Fun and anarchy in Disney's live action remake of Lilo and Stitch
LILO & STITCH
★★★
PG. 108 minutes, rated PG. In cinemas
Lilo (Maia Kealoha) is a young Hawaiian orphan, full of high spirits but short on friends. Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders) is a sharp-toothed but fluffy alien genetic experiment, who has fled the laboratory where he was created and is hiding out on planet earth.
That should let you know what to expect from Lilo & Stitch, even if you're unfamiliar with the 2002 cartoon of the same title – not the last Disney film to rely on traditional hand-drawn animation, but among the last to be viewed with widespread nostalgia.
Many members of the original target audience will by now have young children of their own, presumably what Disney are banking on with this live-action remake, a more faithful transposition than their remakes of their older animated classics tend to be.
As before, six-year-old Lilo stumbles upon Stitch at the local dog pound, though even in his new digitally-animated form he looks more like a previously undiscovered species of possum than a dog. It's love at first sight, despite the qualms of Lilo's elder sister and guardian Nani (Sydney Agudong), who's wrapped up in her own worries including an ongoing struggle with child protection services.
Stitch has worries too, such as the extra-terrestrial scientists on his trail, played in their disguised human form by Billy Magnussen and Zach Galifinakis. Still, before the climax kicks in there's ample time for him and his new human soulmate to cause trouble at the hotel where Nani works, along with bonding over Elvis records and teaching each other the meaning of family.
While the tone remains basically gentle, much of the fun comes from Stitch's anarchic, destructive streak – akin to one of my own childhood favourites, Mortimer the raven in the books by Joan Aiken, which some enterprising producer should try bringing to the big screen.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
6 hours ago
- The Age
Ibis, wombat or blue heeler? Former Bluey designer steps up in 2032 mascot quest
'I want the Olympic mascot to be something we can actually be proud of, something that's authentic to who we are and leaves no one behind... 'As far as I know, I'm one of the few people experienced in leading big design teams in showcasing Brisbane to the world.' Drummond was Bluey's original lead designer but quit the show after its first season. 'If you draw one background on Bluey, you've kind of drawn them all, and I had quite literally drawn every background on Bluey, more or less, at that point,' she said. 'I think ultimately that was the right decision, even though it was, you know, the opportunity of a lifetime.' Drummond said she in fact teamed up with her former colleagues at Ludo Studio to petition the Palaszczuk government back in 2022 for a chance to design the mascot. She said it was unlikely that Bluey herself could be the Olympic mascot due to rights issues with the BBC and Disney. 'If we can't get Bluey as the mascot, why not the next best thing, which would be the people who designed Bluey?' she said. Ludo Studio was approached for comment. Drummond said that designing Olympic mascots was a risky enterprise. 'Trying to represent everything and everyone, you end up representing no one,' she said. The much-criticised Wenlock and Mandeville, mascots of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, were an example of what could go wrong. 'Behold the one-eyed compromise monster,' jeered the Toronto Globe and Mail at the time, comparing the mascots to 'a drunken one-night stand between a Teletubby and a Dalek'. 'I'm sure [the Brisbane mascot] should have some kind of a sense of humour about it,' Drummond said. 'I think it should represent our amazing wildlife in some shape or form. And beyond that, it's just a matter of opening it up to the community.' The Brisbane 2032 spokesperson would not say whether the design would be chosen through a public competition as was Borobi, the koala mascot of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Back in 2022, former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that the mascot would be chosen by public vote, while former tourism minister Stirling Hinchliffe hoped it would be an ibis. Palm cockatoos, koalas, dugongs and 'Fatso' the wombat, a joke mascot first proposed by comedians Roy and HG for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, have also featured in the discussion. After 24 hours Drummond's post had 1300 likes and plenty of supportive comments. 'If I was the CEO of Olympics you'd have the job yesterday'; 'You would be perfect for this'; and 'Olympics! Hire this woman now!' were some of the responses. A Queenslander currently based in Melbourne, Drummond said that her Instagram post was aimed less at the Organising Committee and more at creative agencies. 'I think if I could pair up with an advertising agency that I could trust to do a good job, that would probably be the best scenario in all of this,' she said.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Ibis, wombat or blue heeler? Former Bluey designer steps up in 2032 mascot quest
'I want the Olympic mascot to be something we can actually be proud of, something that's authentic to who we are and leaves no one behind... 'As far as I know, I'm one of the few people experienced in leading big design teams in showcasing Brisbane to the world.' Drummond was Bluey's original lead designer but quit the show after its first season. 'If you draw one background on Bluey, you've kind of drawn them all, and I had quite literally drawn every background on Bluey, more or less, at that point,' she said. 'I think ultimately that was the right decision, even though it was, you know, the opportunity of a lifetime.' Drummond said she in fact teamed up with her former colleagues at Ludo Studio to petition the Palaszczuk government back in 2022 for a chance to design the mascot. She said it was unlikely that Bluey herself could be the Olympic mascot due to rights issues with the BBC and Disney. 'If we can't get Bluey as the mascot, why not the next best thing, which would be the people who designed Bluey?' she said. Ludo Studio was approached for comment. Drummond said that designing Olympic mascots was a risky enterprise. 'Trying to represent everything and everyone, you end up representing no one,' she said. The much-criticised Wenlock and Mandeville, mascots of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, were an example of what could go wrong. 'Behold the one-eyed compromise monster,' jeered the Toronto Globe and Mail at the time, comparing the mascots to 'a drunken one-night stand between a Teletubby and a Dalek'. 'I'm sure [the Brisbane mascot] should have some kind of a sense of humour about it,' Drummond said. 'I think it should represent our amazing wildlife in some shape or form. And beyond that, it's just a matter of opening it up to the community.' The Brisbane 2032 spokesperson would not say whether the design would be chosen through a public competition as was Borobi, the koala mascot of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Back in 2022, former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that the mascot would be chosen by public vote, while former tourism minister Stirling Hinchliffe hoped it would be an ibis. Palm cockatoos, koalas, dugongs and 'Fatso' the wombat, a joke mascot first proposed by comedians Roy and HG for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, have also featured in the discussion. After 24 hours Drummond's post had 1300 likes and plenty of supportive comments. 'If I was the CEO of Olympics you'd have the job yesterday'; 'You would be perfect for this'; and 'Olympics! Hire this woman now!' were some of the responses. A Queenslander currently based in Melbourne, Drummond said that her Instagram post was aimed less at the Organising Committee and more at creative agencies. 'I think if I could pair up with an advertising agency that I could trust to do a good job, that would probably be the best scenario in all of this,' she said.
AU Financial Review
14 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
The surprise hit that could help Disney collect $1.5b
Call it Stitch's vindication. For 23 years, the rowdy blue agent of chaos lived as a second-class citizen at Disney. The animated Lilo & Stitch, released in 2002, was made in near secret, partly because the character and art style didn't fit the Disney mould. One poster for the movie depicted classic Disney characters such as Pinocchio, Jasmine, Belle recoiling from Stitch in horror. Ticket sales were so-so. Stitch got a couple of direct-to-video sequels and a TV cartoon in the 2000s. A modest Disney World ride opened in 2004 and closed in 2018, leaving the snaggle-toothed character to scamper along as a consumer products property.
