It started with the teaser trailer, which evoked the original animated Lilo & Stitch marketing campaign—showing the film’s cuddly, chaotic alien hopping from Disney classic to Disney classic—and was released in theaters ahead of Mufasa. Now we’ve got a better look at the live-action Lilo & Stitch which adorably recreates some of the animated film’s iconic scenes and a debuts star-in-the-making Lilo (Maia Kealoha). The moment she wishes on a star for a friend, she stole our hearts.
Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind heartwarming Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Lilo & Stitch puts a new spin on the story of a lonely Hawaiian girl named Lilo and her alien-dog fugitive Stitch, who unexpectedly shows up to become a part of her family. And the director’s flair is all over this trailer, which teases the film’s heartfelt message of ohana and really grounds the tender moments between Lilo and her chaotic fuzzy blue alien bestie but doesn’t shy away from sci-fi action. Original animator and voice actor Chris Sanders (The Wild Robot) slips right back into the Stitch voice and gives Kealoha a scene partner who may be CG cuteness but feels really there.
Some of the trailer’s big laughs come from the new scenes between Lilo and Stitch. What particularly got me was the dog booty-scootch moment and the moment Stitch decides he’s not wearing a collar because he thinks he is a real boy. The dignified way he pulls the collar and the “woof” was too much; it’s good to see that we won’t be getting just a shot-for-shot remake of the original. It’s the tease at the film’s core about found family that I’m curious to see more of, but I guess you really had to sell this on the big moments still being there.
It is interesting to note that Stitch might be the only alien running around the island as a major change has been done to Pleakley and Jumba, who will be played as humans by their respective actors Billy Magnussen (Aladdin) and Zach Galifianakis (A Wrinkle in Time) while on planet in disguise and not as aliens they truly are (thankfully the design sticks to the originals), with hilarious human outfits thrown on. So no drag Pleakley (boo) this time but we hope at least that they’re still playing it as a couple.
The film also features Sydney Agudong as Nani; fans of the franchise will be happy to know that Tia Carrere—who voiced Nani in the 2002 animated original— is also returning but this time as a new character. The rest of the cast includes Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) as the Grand Councilwoman and Courtney B. Vance (Grotesquerie) as Agent Cobra Bubbles, who we get to see a tease of at the end of the trailer hot on Stitch’s trail.
Lilo & Stitch opens May 23.
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