitch broke Disney. While other studios churned out princess flicks, Disney made something strange and different, a story about an alien “dog” and his Hawaiian girl who felt fresh and ordinary. It was a giant movie, leading to toys, sequels, and theme park rides. Today, 23 years later, Disney wants to cash in once again with a live-action remake. The thing is, though, some movies are just better in cartoons. Animation enables you to do goofy things that are bizarre in real life. When you watch the new Lilo & Stitch, you’ll see they duplicate many of the shot-for-shot sequences of the original. So you naturally wonder why they bothered in the first place. The bright side? The story still gets you in the feels, though. Lilo (newcomer Maia Kealoha) is a six-year-old Hawaiian girl who doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Her peers at school think she’s weird, and adults aren’t sure what to do with her. After her parents pass away, she is forced to live with her teenage sister Nani (Sydney Agudong), a teenager-turned-parent trying to cope with her own problems. Come along enters Stitch, a blue alien who looks like a koala cross with the Tasmanian Devil. He crash-lands on Earth and ends up in an animal shelter, where Lilo thinks he’s just an extremely strange dog. What she doesn’t know is that he is actually a weapon designed to destroy everything. But as Lilo loves him and treats him kindly, something changes in both of them. The movie gets the key to the original’s heartwarming ohana (family) theme right. Lilo and Stitch are both outcasts who find each other when they most need it. They share an actual friendship, even when one of them is a CGI alien. Maia Kealoha is competent in the title role of Lilo. She brings that spunky, quirky energy to the character that made the cartoon one love. Sydney Agudong provides depth to Nani by showing how hard it is being a young guardian trying to keep her family together. Chris Sanders reprises the role of voicing Stitch, and it’s ideal because he created the character back in 1985. His growly, playful tone makes Stitch feel like home. The movie introduces some new faces, too. Amy Hill guest stars as the friendly neighbor Tutu, and Tia Carrere (she voiced Nani in the first one) guest stars as a social worker. Billy Magnussen and Zach Galifianakis guest star as the otherworldly agents chasing after Stitch, and they’re really funny when they disguise themselves as humans. Let’s get the elephant in the room or, I should say, the blue alien out there. Stitch works great as a CGI creature. Disney reportedly invested $100 million in this movie, and you can see why they did so. Stitch’s hair looks realistic, his facial expressions are perfect, and he acts naturally with the live-action performers. But here is where we get a letdown. Even though the technology is fantastic, you never lose sight that you are seeing a cartoon character in the real world. It is akin to watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit but with improved computer hardware. Sometimes it’s okay. Sometimes it’s funny. The movie lets Magnussen and Galifianakis remain human for most of it, which is smart. When they briefly fall back into alien mode, it’s actually funny and pretty fluid. The biggest problem here with this remake is that it does not risk enough. The original Lilo & Stitch had bite. It made light of tourism ruining Hawaii and never talked down to children. Everything is smoothed over in this version. In the first one, Stitch was literally destructive and kind of threatening at the start. Here, he’s more of a pesky puppy from the start. The movie also eliminates most of the commentary on how tourism impacts Hawaiian culture, which was really important in the first one. Director Dean Fleischer Camp knows how to blend reality and fantasy – he proved that with Marcel the Shell. But Lilo & Stitch is caught in the middle. It wants to be a live-action movie but keeps using cartoon logic. It wants to be emotional but barrels through emotional moments to get to the next one. So, does this remake do its job? Kind of. It’s not terrible, but it’s not good either. The movie is “aggressively fine” – it does what the first one did but adds nothing new. What keeps it going is the cast and the plot. Kealoha and Agudong sell the sisterhood beautifully. The movie completes Nani’s story in smart ways, having her between college and taking care of Lilo. When the emotional payoffs are on point, they really are. The third act delivers some genuine tears and laughs. By the finale, you’re reminded why this tale matters. It’s about finding your family, even in the most unexpected places. Lilo & Stitch 2025 won’t replace the original, and it shouldn’t try. But it’s an admirable companion piece that adds some layers to characters we already love. Kids will probably love it, and moms and dads will find themselves feeling nostalgic watching it with them. Is the greatest live-action Lilo & Stitch movie achievable? Not at all. But is it good enough to make us remember why we loved this story to begin with? Occasionally, that is all a remake requires to do. The task isn’t impossible after all – merely harder than it seems. Disney hasn’t created something life-changing, maybe, but they’ve created something that honors the original without copying. More than you can say about most remakes. Bottom Line: If you liked the original, chances are you’ll like this one too. But don’t go expecting to have your mind blown.
OUR RATING – AN ALMOST NAILED IT 7