Viewers of live-action Lilo and Stitch rage after major change to childhood classic completely alters story
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Lilo and Stitch
Disney’s live action remake of Lilo and Stitch may be dominating the box office since its release, but fans are coming out furious at the changes made.
Disney’s newest live action film remake retreads the story of a blue furry alien falling to earth in Hawaii, and has opened to a $341 million box office debut worldwide.
Whilst previous live action remakes have seen major criticisms levied at Disney, they have mostly stayed relatively close to the original plots of the animated classics.
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Lilo and Stitch, however, has seen some massive departures from the original animated classic, and it has left fans complaining that it completely alters the story and message of the film.
What was changed for the live action Lilo and Stitch?
In short: a lot. One of the major changes fans noticed in early trailers was that the villain of the film, Captain Gantu, is totally absent.
Instead, the character of Jumba is made the main antagonist, a mad scientist who in the original has occasionally villainous tendencies such as creating Stitch.
Add to that the character of Pleakley no longer disguising himself as a woman in Hawaii, something that the director himself responded to saying he ‘tried’, and you get a host of minor changes significant to the fans.
The change that has elicited the most fan reaction, however, is the ending. Whereas in the original, Lilo and her older sister Nani staying together along with Stitch is an important aspect for the message of the film. In the remake, Nani leaves to go off to University and follow her dream of studying marine biology.
Lilo is left to live with David and his grandmother, however, Stitch does get to stay with them so not everything is changed.
What have fans been saying about the major changes to Lilo and Stitch’s ending?
Fans have been furious, claiming that the change totally goes against the idea of ‘Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets life behind or forgotten’, a core message of the film.
One tweet said: “The Lilo and Stitch remake ends up sanitizing the critique of American colonialism though organisations like CPS.
“‘They're nice in the movie though so it's fine’ is not valid. It is deliberate that they removed that element from the film to be safe slop.”
This is a common argument online that, even though Lilo is not directly given to the CPS, who try to rehouse her as in the original because she is ultimately given up by Nani with their support, the film now makes the opposite argument.
One comment on Reddit regarding the film’s major change led to a fan commenting explaining why this change was so important, saying: “The state taking native children from their families and placing them elsewhere is an actual problem this movie tries to paint as a happy ending.
“What was once a culturally sensitive movie is now a slap in the face to those it represented.”
Another comment chimes in agreeing, saying: “This defeats the entire purpose of the og movie. Also assures I won’t be watching.
“The whole point of the movie is that family sticks together no matter the hardships.”
Despite this, reviews have been largely positive. The film sits at a 7.1 on IMDb and a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Lilo and Stitch is available to watch in cinemas now.
Topics: Disney, Film, TV and Film, Reddit
Michael Slavin