Dangerous yet somehow cuddly, Stitch is back in the live action Lilo & Stitch, a remake of Disney’s 2002 animated film. Unlike Maleficent, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, and other animation to live action adaptations, which take place in a fantasy realm, this film’s narrative takes place in a realistic setting and focuses on human problems spiked with extraterrestrial hijinks. The challenge is how to make the film fun and exciting, but not too scary, given that Stitch’s destructive tendencies play out in our world. The current remake is mostly faithful to the original, with some changes, that strengthen the film’s emotional authenticity. Director Dean Fleischer Camp strikes a good balance between grounded, likeable characters and marvelous mayhem. Maia Kealoha is terrific as young Lilo, it is entirely credible that she succeeds in touching the heart of the fiendish Stitch, otherwise known as Experiment 626.
6-year-old Lilo and her older sister Nani (Sydney Elizebeth Agudong) live on their own, having lost both parents in an accident. Nani tries to care for her younger sister, while maintaining good grades in high school, and working to pay the bills. Inevitably this means that Lilo is alone much of the time. Energetic, curious, and an animal lover, Lilo swims in the ocean, sneaks into hotel resorts, and frees the neighborhood chickens from their cage. Desperate for a friend, she doesn’t fit in with the other girls in her hula class, who are mean to her.
Meanwhile, in a far-away galaxy, in an illegal experiment by Dr. Jumba Jookiba (Zach Galifianakis) has created an unstoppable weapon. Experiment 626 (voiced by his original creator Chris Sanders) is outrageously smart and indestructible. Like all heroes and anti-heroes, he has only one weakness: due to his unusually dense molecular structure, he cannot float. The Grand Councilwoman (Hannah Waddingham) of the United Galactic Federation seeks to eliminate the threat by exiling Experiment 626. However, the wily creature cleverly orchestrates his escape and ends up in Hawaii. Dr. Jumba and earth expert Agent Pleakley (Billy Magnussen) are sent to capture him.
Lilo sees Experiment 626, who has been hiding from Jumba and Pleakley at the animal shelter, and adopts the exotic blue dog, naming him Stitch. Stitch wreaks havoc wherever he goes yet watching him in action is more likely to inspire gleeful laughter than horror. Watching a monster on tv destroy a city, he happily recreates the scene on the beach as he crashes through sandcastles. He also does many more worse things, yet his actions feel without malice. He’s like a super-powerful toddler, always curious, and getting into everything.
Jumba and Pleakley are amusing in their attempts to snag Stitch, while trying to blend in by awkwardly fitting into bodies cloned from humans. A third thread in this narrative is CIA Agent Cobra Bubbles (Courtney B. Vance) – this character was Nani and Lilo’s social worker in the 2002 film – who is investigating the suspicious landing of an alien ship.
Keeping it more real in the live action version, the social worker, Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrere), has a larger role in the film, meeting often with Nani and trying to find a way to help both sisters thrive. Another new character is their neighbor Tutu (Amy Hill), who also watches over Lilo. The relationship between Lilo and Nani is poignant and feels very genuine, with all the love and frustration of siblings. As Lilo teaches Stitch about Ohana, which means family, the film also provides a vision of how those connections can extend beyond the traditional version of a family. Lilo & Stitch is a fun and heartwarming film on an intimate, rather than a grand scale, as well as being thoroughly entertaining.
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp; Screenplay: Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes; Cinematography: Nigel Bluck; Editors: Phillip J. Bartell, Adam Gerstel; Music: Dan Romer; Cast: Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, Courtney B. Vance, Hannah Waddingham, Chris Sanders, Tia Carrere, Kaipo Dudoit, Amy Hill
