At long last, the first official trailer for the live-action reimagining of Lilo & Stitch has arrived. Based on the 2002 Disney animated hit of the same name, the film promises to be wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family.
It’s been quite the marketing campaign for Lilo & Stitch, which like the animated original, has small teasers and spoofs released up until now. From clips of the blue fully alien terrorizing sand castles on the beaches of Hawaii to him crashing a football game, the marketing campaign leaned on nostalgia to get fans and audiences hyped for the return of Stitch.
Speaking of which, Chris Sanders, who directed the animated original and voiced the title character, will reprise the role of the mischievous fugitive alien. Tia Carrere who also was in the original, voicing Nani, Lilo’s older sister, has a new role in the live-action film as well. The two will be joined by Maia Kealoha as the titular Lilo.
Though we can expect a few call backs in live-action form — Stitch licking his glass enclosure, Stitch stealing a red space police cruiser, Lilo believing that Stitch’s red ship is a shooting star, and more — the live-action reimagining promises to put its own spin on the film about an alien on the run finding the true meaning of Ohana through a broken family that is far from perfect but has a lot of love.
And let’s not forget how much of the film was shot on location in Hawaii. So not only does this trailer tease some of the recreated scenes that we all know and love, we also get to see the beauty of the Rainbow State and the Hawaiian community. To see a teaser hint that the reimagining will stay true to the original film balancing resonating story with have cultural specificity is great. Now that it’s live action, it looks to celebrate the culture even more. And it also helps to have a screenwriter like Chris Kekaniokalani Bright help bring authenticity to the story.
Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On), with a screenplay by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes, the film stars Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Hannah Waddingham, Chris Sanders, with Courtney B. Vance, and Zach Galifianakis
Lilo & Stitch opens in theaters May 23.
