The iconic bond between a Hawaiian girl and an alien experiment returns to the big screen with the premiere of the live-action Lilo & Stitch, scheduled for this weekend.
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This new version of the 2002 animated classic promises to reimagine the beloved story with a blend of modern visual effects and the original charm that captivated an entire generation.
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Tia Carrere, the original voice of Nani Pelekai in Lilo & Stitch (2002), plays Mrs. Kekoa, a new character in this movie.
Jason Scott Lee, who voiced David Kawena in Lilo & Stitch (2002), makes a cameo.
Chris Sanders, director, screenwriter, and story creator of Lilo & Stitch (2002), returns to voice Stitch. He had to balance his voice acting work with the production of his successful animated drama Wild Robot (2024) at the same time.
Sanders is the only original actor who reprises his role, as Stitch, while the rest of the characters in this movie are played and dubbed by new actors.
Initially, it was going to premiere directly on Disney+, but the positive reception of the test screenings led Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures to decide to release it in theaters.
Due to his tight schedule working on Wild Robot (2024), Sanders recorded his lines for Stitch at the recording studio on the DreamWorks Animation Campus in Glendale. He was the first to use it for an external project.
Lilo & Stitch (2002) was set in Hawaii, and the live-action film was shot in the same location.
The movie will be released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Lilo & Stitch 2.
Since Lilo & Stitch (2002) had been rated PG by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), this is the first live-action reboot of a Disney animated feature film to have the same MPAA rating as the original 2D animated movie.
This movie is dedicated to David Ogden Stiers and Zoe Caldwell, who voiced Dr. Jumba Jookiba and the Grand Councilwoman in the original film.
This is the fourth live-action remake from Disney that features an actor from the original animated film reprising a role, following:
- Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger - Christopher Robin (2018)
- Frank Welker as Abu and the Cave of Wonders - Aladdin (2019)
- James Earl Jones as Mufasa - The Lion King (2019)
Controversies
Sydney Agudong’s casting sparked controversy on social media shortly after it was announced, with accusations of colorism and whitewashing towards Disney and the movie’s cast, as the actress has a lighter skin tone than the original animated character counterpart.
The choice of Courtney B. Vance as Cobra Bubbles also generated some controversy, as fans expressed their disappointment that the original voice actor of the character, Ving Rhames, whose character from Pulp Fiction, Marsellus Wallace, was used as the model for Bubbles, was not chosen for the role.
Initially, Kahiau Machado was chosen to play David Kawena, but he was replaced by Kaipot Dudoit after offensive social media posts were discovered.