Opening in theaters Friday, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch is a live-action reimagining of the animated classic that touched hearts around the world upon its release in 2002. Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp and produced by Jonathan Eirich and Dan Lin, the story has been reimagined for modern audiences while honoring the essence of the beloved animated tale.
“We tried to adapt it in a way that paid loving tribute to the original, but wasn’t a one-to-one literal translation,” Fleischer Camp said. “We were very clear-eyed about the fact that animation and live action are two completely different mediums; there are things you can well in live-action that you can’t in animation, and vice versa. It was always our goal to make something that rhymed spiritually with the original film but was a little modernized.”
Producers faced the unique challenge of translating an iconic animated film into a live-action spectacle while honoring the cultural nuances and values intrinsic to the story — something Eirich knows a thing or two about, having previously produced Aladdin (2019).
“The headline is: Don’t Mess It Up,” Eirich said with a laugh. “That was advice given to us by the internet that time and this time. Now, that doesn’t mean, ‘Do a shot for shot live-action remake.’ The fans want to be sure that fans of the original are making all these decisions and all these changes with love and with a lot of thought behind them. A big thing for us was looking at everything and asking, ‘Is this just different, or is it potentially better and new?’ And if it was the latter, we’d say, ‘Let’s push the story in that direction.”
Through that process, Eirich said, “You realize there are key moments — like ‘Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride,’ for example — where we, as fans ourselves, would be mad if they weren’t in the live-action movie. Once we figured out what those were, we thought about the logistics. If we’re bringing this into live-action with human actors, what are the best ways to navigate the story? How can we deliver a new experience for a new generation?”
In many ways, Fleischer Camp said, the original Lilo & Stitch was “ahead of its time.”
“The story takes place in contemporary society,” Fleischer Camp said. “It’s not a fairy tale kingdom. There are no Disney Princesses; in fact, it stars the absolute opposite of a Disney Princess. Because of that, in live-action, we’re afforded the opportunity to go a little bit deeper with the characters and ground them in a totally real, very emotional way. We get to tell a real story of a lived experience, growing up in Hawai’i, between these two sisters.”
To do that, however, filmmakers collaborated with several people who worked on the original film — including Chris Sanders, who directed the film and returns to voice Stitch. A trio of cast members who voiced characters in the animated feature — Amy Hill, Tia Carrere, and Jason Scott Lee — also appear as new characters in the live-action adventure.
“The original filmmakers are very proud of their work on Lilo & Stitch — rightfully so — and they were enthusiastic about helping us along the way,” Fleischer Camp said, calling it “an honor” to collaborate with them all. “We made an effort to fold them into the process.”
From Eric Guaglione, who served as an animation supervisor on both films, to Alex Kupershmidt, who was the lead animator for Stitch in the original film, their contributions were invaluable. “Their enthusiasm and their support was incredible,” Fleischer Camp said. “We could not possibly have made this movie without the people who made the original.”
For that reason, Eirich said, Lilo & Stitch should be seen on the biggest screen possible.
“There’s an authenticity and a naturalism to Hawai’i that you’ve never seen before onscreen,” he said. “It’s the perfect kickoff to summer. This movie is such an emotional roller coaster. It’s fun, it’s chaotic, and it has so much heart. We talk a lot about the experience of laughing and crying with other people in a cinema — there’s nothing like it.”