Lilo & Stitch is the latest Disney effort to bring their animated favorites into live action. I had mediocre expectations going into this one, and by the end, I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of being a soulless, cynical cash grab, it proves to be a movie that stays true to the spirit of the original while rendering some of its best aspects into a seamless combination of humans and special effects.
The movie follows the formula of its animated counterpart by introducing Stitch as Experiment 626, a blue, koala-like alien arriving on Earth due to being a potential threat to the galaxy he’s from. Stitch is exiled on Earth and lands in Hawaii, where he befriends the Pelekai sisters. One of them is Nani (Sydney Elizebeth Agudong), who is responsible for taking care of her younger sister, Lilo (Maia Kealoha), after their parents passed away.
First, it was A Minecraft Movie, and now Lilo & Stitch, where teens are left to fend for themselves. I’m just curious if this is a plot contrivance filmmakers think would be fun for kids. But I digress.
It isn’t long before Lilo and Stitch meet, and Lilo quickly finds out about Stitch’s rambunctious nature as he crashes a wedding and other shenanigans. Stitch becomes Lilo’s best friend after discovering she doesn’t have any.
Lilo and Nani’s situation is intensified by the fact they are on the verge of being separated if Nani can’t prove to be a good legal guardian for her sister. Tia Carrere from the original cast co-stars as a social worker investigating their case.
Two aliens pop up on Earth searching for Stitch. When they take human forms, they’re Zack Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen. Galifianakis’ character is responsible for creating Stitch, and if he can capture them, they will give him his freedom for his crimes.
The movie has many different storylines that occasionally get tangled up and meander, but it does have a lot of infectious energy. It’s a bright, colorful movie with its actors giving solid, charming work.
The scenes involving Stitch and the humans have a crisp, detailed look, which really gives off the impression that there is some genuine interaction going on instead of artificial nonsense.
This remake has a lot of wit and warmth that work in its favor, and the relationships between the characters are at once funny and touching. Agudong and Kealoha are convincing as the sisters who can’t stand each other at times, yet they have a kinship that doesn’t feel clunky or forced.
This is clearly one of the better live-action remakes that Disney has done over the last few years and I hope that if other movies continue to get the same treatment, maybe they can take a lesson or two from this one.
This is the remake that Snow White promised to be and wasn’t.
Grade: B+
(Rated PG for action, peril and thematic elements.)
