Latest news with #Gantu
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Live-Action "Lilo & Stitch" Made Some Big Changes From The Original, But There Is One That Has Everyone Screaming
There are obviously spoilers ahead for the live-action Lilo & Stitch! Disney's latest live-action remake just hit theaters, and it's already making quite a splash. Lilo & Stitch made $341 million worldwide and became the biggest Memorial Day weekend debut in history in the US. Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp and written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes, the movie adapts the beloved 2002 animated movie by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois into the live-action medium, which is a pattern Disney has been following for years. Like previous live-action remakes, Lilo & Stitch essentially follows the exact same plot as the it's live-action. Which, as someone who adores animated movies, these aren't typically my cup of tea, except Cinderella starring Lily James, I loved that one. So, you would think it would be pretty easy to just copy-paste the animated movie's story into a new movie, and then Disney makes a lot of money at the box office, which is essentially what happened with Lilo & Stitch, except there are some big changes that have caught original fans' attention. I should point out that the animated movie is easily in my top five favorite Disney movies of all time, so I am extra critical here. For starters, the live-action remake gets rid of Captain Gantu, who was the original antagonist in the animated movie. That's right, the movie completely cuts out Stitch's main rival, and instead makes Jumba — YES, SWEET UNCLE JUMBA — the villain who looks to capture Stitch and Lilo as part of his own plot for galactic domination and glory. Speaking about this change with Entertainment Weekly, director Dean Fleischer Camp said, "Gantu arrives, and it turns into a more conventional movie. I thought there was a nice opportunity here for [Jumba] to turn and become the villain in the third act. To create real estate for all that emotional stuff and the deepening that we did, you have to get rid of stuff. And so Gantu was a casualty of that." Yes, this means that Jumba doesn't end up staying with the family in the end. Another change the live-action Lilo & Stitch makes from the original is basically splitting the character of Cobra Bubbles, who is a social worker and former CIA agent in the original, who checks in on Lilo and Nani. In the live-action, he's just a CIA agent who is sent to capture Stitch, while the character of Mrs. Kekoa was created to be a social worker. Mrs. Kekoa is actually played by Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani in the original movie. Disney / Via Zach Dougan / Disney Speaking about this change, Fleischer Camp told Entertainment Weekly, "If the dramatic stakes of Lilo is that she's going to get separated from her sister, then you need a person who actually services those stakes in a credible way. You can get away with that being Cobra Bubbles in an animated film — a 6-foot-5 huge dude with 'Cobra' tattooed on his knuckles is somehow a social worker in that world." And while those are two big changes, there is one more in particular that people, including myself, cannot get over. And it comes at the end of the movie. In the original Lilo & Stitch, the film ends with the Grand Councilwoman deciding that Stitch can stay in exile on Earth with Lilo and Nani. Then, Stitch, Jumba, and Pleakley all join Lilo and Nani's family, and they set out to rebuild their house, alongside David and Cobra Bubbles. With the message of the movie, "'Ohana means family" ringing true. Now, the live-action movie still has the Grand Councilwoman say that Stitch can stay with Lilo and Nani, but when they return home, Mrs. Kekoa informs Nani that Lilo will be given up to the state, but her guardianship can be given to David and his grandmother Tūtū, who is a new character for the live-action film, so she can stay living in town. Zach Dougan / Disney, Disney And Lilo gives Nani permission to go pursue her dream of marine biology, insisting that she will be okay. So, they all rebuild the house, and Nani goes to study at the University of California, San Diego. And she visits Lilo and Stitch back home using Jumba's old portal gun whenever she wants. Yup. You read that correctly. So unlike in the animated movie, where Nani does EVERYTHING to keep Lilo, the live-action movie ends with her leaving Lilo behind to go to school. I can't even touch on the fact of why you would leave Hawaii to study marine biology somewhere else, but alright. WHAT HAPPENED TO "'OHANA MEANS FAMILY. FAMILY MEANS NOBODY GETS LEFT BEHIND OR FORGOTTEN." Okay, I'm done. I'm sorry. I need to calm down. Anyway, I'm not the only one who is annoyed at this change, so many fans voiced their concerns on social media after the opening weekend of the film. One popular TikTok with 7.4 million views and over 1.2 million likes reads, "everyone yesterday witnessing the most obvious propaganda encouraging native families to give up their children to the state." And the comments on the TikTok also added to people's frustration with this change: And another TikTok had one fan yelling, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE GIVES LILO UP TO THE STATE? WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE GOES OFF TO THE MAINLAND TO STUDY MARINE BIOLOGY?!!!" @ousichan / TikTok / Via People on X, formerly Twitter, were not happy with the change either: So, um, yeah. The Lilo & Stitch live-action movie did all of that. I hope the parents of the kids going to see this movie also show them the animated movie because it's far superior and let's continue to support original animated movies. What do you think about these changes in the Lilo & Stitch live-action movie? Heck, did you even go see it? Tell us everything in the comments below! Check out more AAPI-centered content by exploring how BuzzFeed celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Of course, the content doesn't end after May. Follow BuzzFeed's A*Pop on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to keep up with our latest AAPI content year-round.
