Disney fans have been left unexpectedly optimistic about the forthcoming Lilo & Stitch live-action remake after the official trailer landed yesterday.
The film, adapted from Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois’s 2002 cartoon, will star Maia Kealoha as Lilo, Sydney Agudong as her sister Nani, with Chris Sanders reprising his voice role as Sitch.
Dean Fleischer Camp’s remake will also see Courtney B. Vance take on the role of former CIA agent Cobra Bubbles, with Billy Magnussen playing alien “Earth expert”, Pleakley.
The 2002 original Lilo & Stitch movie follows the story of a lonely six-year-old girl, who adopts what she thinks is a dog but actually turns out to be an extraterrestrial entity that has escaped prison.
In the trailer, the Lilo & Stitch live action script almost exactly follows that of the cartoon, with fans celebrating how similar the adaptation is to the original film.
“Omg from everything to the [Elvis Presley] music to the ice cream dropping on the floor is perfect,” one person wrote in the YouTube comment section, referencing a side character who always drops his cone in the sand at the beach in the original film.
“This is the first Disney live-action remake I’m actually excited for,” added another fan. “Stitch and the other alien characters look great and it’s really nostalgic to see all the scenes recreated.”
Meanwhile, a third person added: “Thank god they cast mostly unknowns instead of shoving in a bunch of celebrities and cameos for the sake of celebrity marketing, this actually gives me a slight bit of hope this movie might have some soul.”
Over on TikTok, Disney fans were similarly excited. “Might actually be the first GOOD live action remake,” one user said.
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“They did a fantastic job of adapting Stitch, he looks so cute,” another person added, while other fans warned moviegoers to “keep their kids at home” as the theatres would be “full of adults”.
Live-action remakes, including Beauty and the Beast in 2017, The Lion King in 2019 and The Little Mermaid in 2023 have proven divisive among Disney fans.
The Snow White live-action has been hit with such a long string of controversies over race, politics, and the inclusion of the seven dwarves so much so that the Hollywood premiere was scaled back.
The film’s star, West Side Story actor Rachel Zegler, first sparked controversy among conservative and right-wing critics in 2023 when she suggested the remake would be more feminist than the original film, which was released in 1937.
Zegler, who is of Colombian descent, also faced backlash from right-wing voices who were unhappy about the lead fictional character being portrayed by a person of colour.
Further controversy came over Disney’s inclusion of the seven dwarfs in the remake.
Peter Dinklage, who has dwarfism, said in 2022 that he was surprised Disney was so proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, while “you’re still telling the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there.”
He continued: “It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that f***ing backward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together?”