Before I get into the real review, I have to say I am loving the dedication of the movie goers on this one. Every other person coming out of the theater ahead of us, coming in with us, and going in after had either stitch clothing, a Stitch stuffed animal, Stitch ears, or bought the Stitch popcorn bucket. The excitement over this one was huge and that excitement was contagious. After all the politics mixed up in the last several live action remakes, it was refreshing to have one that wasn’t being drowned out by bad reviews before it even hit theaters. With that, let’s get started!
The no spoilers review. There were a few scenes and characters left out that were definitely missed, however, the feel of the movie, the characters who were there, and… well… Stitch… saved the movie and made it so I can definitely say with confidence, go see it! I laughed and cried in all the right places and it wasn’t just because it held almost all the nostalgia of the original. The cgi was spot on and it really felt like aliens had joined our world. The theme of Ohana was strong and has me wanting to write a whole post on that alone.
Ok. If you want to go watch it without spoilers, stop reading, put on your Stitch shirt, grab that Stitch stuffed animal, and find yourself a movie theater! Then come back and read the rest because I’d love to compare notes!
SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT
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First, a little disclaimer. I usually watch the remake twice and the original once to compare. Since I watched this one in theaters and it’s not on Disney+ yet I only watched it once. If I watch it again and change my opinion on anything I’ll make a note at the end.
Disney may have redeemed themselves with this one. It may have had something to do with the fact that Lilo was actually allowed to be Hawaiian and Stitch was… well… still blue… but that’s all I’m going to say on that. Let’s get into it.
We start on the spaceship, just like the original, and all the aliens look pretty perfect, personalities are right, story follows the original, there were even a few characters I didn’t realize were in the original until I watched the movies back to back and they were in both. There’s one thing that bugged me about Jumba but more on that later. Stitch even gets himself free the same way he does in the cartoon, tricking the guns with his spit, stealing the red spaceship. Overall a very good start.
First scene with Lilo got me excited right off the bat. I don’t know for sure if it was an actual ocean Lilo was swimming in or not, but it definitely looked like it. In fact all of the ocean scenes looked completely real and amazing. Unlike that other ocean movie where the cgi was painful to watch… apparently it’s possible, so well done redeeming yourself on that one Disney.
The story line, for the most part, does follow the original. Some of the well known lines and scenes are cut short which, for nostalgia's sake is missed, for the actual storyline… their absence didn’t help but also didn’t hurt necessarily. For example, Lilo's iconic explanation of the whole Pudge the fish thing did happen, but not to as much length as the original. Lilo does adopt Stitch, but we don’t have the scene where she “pays” for him. The “learning to be good” montage is definitely part of it, but there’s no Elvis impersonation. The mean little girls are there, but they’re not as much of a focus of the story. Gantu is taken out completely, he’s barely in the original movie to begin with, but his absence does create a few problems of its own but more on that later. Nani drives a truck, not a bug… that probably bothers me, a bug owner, more than it will bother anyone else. But the part I missed the most, there is no Ugly Duckling story. I kept waiting for it and it never happened. The sentiment was there, so don’t freak out, but the story itself was missing.
It wasn’t like they missed stuff and didn’t replace it though, there were definitely things added that I really like. There was more on the sister relationship, Nani’s history, and the reality of their situation after their parents died. There was more explanation on Cobra Bubbles and why he was there which I felt was a needed addition. Jumba and Pleakely have a cloaking device that made them look like humans which, even though it was hilarious in the cartoon that they tried to blend in, let's be honest, the humans in the movie can only ignore so much and thinking Stitch was a dog was already pushing it. I actually liked this addition.
I noticed pretty much anything they changed in the remake was in an effort to make it more believable. Less alien encounters with humans, more complete storylines, and a realistic outcome for Lilo’s living situation. One of the things people are having the biggest problem with is the end. Nani doesn't “keep” Lilo. But before you freak out, hear me out, because I actually like this change. Lilo ends up going to live with their neighbor, who also happens to be David's grandmother, who was much like an aunt to both sisters throughout the movie. Honestly, this ending makes so much more sense. Lilo was going into foster care either way. Nani couldn't take care of her and it definitely wasn't for lack of trying. Going to college had been put on hold and trying to take care of Lilo, herself, and a house with a low level job as a teenager just wasn’t working. And yes, she’s a teenager. She’s only 18. And she didn't “give her away” she is safe and loved. Nani deserves to be safe and loved too and if she goes to school and gets a good job then she could easily have Lilo back. Plus, they have a portal gun that allows them to see each other whenever they want and go back to being sisters again, so honestly I like this ending very much. I’ll go deeper into this later, but it also expands the true meaning of Ohana and I personally love that. So if you haven’t gone to see it because of this, give it a try. It’s not as terrible as people are trying to make it sound.
Now let's dive into the characters. If I miss one you want to know about, just ask. I know this is a movie where the side characters are just as much a part of the movie as the main characters but I don’t have time to get into every one here.
Stitch
When I first heard about this movie I was worried there was no way they could make Stitch not look creepy. I was wrong. I still prefer the cartoon Stitch to this one when it comes to who I want on a shirt, but oh my goodness he was “cute and fluffy” as well as blue, same personality, same voice (literally, same voice actor) he was spot on and that was definitely a very good start. His character arch is identical and arguably even more emotional than the original. There’s a scene at the end where Lilo is trying to rescue him from the water but he’s too heavy. He knows she can’t stay down there much longer and he forces her hand free, sinking to the bottom while making sure she knows he loves her. I was in tears and I don’t cry during movies very often. He was the same “cute and fluffy” lovable, sweet, trouble maker we all love.
