The Live-Action Lilo & Stitch Movie Has A Different Problem To Most Disney Remakes

Disney’s Lilo & Stitch is among the next to get a live-action remake, but it faces the opposite problem to many of its predecessors. There are many challenges associated with turning an animated movie into a live-action masterpiece, and Disney has attempted to overcome these to varying results. Each project presents new obstacles, but there is a common issue that continues to be present across the board. Though Lilo & Stitch may luck out in this regard, it may lead to even further disadvantages regarding Stitch’s design.

The live-action Lilo & Stitch movie is officially in the works, with Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcell the Shell with Shoes On) in the director’s chair and Chris Kekaniokalani and Mike Van Waes serving as the new film’s writers. Maia Kealoha will play six-year-old Lilo, while Sydney Agudong and Kaipo Dudoit​​​​​​​ will play Nani and David, respectively. An exciting update revealed that Chris Sanders would return to lend his voice to Stitch again, while Zach Galifianakis​​​​​​​ and Billy Magnussen will take the roles of Jumba and Pleakley. It’s all coming together for Lilo & Stitch, but that isn’t to say the film will see all smooth sailing.

Lots Of Disney’s Live-Action Remakes Have Had Problems With Photorealistic CGI

Movies Like The Little Mermaid Have Been Criticised For Their Creepy CGI Animals

A common challenge faced by Disney’s live-action remakes is the necessity for photorealistic CGI. Though animal characters are bright and colorful with exaggerated features in the animated version, this wouldn’t fly for live-action. This is why movies like 2023’s The Little Mermaid included versions of fan-favorite characters like Sebastian and Flounder, who looked nothing like they had in animation. Rather than cute and quirky fish, they were a hyperrealistic crab and flatfish, and this was a little unsettling to behold.

Other Disney movies triumphed in this regard. 2019’s The Lion King couldn’t depend on live actors to tell its story since each character of the original animated film was an animal. The House of Mouse successfully brought Simba and his pals to life on screen as photorealistic CGI lions, warthogs, meerkats, and more. However, even in this case, there was something a little “uncanny valley” about how these characters talked and moved. It’s a problem Disney hasn’t quite been able to solve. Thankfully, Lilo & Stitch has dodged this bullet, but this still presents a problem.

Lilo & Stitch’s Live-Action Remake Has The Opposite CGI Problem

Stitch Doesn’t Need To Look Real, But He Still Needs To Look Good

Since Sitch isn’t a real animal, Disney can avoid the uncanny-valley effect when constructing his character in CGI. The goal here wouldn’t be hyperrealism, allowing for a certain level of freedom in the design department. However, the problem that Disney will face with creating a live-action Stitch is the other side of the same coin. The character in the upcoming movie must honor that of the animated film. Stitch must be cute and fluffy, making it seem reasonable that Lilo and Nani would mistake him for a dog. However, he must also be wholly recognizable as the iconic character.

Bringing a little blue alien like Stitch to “life” could easily go very wrong. Concept art created by fans has already demonstrated the ways in which a CGI Stitch could end up more unsettling than familiar, and since he is the center of the story for Lilo & Stitch, a bad design could easily ruin the entire live-action film. Thankfully, there are also some Hollywood examples that prove that there is still hope for Disney’s upcoming movie.

Why There’s Hope For Disney’s Stitch CGI In The Live-Action Remake

Other Live-Action/CGI Movies Can Inspire Disney To Get Stich’s Design Right

Alien-like CGI characters next to live actors are nothing new in Hollywood, so Disney’s upcoming live-action movie has a variety of examples to look to. Paramout’s Sonic movies started with a worst-case scenario that the House of Mouse can use as a “what not to do” (i.e., don’t give Stitch human teeth). Then, the final product, which has been massively successful and has inspired several Sonic the Hedgehog sequels, can serve as a great example of how to bring a familiar character to life without freaking anyone out.

Perhaps the best example Disney can look to for Stitch’s design in the live-action Lilo & Stitch is Detective Pikachu, where the titular character was made to look like a believable creature entirely with CGI. If anything, this version of Pikachu was even cuter than his animated counterparts, which is precisely what we can hope for with Stitch. There are dozens of ways Lilo & Stitch could go terribly wrong, but we only need Disney to find one way to make it right.