Twenty-three years after the original L&S, last of the great hand-drawn Disney animated features, it’d be a kick to call this new version best of the current cycle of Live-Action Disney remakes.* But as I’ve avoided so many of them, let’s confine ourselves to noting how well this turned out. LILO 2002, a final success in old-school Disney manner & technique (style, character, musical integration, story construction), grew to mega-hit status after its initial release (sequel, series, now this reboot). So give Disney credit for hanging in there and then for taking a leap of faith entrusting it to Dean Fleischer Camp, a barely tested director of sublime whimsy & oddball charm as seen in MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON/’21. Apparently unfazed by the staggering difference in budget and resources, he largely retains story and characters. (Orphaned Hawaiian sisters with a fifteen year age gap are on the verge of being split up by child welfare services when Stitch, an experimental space alien passing as an Earthly pooch, brings complete anarchy to their lives . . . and to the island.) Camp handling all the hard technical stuff, character driven mayhem and family-friendly morals beautifully. The guy’s a natural. (Standout casting, too, especially Billy Magnussen's hilarious alien Earth expert.) Most missed from the older film, in spite of 2025's longer running time, is far more native Hawaiian music & traditional dance woven into the plot. But then, who’s stopping you from watching that one, too!
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: As mentioned, the original L&S and MARCEL. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2023/02/marcel-shell-with-shoes-on-2021.html https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2022/07/lilo-stitch-2002.html
SCREWY THOGHT OF THE DAY: *Just how Live-Action are these films? Most so loaded with CGI processing, they’re simply animation by another name.
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