Millennial nostalgia in Lilo & Stitch

In 2002, the Hawaiian-set animated adventure Lilo & Stitch proved a surprise hit for Disney. Just past the peak of the Disney Renaissance that drove animated films in the Nineties, including such films as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch came at a time when everyone knew Disney Animation was struggling to keep that hand-drawn Renaissance magic alive, even as computer animation was moving to the fore. But the film proved durable, earning a generation of fans with its madcap comedy, ugly-cute alien protagonist, and heartwarming story that introduced the world at large to the Hawaiian concept of “ohana”, or family, which includes found families. Now getting the live-action remake treatment, Lilo & Stitch is back to enthrall a new generation, and it’s just fine.

Directed this time out by Dean Fleischer Camp, who co-created the sweet and gentle Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and working from a script by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes, the live-action Lilo is pretty much the animated Lilo, but with a few effective updates, mainly boosting Nani’s character and deepening the understanding between orphaned sisters Lilo and Nani. As in the animated film, Lilo Pelekai (Maia Kealoha) is an orphan being cared for by her teenaged sister, Nani Pelekai (Sydney Elizebeth Agudong), who is in turn struggling to take care of Lilo and herself. Warned to get their lives in order or see Lilo taken into foster care, Nani doubles down on trying to provide for her little sister while harboring her own hopes and dreams for her future, which are seemingly put on hold.

Into this struggle comes “Experiment 626”, an alien creature who is somehow ugly yet cute, and escapes a death sentence in space by crash-landing on Earth. There, he poses as a rescue dog and gets adopted by Lilo, even though a dog is the last thing Nani needs on her plate. Stitch is once again voiced by Chris Sanders, who created the character and voiced Stitch in the animated film, which he also co-directed. Lilo and Stitch become fast friends and partners in mostly accidental destruction, and through caring for Stitch, Lilo begins to see how hard caring for her is on Nani. Likewise, Stitch begins to recognize love and want to give it in return, growing empathy for the plight of the Pelekai sisters.

The film does an excellent job centering the Pelekai sisters. Sydney Elizebeth Agudong is a warm and sympathetic presence on screen, matched well by Maia Kealoha’s chaotic energy, which only grows with Stich by Lilo’s side. They make a very believable pair of sisters and Stitch, alienness aside, is particularly well suited to a computer update. An argument can be made that live-action updates suck the inherent charm out of hand-drawn animation, but in the case of Stitch, the more realistic he looks, the more believable his brand of chaos is. No matter his intentions, Stitch keeps making things worse for the sisters, even as their social worker, Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrere, who originally voiced Nani), is constantly hovering, a tacit threat to split the sisters up.

The cast also includes Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnusson as a hapless pair of aliens sent to capture Stitch, and Courtney B. Vance, Amy Hill, and Jason Scott Lee returning from the original film, albeit playing new characters. It’s a very likeable ensemble and the slapstick capers of Lilo and Stitch remain mostly charming (there is one fairly scary drowning incident). The new film offers little in the way of innovation, mostly just beefing up Nani’s role, but the story of Lilo & Stitch is so good, and the message of ohana so pure and heartwarming, it’s hard to get mad at the film for being “more of the same”. 

Do we NEED these live-action remakes? No, but Lilo & Stitch is far from the worst of the lot, and while it’s not exactly reinventing the wheel, it is sweet and fun and entertaining. Besides, it’s not EXACTLY the same, only MOSTLY the same, and what IS the same is a positive message about family—those born and those chosen—that is delivered with sprightly comedy and a chaotic alien creature that one generation already went mad for, and another probably will, too. Whatever form he’s in, Stitch is very hard to resist.

Lilo & Stitch is now playing exclusively in theaters.