Buzz Feed
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Lilo And Stitch Live Action Changes Nani Lilo
Disney's latest live-action remake just hit theaters, and it's already making quite a splash. Lilo & Stitch made $341 million worldwide and became the biggest Memorial Day weekend debut in history in the US. Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp and written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes, the movie adapts the beloved 2002 animated movie by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois into the live-action medium, which is a pattern Disney has been following for years. Like previous live-action remakes, Lilo & Stitch essentially follows the exact same plot as the it's live-action. Which, as someone who adores animated movies, these aren't typically my cup of tea, except Cinderella starring Lily James, I loved that one. So, you would think it would be pretty easy to just copy-paste the animated movie's story into a new movie, and then Disney makes a lot of money at the box office, which is essentially what happened with Lilo & Stitch, except there are some big changes that have caught original fans' attention. I should point out that the animated movie is easily in my top five favorite Disney movies of all time, so I am extra critical here. For starters, the live-action remake gets rid of Captain Gantu, who was the original antagonist in the animated movie. That's right, the movie completely cuts out Stitch's main rival, and instead makes Jumba — YES, SWEET UNCLE JUMBA — the villain who looks to capture Stitch and Lilo as part of his own plot for galactic domination and glory. Speaking about this change with Entertainment Weekly, director Dean Fleischer Camp said, "Gantu arrives, and it turns into a more conventional movie. I thought there was a nice opportunity here for [Jumba] to turn and become the villain in the third act. To create real estate for all that emotional stuff and the deepening that we did, you have to get rid of stuff. And so Gantu was a casualty of that." Yes, this means that Jumba doesn't end up staying with the family in the end. Another change the live-action Lilo & Stitch makes from the original is basically splitting the character of Cobra Bubbles, who is a social worker and former CIA agent in the original, who checks in on Lilo and Nani. In the live-action, he's just a CIA agent who is sent to capture Stitch, while the character of Mrs. Kekoa was created to be a social worker. Mrs. Kekoa is actually played by Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani in the original movie. Speaking about this change, Fleischer Camp told Entertainment Weekly, "If the dramatic stakes of Lilo is that she's going to get separated from her sister, then you need a person who actually services those stakes in a credible way. You can get away with that being Cobra Bubbles in an animated film — a 6-foot-5 huge dude with 'Cobra' tattooed on his knuckles is somehow a social worker in that world." And while those are two big changes, there is one more in particular that people, including myself, cannot get over. And it comes at the end of the movie. In the original Lilo & Stitch, the film ends with the Grand Councilwoman deciding that Stitch can stay in exile on Earth with Lilo and Nani. Then, Stitch, Jumba, and Pleakley all join Lilo and Nani's family, and they set out to rebuild their house, alongside David and Cobra Bubbles. With the message of the movie, "'Ohana means family" ringing true. Now, the live-action movie still has the Grand Councilwoman say that Stitch can stay with Lilo and Nani, but when they return home, Mrs. Kekoa informs Nani that Lilo will be given up to the state, but her guardianship can be given to David and his grandmother Tūtū, who is a new character for the live-action film, so she can stay living in town. And Lilo gives Nani permission to go pursue her dream of marine biology, insisting that she will be okay. So, they all rebuild the house, and Nani goes to study at the University of California, San Diego. And she visits Lilo and Stitch back home using Jumba's old portal gun whenever she wants. Yup. You read that correctly. So unlike in the animated movie, where Nani does EVERYTHING to keep Lilo, the live-action movie ends with her leaving Lilo behind to go to school. I can't even touch on the fact of why you would leave Hawaii to study marine biology somewhere else, but alright. WHAT HAPPENED TO "'OHANA MEANS FAMILY. FAMILY MEANS NOBODY GETS LEFT BEHIND OR FORGOTTEN." Okay, I'm done. I'm sorry. I need to calm down. Anyway, I'm not the only one who is annoyed at this change, so many fans voiced their concerns on social media after the opening weekend of the film. One popular TikTok with 7.4 million views and over 1.2 million likes reads, "everyone yesterday witnessing the most obvious propaganda encouraging native families to give up their children to the state." And the comments on the TikTok also added to people's frustration with this change: People on X, formerly Twitter, were not happy with the change either: So, um, yeah. The Lilo & Stitch live-action movie did all of that. I hope the parents of the kids going to see this movie also show them the animated movie because it's far superior and let's continue to support original animated movies. What do you think about these changes in the Lilo & Stitch live-action movie? Heck, did you even go see it? Tell us everything in the comments below! Check out more AAPI-centered content by exploring how BuzzFeed celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Of course, the content doesn't end after May. Follow BuzzFeed's A*Pop on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to keep up with our latest AAPI content year-round.
