Lilo & Stitcha film expected for May 2025. If the trailer highlights Stitch, faithful to his role as a troublemaker, it will inevitably make people talk about this transition from animation to the live-action universe, sometimes decried by the fans.
A brief presentation of Stitch
The teaser, lasting 30 seconds, opens on an idyllic Hawaiian beach, with a sandcastle bearing the image of the Disne logo, which is immediately destroyed by Stitch, true to his teasing character. The sequence is quite sparse in details on the characters and environments, but what can you expect, it's a tease! Stitch, animated in CGI, retains its original appearance, but the absence of a glimpse of the other protagonists or the emblematic setting of the original still leaves a lot of suspense on the success, or not, of this adaptation.
A strong creative team
The film is directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, known for Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. Chris Sanders, co-director of the 2002 animated film, reprises his voice role as Stitch, while Maia Kealoha plays Lilo. The cast also includes Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, Sydney Agudong and Hannah Waddingham. The screenplay was written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, based on a draft by Mike Van Waes.
The legacy and challenges of adaptation
Released in 2002, Lilo & Stitch
is a striking film (personally, it's one of my favorite Disney!), its humor is offbeat as it should be, the emotion is well balanced, and the film has a distinctive visual style, in particular thanks to the use of watercolor decorations. The story, centering on family ties and the unlikely friendship between a young Hawaiian girl and a destructive alien, spawned several sequels and a television series. This remake is part of Disney's overall strategy to reinterpret its classics in live-action, an exercise sometimes criticized for its lack of innovation.
An expected release, but reservations
Scheduled for May 23, 2025, this remake will appeal to nostalgic fans while attracting a new audience. For the moment, it's difficult to comment on this simple teaser, even if the humor and chaos characteristic of Stitch seem there, the main challenge will lie in the film's ability to capture the visual and emotional essence of the original, which is not an easy feat, but we can't wait to see it in the cinema!
