Live-Action ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Is No ‘Snow White’
The new Disney live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch” mostly works, though it’s a lesser film than the emotionally richer original.
Like similar Disney remakes, it follows the original film scene-for-scene and recreates iconic imagery.
I’ve always loved Lilo’s story of finding a friend as wild and in need of a family unit as much as she does, but I’ve never cared for any of the alien stuff. Nevertheless, the set-up is mostly the same, as Stitch is an out-of-control creation by an extra-terrestrial scientist.
Stitch is revealed to be indestructible, too dangerous and scheduled for termination. Rather than put up with bureaucratic procedure, Stitch trashes the place and escapes to Earth.
The introduction of Lilo, her sister Nani and their tough predicament still feels real and hits all the right emotional notes. Still, making this a live-action film creates strange tonal shifts- cutting back and forth from the goofy aliens to the flesh and blood humans worked when it was all a cartoon.
Now, when we cut from a CPS visit to Lilo and Nani’s home, to the intergalactic shenanigans, back to Nani at work, then back to the wacky alien bounty hunters, it feels jarring. It’s like switching channels to two very different movies.
The 2002 animated “Lilo and Stitch” was a big surprise and a nice course correction for Disney animated films. After the deeply troubled production of “Kingdom of the Sun” was salvaged into the hilarious compromise of “The Emperors’ ‘New Groove” (2000) and “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” (2001) was an all-out dud, the arrival of “Lilo & Stitch” was a great surprise.
It’s among the best animated films ever made at the Mouse House.
The original “Lilo & Stitch,” with its portrayal of two Hawaiian sisters struggling to make it as a family and working in modern-day Hawaii, is among the few films to portray contemporary Hawaiians that doesn’t succumb to stereotypes. It’s also one of the few recent Disney cartoons that makes me cry every time.
I didn’t shed any tears over the new “Lilo & Stitch,” though its best scenes work because I believed in the furry little blue alien.
Sometimes scenes play out in full, while others feel like the editor chopped away at moments that should have gone longer. If an extended cut ever emerges, I’d be interested to see it, as it feels like portions have been severely abbreviated to keep things moving.
Of the newcomers, Maia Kealoha is adorable as Lilo, but the film’s strongest breakout performance comes from Sydney Elizabeth Agudong as Nani.
It’s wonderful to see the multi-talented Tia Carrere gracing the screen in a well-written supporting role. However, while the film found a nice tribute to Carrere (who played the voice of Nani in the original film and animated series), they dropped the ball by bringing back the great Jason Scott Lee (who voiced Nani’s friend David in the original) and giving him a nothing role.
Cobra Bubbles is such a funny character and Courtney B. Vance is a wonderful actor, but Vance’s performance never comes close to being as funny as Ving Rhames original take on the character.
The new “Lilo & Stitch” oddly needed to give us a lot more of Scott Lee but gives us too much of Zach Galifianakis. Taking on the roles of alien characters who now mostly appear in human disguise, Galifianakis and screen partner Billy Magnussen are awful.
One of my favorite moments from the original isn’t here- when Lilo is mocked for her homemade doll named “Scrump,” which she abandons on the street, then runs back and embraces. I love that kid.
Lilo is a weird, real, sometimes irritating child. The dynamic of her living alone with her sister Nani, who is struggling to make it, is the best thing about both the original and the remake. I could do without the alien shenanigans and Elvis needle drops.
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The special effects are excellent, as Stitch really does seem to inhabit real space. Seeing Stitch on a surfboard is something, as the geniuses at Industrial Light & Magic have made the character as photorealistic as possible.
Individual moments are truly touching, as Stitch as a special effect interacts well with the actors and vice versa. Most of the film has Stitch behaving like an out-of-control Gremlin but when the film wants to reflect how we’re all a work in progress, those moments connect as they should.
Rather than make a long list of all the Disney live-action remakes that haven’t worked, here’s a short list of the ones I like – “Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book” (1994), “Maleficent” (2014), “Cinderella” (2015), “The Jungle Book” (2016) and this one.
Two and a Half Stars
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