Buzz Feed
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Why Gantu Isn't In The Lilo & Stitch Remake
🚨 Warning: Major spoilers ahead. 🚨 There's a significant change in Disney's live-action Lilo & Stitch that some people might have difficulty coming to terms with, and I get it. There's Lilo and Nani. Of course, there's Stitch. Pleakly and Jumba are present. There's even the Grand Councilwoman! But there's no Gantu. 🚨 Spoilers Ahead 🚨 In the live-action Lilo & Stitch, the main antagonist is no longer Captain Gantu, but instead Jumba (Zach Galifianakis), hellbent on capturing his rogue experiment for his evil galactic domination plot. Remember when Captain Gantu captured Lilo and Stitch, and instead of letting Gantu die after he rescued Lilo, Stitch saved Gantu, too, and we all started crying? Yeah, that's not happening in this version. Director Dean Fleischer Camp explained to Entertainment Weekly why they made this big change from the original movie. "Something that live-action films do by virtue of taking place in reality is that they are already more grounded," Dean said to the publication. "If you have a story like Lilo & Stitch that does actually have this pretty terrestrial drama between the sisters and staying together, you can actually do them a greater service in a live-action movie. You can make those relationships deeper, hopefully more emotionally resonant." We've seen these types of changes before in Disney live-action remakes. Remember when Mushu and Cricket were completely missing from the live-action Mulan? Lilo & Stitch decided to keep all the other aliens except one. Poor Gantu. In addition to Gantu's omission, there was a big change with Cobra Bubbles being a very intimidating social worker and an obvious homage to Ving Rhames's Pulp Fiction character, Marcellus Wallace. "You end up thinking about how it is a very different experience to see an actual 6-year-old girl potentially being threatened with being torn from her caregiver sister after grieving the loss of their parents," Dean said. "That is a very different kind of responsibility from a filmmaking perspective than what you can get away with in an animated film." In the new film, Cobra Bubbles is just a CIA agent, and his role as Lilo's social worker was given to the new character Mrs. Kekoa (played by Tia Carrere, the voice of Nani from the animated film). "If the dramatic stakes of Lilo is that she's going to get separated from her sister, then you need a person who actually services those stakes in a credible way," Dean continued. "You can get away with that being Cobra Bubbles in an animated film — a 6-foot-5 huge dude with 'Cobra' tattooed on his knuckles is somehow a social worker in that world." Big, tall, scary dudes like Gantu and animated Bubbles are apparently "too much live-action. So, if there's no Gantu, that means that somebody has to take his place as the movie's antagonist. "One of the things I loved about the original is that up until Gantu arrives, there is no villain that is just a villain," Dean said. "Gantu arrives and it turns into a more conventional movie. I thought there was a nice opportunity here for [Jumba] to turn and become the villain in the third act." "To create real estate for all that emotional stuff and the deepening that we did, you have to get rid of stuff. And so Gantu was a casualty of that, but one that I felt pretty confident about from a storytelling perspective," Dean continued. You might want to know that Gantu did exist in the live-action version at one point, but Dean elected for the change according to producer Jonathan Eirich. "We did have it in at one point," he told EW. "In part because you're following certain aspects of the original movie and you're like, 'Oh, well of course Gantu has to be in this. It was really to Dean's credit that he challenged the idea of, 'Well, does he have to? Could it be somebody else who has a more personal connection?'" With Gantu out, Lilo & Stitch's producer said it felt more "fertile from a story perspective" to make Jumba the big bad in Act 3, noting that his relationship with Stitch as a "deliquent father figure" amplified the overall theme of the new movie. Changes are expected in the live-action remakes of Disney films, but since Gantu is a character who plays a huge part in the Lilo & Stitch universe, I feel it necessary to defend his presence in the series. Gantu may have been an antagonist to some degree in the 2002 Lilo & Stitch, but was he really a villain? Not necessarily. Gantu represented the original movie's conflict of obedience, law and order, and doing things "by the book." He was following orders, something every character (besides Lilo and Stitch) did in the original movie. Cobra Bubbles tried to follow the rules as a social worker and former CIA tried to follow the rules as a big sister and a Gantu tried to capture Stitch (yes, recklessly) because he was technically a wanted criminal in the galaxy, so let's give the Galactic Federation Captain some grace. Now, Dr. Hämsterviel? That's a real villain right there. IYKYK. Justice for Captain Gantu! Read the full interview with Dean Fleischer Camp here. What do you think about the changes to Lilo & Stitch?
