In the season of remakes, prequels, sequels, and movies split into parts, or their parts existing in parallel universes, it’s hardly a surprise that Disney has brushed off its beloved animation of 23 years ago for a live-action airing. The best part to be said about Lilo & Stitch is that it is serviceable.
The worst part is, that it should have been so much more. It has a bunch of actors who seem genuinely Hawaiian, not filling in for one; it has a cute Lilo in Kealoha whose adorableness quotient is nicely in check; as Lilo’s sister Nani, Agudong is genuine and effortless in a largely thankless role; its aliens don’t overstay their welcome; it even has Galifianakis pitching in as alien genius scientist Jumbo whose mean streak is the only real villainy around.
However, Lilo & Stitch makes disappointingly little use of Galifianakis’s strengths or the touching relationship between the parentless Lilo and Nani. Stitch, an alien superweapon created by Jumbo, is a disruptor in more ways than one as it enters Lilo’s world. The dynamics between Lilo, Stitch and Nani never reach an even keel after that, as they varoom from one crisis to another – even as the film itself functions at an energy little more than mild.
If Jumbo and an ‘Earth expert’, Pleakley (Magnussen), are trying to catch Stitch for the Galactic Council, Nani also has on her heels a social worker and a CIA agent. More quiet moments where Lilo and Stitch connected could have done this film a whole world of good. Perhaps too much has changed since 2002 to expect quietude to be the heart of a mainstream film. Still, Lilo & Stitch at least manages a world untouched by violence or malice. We can live with that.
Lilo & Stitch movie director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Lilo & Stitch movie cast:Â Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, Amy Hill, Chris Sanders (voicing Stitch)
Lilo & Stitch movie rating: 2.5 stars