Lilo & Stitch

Fleischer Camp brings a light touch and a good human cast to this reverently faithful effort, but it’s never as clear and bright as its source material.

The director Dean Fleischer Camp isn’t trying to recapture the arthouse audience who went for the sophisticated faux-naivety of his 2021 Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. But he does ground the whimsy in a baseline level of realism...

The simplistic script by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes finds the quickest way to get sympathy for its characters is by consistently putting them in peril. After a while, the trick feels manipulative.

[Kealoha's] work as Lilo is outstanding, and both she and an almost equally wonderful Agudong share an endearingly authentic chemistry that’s out of this world.

But for the most part, this remake is a charming film. Was it necessary? No, but how many movies are. However, you can’t be offended it exists, and it has plenty of emotional moments and raucous shenanigans.

Zips by at a pleasantly breakneck pace, never overstaying, lingering just long enough in the emotional moments to draw a tear or two.

The kids will be entertained.

While it may not reach the same heights as the animated original, Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch will likely be a hit with the kids and some adults alike.

A completely sweet and visually stunning live-action adaptation of the Disney animated classic and Maia Keahola is adorable!!

Visually, this live-action works better for me, and giving the older sister an ambition that reaches beyond the tourist injury is a good move, but there are the issues of colorism and canon.