Rating: 7/10
Ever since Disney began its live-action remakes of beloved animated films, filmmakers have toed an important line: the balance between staying true to the original story versus adding or removing elements. Fortunately — or unfortunately, depending on your perspective — Disney’s remake of “Lilo & Stitch” mostly followed the lead of its original.
What is the responsibility of a remake? Besides the obvious use as a nostalgia-reliant moneymaker, “Lilo & Stitch” seems to position itself as a strengthening of the 2002 original’s message: “Ohana means family.”
Lilo and Stitch are much closer in personality this time around. Instead of just being late to hula class and confronting bullies, Lilo (Maia Kealoha) is more prone to mischief, a quality that continues throughout the movie. It’s refreshing to see a definitively childlike portrayal of Lilo, and Kealoha is a great actress for only eight years old.
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In general, the character arc of Stitch (Chris Sanders) takes a backseat to the story of Lilo and Nani (Sydney Agudong). It’s not a wholly unwelcome shift, although it certainly plays into the idea that this remake is meant for the adults who grew up watching the movie, not the kids who have since fallen in love with it.
Stitch’s journey to find meaning is lost, and he is reduced to an avatar of mischief with little character development, save for a few blocky steps. However, the time sacrificed is well-spent on exploring more of Nani and Lilo’s relationship, and the values of ohana and kuleana. Although the explication of these values is more in-depth than the original, they don’t feel heavy-handed.
The movie leans into the portrayal of the child welfare system. With the formerly cartoonish Cobra Bubbles (Courtney B. Vance) recast strictly as a CIA agent rather than a social worker, there is room for a more realistic story about family dynamics and foster care.
Social worker Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrere), although at some points stiff, is a welcome new addition to the cast, along with Nani and Lilo’s neighbor Tūtū (Amy Hill). However, the new personality of Dr. Jumba Jookiba (Zach Galifianakis) is an upsetting change. Rather than the driven but somewhat bumbling mad scientist audiences remember, the script gives Jumba a scary, cruel edge that borders on psychopathic.
The movie at times trips on forced dialogue, going for a conversational humor that falls flat — especially when compared to the animated physical and facial comedy of its original. There’s no good way to replicate cartoon humor in the real world, and its lack gives the jokes a certain hollowness.
Although Pleakley (Billy Magnussen) does his best to be the strongest comic relief of the movie, his role as an alien overzealous about human life while adjusting to a human body isn’t inventive, even outside of this franchise.
Magnussen’s role also gave the movie its most widely-known of a few controversies. Several scenes where Pleakley disguised himself in a dress, wig and lipstick were removed in favor of the transformation technology that turns the CGI aliens into their actors.
All of Disney’s remakes have relied on nostalgia over substance, and “Lilo & Stitch” is no exception. However, because the nostalgia in question was so beautifully rendered in the “real world,” forgiveness of the movie’s lesser qualities comes easily.
Ultimately, this latest installment in Disney’s quest to bring childhood classics into the modern age doesn’t speak for itself, but it’s a well-done reminder to go watch the original.
