In 2002, Disney released their 42nd animated feature film, Lilo & Stitch and now, 23 years later, Disney attempts to recreate the magic with a live-action adaptation of the childhood classic.
Lilo & Stitch brings to life the beauty of the Hawaiian islands and Hawaiian/Pacific Islander culture within the friendship of Lilo and her “dog” Stitch while in the midst of difficult family circumstances. 23 years ago, audiences fell in love with these characters and the love between them all, becoming a part of their “Ohana.” Therefore, when the live-action film was announced at D23 2024, fans were excited for the opportunity to fall in love with these characters all over again — this writer included.
Unfortunately, while a fun watch, the live action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch falls flat compared to its origin; changing vital parts of the story, misrepresenting important characters, adding unnecessary plot lines and new characters, and visually unappealing CGI effects making for an anticlimactic watch.
The development of the main characters as well as their relationships are the foundation of the film. The live-action adaptation almost completely misses this mark. First, there’s the removal of Gantu. Gantu (Kevin Michael Richardson) was the villain of the original story, trying to return Stitch (Chris Sanders) to fulfill his exile. His removal in the live action leaves a gap in the plot. This gap was recklessly filled by changing Jumba’s character entirely. In the animated Lilo & Stitch, Jumba was a gentle genius who became almost like an uncle figure to both Lilo and Stitch. The live-action adaptation turned Jumba (Zach Galifianakis) into a heartless villain who only cares about being recognized for his intelligence in creating the ultimate weapon (Stitch). This change in Jumba completely changes the original relationships between Jumba and Pleakley, as well as Jumba and Stitch, which are vital to the original film.
Additionally, the addition of new characters further undermine the core connections and add unnecessary sub-plots. Tutu (Amy Hill), Nani and Lilo’s neighbor, as well as David’s (Kaipo Dudoit) mother, was not a needed addition. Not only does this character take away from Nani and Lilo’s relationship — especially by being the one who lets Lilo adopt Stitch — it adds an incomplete subplot to an already entangled web. Meanwhile, David has lost all of his original charm as he’s now awkward and his romantic relationship with Nani (Sydney Agudong) is almost non-existent.
An underdog character we all adored in the animated original was Cobra Bubbles, Lilo’s social worker and secret CIA agent, who develops a strong father-like connection with the two sisters. In the live action, Bubbles (Courtney B. Vance) is replaced by Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrera — the voice of Nani in the animated film). He remains a CIA agent but has no desire to help or get to know the sisters; he just wants to uncover alien activity.
The one character that disappointed me most was Nani. To begin, there has been a lot of speculation about whether or not Agudong was the appropriate choice for casting as she has no Hawaiian heritage, and there are rumors she wore darker makeup to look more closely related to Lilo (Maia Kealoha). In all truthfulness, her performance lacked emotion and depth. Her relationship with Lilo felt less like sisters who only have each other, and more like tolerable roommates from her end. While they stuck to the sub-plot of Nani being on her way to being a professional surfer, it was overpowered by her desire to go to college for Marine Biology. Disney attempted to give her more, and it turned her into someone Lilo could live without when it should’ve been an inseparable connection.
The biggest miss with the live-action adaptation is all the CGI characters — with the exception of Stitch who was perfectly adorable and fluffy. Characters like Jumba, Pleakely, and The Grand Councilwoman (Hannah Waddingham) looked quite messy. Their CGI is so poor it causes the human counterparts to look off alongside them. Equally as messy were the weapons and other “alien” features that looked more like stickers added in post rather than a part of the film.
Outside of these major issues there’s a long list of small fan-favorite nuances missing from the original — Stitch dressing like a superhero with a bra and blanket, or Pleakley’s (Billy Magnussen) human disguise being a woman instead of a man, for example.< However, I must commend the film on one thing: Lilo and Stitch themselves. As mentioned before, Stitch was beautifully designed, and it was a perfect full-circle moment to have Chris Sanders return to voice him. Even more perfect, though, was the casting of Maia Kealoha as Lilo. Not only was she the right age, she’s done hula since a young age, and is Hawaiian born and raised. She brought the complex, chaotic nature of Lilo to life. Lilo is a little girl who loves deeply and cares so hard, but is stuck in a state of anger and trauma from the loss of her parents. That emotional depth is not an easy thing to portray, especially at the age of 8, but Maia did it.
Ultimately, Disney has created a fun family watch with the live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch. However, they lacked the beauty and magic of the original by adding too much unnecessary fluff, leaving us with a web of random sub-plots and an unfulfilling retelling.
