Disney’s latest live-action adaptation, Lilo & Stitch, has almost arrived — and early critical reactions suggest that fans of the beloved sci-fi family tale have reason to be cautiously optimistic.
Brandon Yu of The New York Times notes, “there’s just enough to make for a moderately fun, mostly serviceable and often adorable revamp that will probably satisfy fans of the original. Those who came for the Lilo and Stitch they’ve known and loved will largely get exactly that.”
The film features a mix of fresh faces and familiar names. Maia Kealoha steps into the central role of Lilo, a spirited young girl living in Hawaii with her older sister Nani, now portrayed by Sydney Elizabeth Agudong. Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani in the 2002 film, returns in a new role, alongside Courtney B. Vance, Zach Galifianakis, and Billy Magnussen. Chris Sanders, who directed the original animated feature, returns to voice Stitch.
Maureen Lee Lenker of Entertainment Weekly gives the film high praise writing, “Blissfully, the 2002 film Lilo & Stitch gets an adaptation that is vibrant, whimsical, and earnest (and also cute and fluffy!).”
Still, not all critics are equally enchanted. Gregory Nussen at Deadline offers a more mixed take. While he acknowledges that the film may not deliver on all fronts — particularly in the comedy department — he finds value in its emotional resonance: “To put it simply, the film is just not very funny, and overall has the telegenic weight and texture of the direct-to-TV originals they used to churn out more regularly. But the film does succeed as an effectively warm ode to a family dynamic not frequently represented in popular media.”
He also praises director Dean Fleischer Camp (best known for Marcel the Shell With Shoes On), calling him “an inspired choice,” noting that “his ability to hoover out the most pathos possible from the smallest creature available may now be something of a signature.” Nussen draws a comparison, writing, “E.T.-like, Lilo & Stitch demonstrates how the vacancy left by destruction can, optimistically, be filled with love and devotion, and that family can look like anything so long as it isn’t conditionally based.”
While TheWrap’s, William Bibbiani finds the film a bit bloated compared to its predecessor but ultimately effective. “The changes to Lilo & Stitch are arbitrary and add nothing to the material, but they also don’t hurt the movie much. The story of two outcasts finding each other, wreaking a little havoc, and proving they both have good hearts works in any medium, even when it’s clunky.”
Lilo & Stitch opens in theaters on Friday.
