Directed By Dean Fleischer Camp

Starring – Chris Sanders, Maia Kealoha, Sydney Agudong

The Plot – A fugitive alien helps a lonely Hawaiian girl (Kealoha) mend her broken family

Rated PG for action, peril and thematic elements.

Lilo & Stitch | Official Trailer | In Theaters May 23

POSITIVES

Adapting one of the most beloved animated movies of the 21st century to live action form comes with immensely complex challenges, and while “Lilo & Stitch” is another for the pile of inferior remakes to their predecessors, it undoubtedly justifies its existence with a variety of newfound creative changes and character deviations that keeps it from feeling like a rehashing of the twenty-three year old material that stood as a product of its time. That isn’t to say that this version doesn’t practically duplicate scenes and sequences in everything from the execution to the dialogue from which they’re sprung from, it’s just that this time around screenwriters Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes utilize more grounded logic in playing to the situations of real-life, and for my money roughly 70% of the fresh additions here make for more realistic outlines with characterization, particularly those of Cobra Bubbles (Played By Courtney B. Vance), who now finds his arc divided directly with new character and social worker Mrs. Kekoa (Voiced by original Nani, Tia Carrera), without needing to combine both towards a twist during the original movie that someone could spot from miles away. Likewise, some of the situations involving the familiarity from classic scenes take refreshingly entertaining directions, and it transpires freshness to scenes that would otherwise feel redundant, all the while equipping the outline of this journey with realism, that doesn’t have freedom of the anything goes world that often transpires in animated renderings. If this wasn’t enough, the film’s honorable intention to cement as many of the original voice actors as Easter egg characters here really emphasize its heart being in the right place with feeling the need to honor its iconic original movie, in turn feeling like it mirrors the outer dynamic of parents handing down the story to a new generation of moviegoers. Beyond some of the freshly innovative new directions, the film maintains the glowing aura of its Hawaiian culture, particularly in the depths of its Elvis-heavy soundtrack and spellbinding scenery, that capture the uniqueness and specificity of this exotic setting. Like its predecessor, the song selections transpire energy and urgency to the sequences that they breezily accompany, and with a consistency for on-site filming locations breeding authenticity and radiance to the engagement, there’s a euphoric isolation factor from the rest of the world executed effortlessly from the production, which makes Hawaii feel like a character of its own within the movie. As for the transition to live action encapsulation, it’s obvious that the alien creatures, particularly Stitch, will still require artificial designs to bring to life their captures, and thankfully the film utilizes some of its 100 million dollar budget to enact some surprisingly impressive special effects designs and details that flow naturally against corresponding lively properties. As to where C.G has been a constant issue for most Disney Live action remakes, particularly in the heft believability and emotive detailing of character designs, here the finished product smooths out a tangibility in texture and expressive essence in the boldly conveying eyes of Stitch, and the result isn’t so much a Sonic the Hedgehog reimagining as it is a faithful upgrade to vintage designs, gifting plenty of exaggerated expressions for longtime Stitch voice actor, Chris Sanders, to dig deeper than ever into his eagerly eccentric diaphragm. That feels like a great place to transition into some of the performances, particularly Sanders and first time actor, Maia Kealoha, who each imbed so much soul and respect in their approaches to these legendary characters. Sanders, in portraying the same role twenty-three years later, proves that he hasn’t missed a step with Stitch’s razor sharp comedic deliveries, with contorting vocalizations that somehow feel otherworldly, despite him communicating in the English language, and while his most memorable moments in the portrayal are those where he’s reveling in the madness of his deconstructive mayhem, there’s a softer tranquility to the character’s underlining that properly materializes once his nature background has allowed itself to nurture the warmth of a family, and Sanders is every bit as perfect as he was during his original incarnation. But as good as Sanders is, it’s actually eight-year-old Kealoha who steals the show here, bringing an adorability and precociousness to her portrayal that not only charmed me to my core, but also exuded a natural essence to childlike wonderment that doesn’t feel staged or rehearsed, even when the film delves more into dramatics during its third act climax.