Jumba
First looks: Creepy. But how do you make an alien with four eyes not creepy? The real issues started when he opened his mouth. Not only does he not have an accent, his voice is too high. Not as high as Pleakleys, but too high for Jumba. I actually found this to be very distracting and often got confused as to who was talking, especially when he was in his “human form” His personality was right though. Evil genius to the core. Unfortunately that was taken to an extreme and his character arc was eliminated. For what I assumed was to streamline the story, Gantu was taken out entirely, leaving a space open for a villain, not that Gantu was truly a villain because he was just following orders. Regardless, Jumba filled that vacancy and never had his moment of redemption. I see no reason why he couldn't have had a moment at the end where he had a change of heart and helped Stitch. Thankfully this was the only character I felt fell flat.
Pleakly
Pleakly was pretty spot on actually. I like the cartoon one better, but the quirkyness of an “earth expert” who really knows nothing about earth was still there. I missed seeing him swarmed by mosquitos but if they did that in a live action it would be terrifying, so taking that particular scene out was probably a good choice. The mosquitos being an “endangered species” was still an important plot point, just not as much as the cartoon.
Lilo
Lilo was adorable. I had no problems seeing her as the Lilo we all love. I have to say, she was toned down a bit, but honestly, original Lilo is pretty intense. It would be hard to show that in a 6 year old girl and not a cartoon. She looks right, sounds right, screams a lot. I wish they had gone a little further on the “no one understands her” point, but I may have just missed it because I only watched it once. She is definitely her own person, causes plenty of trouble, and speaks her mind, and that is all Lilo.
Nani
First thought is she looks younger than the cartoon, but in reality she's the same age, 18. She was just about to go off to college when suddenly she has to take care of her 6 year old sister. She tries so hard and you can really see that in this one. It's more realistic. She and Lilo have such an interesting dynamic simply because of the huge age gap, then you add in that she’s switched from big sister to mom, and she’s still a teenager. It’s as much Nani’s story as it is Lilo’s and this version really focused on that. Part of her story arc is that she looses sight of the meaning of Ohana because she feels abandoned by her parents. I’ve seen a lot of comments criticizing this choice but honestly, it made it more real. Lilo and Nani were grieving in different ways and we seem to forget Nani was hardly an adult. She comes around though, when she ends up being the one to save Stitch from drowning after he sacrificed his life for Lilo. The original everyone turns on Stitch when Lilo gets captured, most of all Nani. The live action included an opportunity for a fixed relationship between Stitch and Nani and I loved that. She saw him as family, Ohana, not just Lilo’s friend. Her character was well rounded and realistic.
David
Honestly, no notes. He was sweet and slightly confused, just like David.
TuTu
At first I thought this was an added character, but I was pleasantly surprised when I happened across an interesting bit of trivia. The woman who plays this, what I realize now is more of a “reimagined character” is in a lot of shows and movies that I love, she adds some light and laughs to any role she plays. Including, ready? The voice of the old woman who runs the fruit stand in the cartoon. In the live action she is David's grandmother and plays a pretty significant role. When the girl's parents die, she steps in to help them. She brings Lilo to the farmers market, allows her to get a “dog” aka Stitch, and encourages Nani not to give up on her dream of being a Marine Biologist. She is the neighbor who takes in Lilo at the end when it becomes clear Nani can’t do it on her own. The one thing that confused me about this new storyline is that she didn’t just take her in earlier, but maybe Nani was stubborn and lied about how bad things were which would totally match her character. Whatever the reason, she was a pleasant surprise.
Cobra Bubbles
He was not the first social worker which had me worried he wasn’t even in the movie at first. However, his storyline ended up making so much more sense. He goes undercover as a social worker because of the alien activity. As far as his character, I was happy. And he does take on a kind of uncle role at the end of the movie, just like the original, which was nice.
I think what I loved most about this movie was the expansion on the meaning of Ohana. It really focused on both sisters and life without their parents, Stitch and finding where he belonged, and friends who become family. Nani had to learn that, yes, Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten, but that includes her. She shouldn’t put her dreams on hold just because life didn’t go as planned, she shouldn't be “left behind” or “forgotten” either. She also had to learn how to accept help from friends who were like family, that it’s not all about blood, and she doesn’t have to do it alone. Lilo learns that Ohana means encouraging Nani to follow her dreams, even if it means being apart for a little while. And Stitch learned about Ohana as he watched Lilo struggling to save him, he put her safety above his own and in the end that’s what ended up saving him. He treated her as family and was welcomed in as family in return. Sometimes family isn’t always together, sometimes it’s broken, sometimes it’s not all about blood, sometimes it’s a bunch of weirdos deciding to be weird together. The original did have that sentiment, but this remake really did a good job at bringing it home for almost all of the characters. I could probably write a whole post on this concept alone. There’s a lot there. But for now, don’t listen to those other critics who say the theme of Ohana was left behind in this remake, it wasn’t, if anything it was made even better. Ohana means family, and family still means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.
Overall the movie left me wanting it to be more complete scene wise for nostalgia's sake, I miss my ugly ducklings, but as a movie on its own it was done well and did add to the original without taking away too much. The theme of Ohana was real and raw. It wasn’t perfect, I don’t think you’ll ever find me saying I prefer a remake over an original, but it’s good. “It’s broken, but still good, yea, still good”
