Lilo & Stitch

Review by Ryan Michael Painter

Lilo & Stitch is the first Disney live-action remake where I have only a passing knowledge of the source material. Released in 2002, the animated version of Lilo & Stitch came at a time when I was entrenched in the music industry and wrapping up my writing degree. My familiarity with Stitch comes via Sitch’s Great Escape, a now-shuttered ride at Disney World. To that end, this is a nostalgia-free review.

Lilo & Stitch (Disney)

108 Minutes, Rated PG

Written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, Mike Van Waes

Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp

Synopsis:

The wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family.

 

The film begins in a remote corner of the galaxy where the fate of Stitch, a dangerous creature, and Jumba, the scientist who created it, are to be decided by the Grand Councilwoman. It looks and feels like a fun-sized Galactic Senate hearing lifted from a Star Wars animated series. The live-action portion of film comes only after Stitch, having been banished for having no redeemable qualities, escapes custody and crash lands on Earth.

Having arrived on Earth, Stitch is mistaken for a stray dog and finds himself detained at an animal shelter. Stitch quickly assesses the situation and quickly attaches himself to Lilo, a young girl with a penchant for mischievous behavior that rivals his own.

Lilo lives with her older sister, Nani, who has been forced to set aside her aspiration to be a marine biologist following the death of their parents. Struggling to keep afloat, Nani is one mistake away from losing custody of Lilo.

Meanwhile, Pleakley, an Earth-obsessed alien, and Jumba are sent by the Grand Councilwoman to retrieve Stitch before he manages to cause the extinction of humankind. Forced to disguise themselves as humans, Pleaksey and Jumba spend the bulk of the film two or three clumsy steps behind Stitch.  Independently, CIA agent Cobra Bubbles also pursues Stitch. Unlike Pleakley and Jumba, Bubbles is reasonably skilled and capable of tracking Stitch. He, however, underestimates Stitch and Lilo’s ability to summon chaos and disorder.

I have no idea if this narrative matches the original’s storyline. I can tell you that, apart from the annoying Pleaksey and Jumba, I found the film to be a delightful lesson in mayhem. It’s good spirited, of course, but the trail of destruction that Stitch and Lilo leave is almost as impressive as the movie’s ability to establish an instant bond between relationships between Stitch, Lilo, and Nani. Director Dean Fleischer Camp, best known for Marcel the Shell, once again proves he knowns how to tug at an audience’s heartstrings.

Performances are generally strong. Maia Kealoha is incredibly charismatic as Lilo and Sydney Agudong, who is new to me, gives Nani the perfect blend of good-hearted ambition undone by a complete lack of adult experience. She’s too bewildered and overwhelmed to understand how bewildered and overwhelmed she is.

The “live action” Stitch works as well as, if not better, as Sonic in the Sonic the Hedgehog films. I wish the opening scene felt less animated, but it’s not enough to sink the ship. Nor are Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen’s performances as Jumba and Pleaksey. To be fair, the actors are only doing what the script asks them to do. Kids will likely enjoy to buffoonery. I like my antagonists to be somewhat intelligent.

Lilo & Stitch is in theaters May 23 and stars Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Hannah Waddingham, Chris Sanders, with Courtney B. Vance, and Zach Galifianakis, and introducing Maia Kealoha.

And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.

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