Lilo & Stitch Review: This Disney Live-Action/CGI Hybrid Captures the Chaotic Fun and Heartwarming Spirit of the Original
After the abomination of Snow White earlier this year, I’m glad that Disney is back on track with the live-action version of Lilo & Stitch. Based on the 2002 Oscar-nominated animated feature of the same name, part of its biggest charm lies in the unique friendship and bonding between the lonely titular little girl and her scrappy blue alien “dog”. The good news is that Marcel the Shell with Shoes On director Dean Fleischer Camp successfully retains the animation’s heartwarming angle, which made the animation such a beloved hit in the first place.
Here, Disney took a gamble in giving adorable newcomer Maia Kealoha her big break to play Lilo, the six-year-old Hawaiian girl who lives with her older sister and guardian, Nani (Sydney Elizabeth Agudong). Their sibling dynamics are spot-on from the moment these two sisters are introduced, with Lilo being a rebellious child who prefers Nani better as her sister rather than trying to act like a mum.
Nani, in the meantime, is struggling to juggle between taking care of her little sister and making sure she is qualified enough to be Lilo’s legal guardian. She has a dream of her own, but her priority is to impress Lilo’s by-the-book social worker, Mrs Kekoa (Tia Carrere, who originally voiced Nani in the animated version). The latter often drops by at their place to ensure Nani is fulfilling her task.
Like the original, Lilo has no friends and one night, she makes her wish upon seeing a shooting star from her bedroom window. That so-called shooting star turns out to be a spaceship from a distant planet that crash-landed on Earth. Inside the spaceship lies a forbidden genetic experimentation code-named 626, invented by evil scientist Dr Jumba Jookiba (voiced by Zach Galifianakis), who has escaped from captivity. Long story short, the 626 ends up in an animal shelter, and Lilo happens to adopt him. She gradually names him Stitch, and while she has a tough time trying to get him under control, Agent Pleakley (Billy Magnussen) and Dr Jumba Jookiba are sent to planet Earth to bring back 626.
The live-action take on Lilo & Stitch wisely plays it safe by being largely faithful to the animated feature without resulting the movie in a mere beat-for-beat remake. Except that some of the tweaks and changes are misguided, namely Camp’s decision in dumbing down Galifianakis and Magnussen’s alien characters into generic human-in-disguise appearances rather than maintaining their otherworldly creature forms dressed like humans, similar to the original.
Frankly, it would be funnier to see Jumba and Pleakley trying to blend in the human world with their peculiar disguises, especially the latter cross-dressing as a woman in a red wig. The movie is also curiously missing a pivotal character from the original, which is necessary to raise the stakes later in the story. The glaring omission undoubtedly feels like an odd creative choice.
Thankfully, these shortcomings didn’t deter Lilo & Stitch from falling prey to yet another Disney live-action remake fiasco recently seen in Mufasa: The Lion King and Snow White. There’s a strong sense of nostalgia factor that brings back the good old memories of the 2002 original, beginning with Maia Kealoha’s Lilo and Stitch’s unbreakable bond as friends. It’s both fun and heartfelt watching the two spend time together. The movie equally delves deeper into Lilo and Nani’s relationship and how these two sisters learn to cope without their parents, giving the live-action version an added emotional depth.
The iconic lines from the original are intact, with Lilo’s most memorable quote, “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten“, still landed well. The cute and fluffy CGI-rendered, scene-stealing Stitch is amazingly lifelike while successfully capturing his over-the-top expression, manic personality and diabolical laugh right down to a tee. It also helps that the movie has Chris Sanders returning to voice the rambunctious blue koala-like alien. The character even seamlessly blends with the real actors and background.
