{"id":31306,"date":"2025-05-21T21:53:49","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T04:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=31306"},"modified":"2025-05-21T21:53:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T04:53:49","slug":"tykes-will-appreciate-lilo-stitch-more-than-adults","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=31306","title":{"rendered":"Tykes Will Appreciate LILO & STITCH More Than Adults"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Running Time: 108 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature from Walt Disney Studios opens exclusively\nat theaters on May 23rd<\/sup>, 2025.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, Disney has created another live-action\nadaptation of one of their popular animated titles. This time, it\u2019s a film\nbased on the 2002 animated tale about a young girl who befriends an alien with\na destructive streak. This reviewer was in his 20s during the original film\u2019s\nrelease and missed it. So, this write-up is from a person who can\u2019t compare the\ntitle with the source material. Based on first impressions, Lilo &\nStitch<\/em> is a genial effort with a few laughs, but one that will no doubt\nappeal more to children than older members of the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The story begins in outer space with a furry blue alien\ncalled Experiment 626 (voiced by Chris Sanders). It seems the creature was\ncreated by mad scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba (Zach Galifianakis) as a destructive\nand seemingly unstoppable force. When 626 escapes from the Galactic Federation\nand crash lands in Hawaii, Jookiba is told to recapture it with Agent Pleakley\n(Billy Magnussen). As this is occurring, the human cast are introduced.\nSix-year-old Lilo Pelekai (Maia Kealoha) is an orphan being raised by overwhelmed,\nfinancially-strapped sister Nani (Sydney Elizebeth Agudong). In fact, social\nworker Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrere) warns Nani that Lilo may be taken from her if\ncertain welfare conditions aren\u2019t improved. Lilo also has a habit of causing\ntrouble and is ostracized by other children. When she discovers Experiment 626,\nthe two become fast friends. Lilo names it Stitch and the pairing results in\nwild behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite being mischievous, the young lead is quite likable\nand charming. The character is bullied early on, which makes her actions\ncompletely understandable. And the youngster manages to accurately communicate\nthe emotions of a child who has lost an incredibly important part of her life\nand is struggling to fill that gap. Considering that the performer spends a\ngreat deal of time interacting with an alien who isn\u2019t present on set (at\nleast, not in its finished form), it\u2019s a remarkable accomplishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As for the humor, for adults the jokes are hit-and-miss.\nGalifianakis and Magnussen play newcomers to Earth who struggle to fit in. They\nmanage to sell a few amusing moments of physical comedy, even if their\ncharacters are very broadly written. But while gags involving Stitch and bodily\nfluids will earn yuks from tykes, they aren\u2019t as hysterical with adults. Still,\nthere are some amusing comments early on from members of the Galactic\nFederation. And when the action picks up, there are several fun and creative\nvisual gags, many involving a weapon that Stitch steals and uses to create\nportals for a quick escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For every bit that brings a smile, there are odd elements.\nThis is likely the result of material that doesn\u2019t translate well from\nanimation to a live-action. For one, Stitch is clearly not of this world. Yet,\nthe alien is often referred to as a dog. Yes, this is played for laughs, but\nit\u2019s hard to believe so many witnesses wouldn\u2019t be taken aback by the\ncreature\u2019s appearance. An early scene involving guardian Nani comedically\ntrying to cover up her lack of care for Lilo during an interaction with their social\nworker (as well as forgetting to register her sister for a health care plan),\ndoes come across as negligent. This may have been what occurred in the animated\nfilm, but with real human beings it doesn\u2019t play as humorously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By the time events reach a close, Lilo and Stitch do realize\nthat despite their past mistakes, they are still valuable individuals who can\ndo good for their families and even the planet. At least the sentiment and\ninteractions during the resolution are warm and sweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, this reviewer can\u2019t compare Lilo &\nStitch<\/em> to the original. The cast have seemingly made the best of what they\nhave been given, although it really feels as though some of the story elements\nhaven\u2019t translated perfectly. The film is reasonably entertaining and kids will\nappreciate it, but one imagines that all viewers likely had a stronger and more\nfavorable response to the 2002 version (or else it wouldn\u2019t have been produced\nin the first place). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 108 minutes This feature from Walt Disney Studios opens exclusively at theaters on May 23rd, 2025. Once again, Disney has created another live-action adaptation of one of their popular animated titles. This time, it\u2019s a film based on the 2002 animated tale about a young girl who befriends an alien with a destructive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[216,1047,1456,2772,4324,4660,5922,12403,12404,12405,12406,12407,12535,12538,12936,17776,19125,19473,22851,23943,24716],"class_list":["post-31306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-216","tag-alien","tag-animated-adaptation","tag-billy-magnussen","tag-chris-sanders","tag-comedy","tag-disney","tag-lilo-stitch","tag-lilo-stitch-film-review","tag-lilo-stitch-movie-review","tag-lilo-stitch-review","tag-lilo-and-stitch","tag-live-action","tag-live-action-version","tag-maia-kealoha","tag-science-fiction-2","tag-stitch","tag-sydney-elizebeth-agudong","tag-tia-carrera","tag-walt-disney-studios","tag-zach-galifianakis"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}