NEGATIVES

As to where “Lilo & Stitch” is one of the better Disney live action remakes, it isn’t exactly saying a lot in comparison to those other franchises, and there’s actually quite a lot of issues here that still keep it from being a legitimately great film on its own merits. For starters, the dynamic between Lilo and Nani isn’t as thoroughly fleshed out here as it was during its predecessor, with an overall deviation in direction that makes them feel like rival siblings, instead of best friends. This can be expected from a household with very little parental structure and discipline, however in a story riding the dramatic waves of its own designs, the heartfelt underlining doesn’t reach the overwhelming magnitudes of its predecessor, and instead fall victim to some syrupy melodrama that it doesn’t even remotely earn or faithfully cater towards. As to where the original movie continuously brought them back towards one another, regardless of how much Lilo was costing her opportunities, here they’re constantly at odds with one another, and with the corresponding characterization of Nani feeling like she’s stuck in a backbreaking situation that she wants no part of, has it all feeling uncomfortable, instead of compelling, wiping away the film’s single biggest appeal, at least for my money, that helps it transcend the everyday kids moving tagging. But as lukewarm and undercooked as the movie’s dramatics are, its humor is so much worse, particularly the toilet humor and gross-out variety of gags that didn’t feel like they belonged in this franchise, with these characters. To be fair, I did laugh quite a bit with Stitch essentially chewing the scenery, especially with Sanders’ nonchalantly pleasurable impulses exuded towards the character, but when Stitch isn’t involved, the humor greatly suffers, with no greater evidence than that of Billy Magnussen and Zach Galifanakis, who portray this version of Jumba and Pleakley, respectively. Even if you overlook the fact that Galifanakis is terribly miscast for this role, considering Jumba is the straight man to their dynamic, the redundant bumbling of this mission to find and bring Stitch back home has them feeling like the Temu version of “Super Mario Bros: The Movie’s” Iggy and Spike, with far too much screen time devoted to their development, in ways that single handedly wiped away momentum and consistency from the movie’s pacing. In terms of production values, a film that initially was to be shown on Disney Plus feels every ounce of that small screen medium, especially within the depths of the movie’s presentation, which even twenty-three years later and on-site in Hawaii, can’t hold a candle to the colorful vibrancy of its animated original. The lifelessly drab color tones wipe away any semblance of exoticism from the air of the environment, with outside scenes that feel like they were filmed inside, on account of this inescapable shadowing that continuously plagues the movie’s imagery, crafting an air of off-screen influence and artificiality that compromised a real opportunity for the movie to dismiss preconceived prejudice in the idea that live action movies can never be as beautiful as their animated originals. Finally, while a majority of the movie’s script changes did appeal to me on a beneficial level, there are those that didn’t reach the same level of personal satisfaction, primarily those with a new neighbor character, who not only adds very little to what transpires, but also feels like the primary reasoning for an ending resolution that I truly didn’t like. I try not to compare the same movie towards each other, but part of what I loved about the original was this idea of these sisters being alone in the world, with very little human presence to aid them, but here this character springs forth any time the sisters run into considerable trouble to their predicament, and it directly undercuts the stakes of everything that transpires throughout the engagement, all the while directly undercutting the moments of growing between their dynamic that eventually materializes into the stable family that they’ve lacked since their parents died.

OVERALL
“Lilo & Stitch” doesn’t come close to attaining the lightning in a bottle emotionality that was its animated original, but it’s still an affectionately respectful and culturally capturing engagement that tenderly tickles the tangibility of its audience’s nostalgia, with wave-riding performances from Sanders and Kealoha that keep the movie from drowning on account of its creative undertow. As far as live action Disney remakes go, it’s on the less harmful side of their money-hungry equation, but not necessarily one sure to replace the replay value or capture even half of the cultural impact of its 2002 original, in turn deducing it to a 103-minute commercial advertisement for its predecessor.

My Grade: 6.3 or C-