Posted in: Disney, Movies | Tagged: Lilo & Stitch

Lilo & Stitch: Stitch Leads With Curiosity Like A Mischievous Toddler

Lilo & Stitch director Dean Fleischer Camp says Stitch is like "a toddler putting something in their mouth," and he's "leading with curiosity, and all he knows is destruction."

Now that Snow White has underperformed at the box office, there is a lot more weight resting on the shoulders of Lilo & Stitch. We're not saying its success will be the thing that defines whether or not more live-action remakes will be greenlit in the future, but it's going to be a deciding factor, that's for sure. Unlike some of the previous entries in the last couple of years, so far, the reactions to the footage for Lilo & Stitch seem to be trending more positively than others. It's a win the Disney live-action arm of the company really needs, so don't be surprised to see this one get pushed hard in the coming weeks. Empire got the chance to speak to director Dean Fleischer Camp, who made one of the best movies ever with Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and is the primary reason to have any faith in this adaptation, and he spoke about Stitch as a character. While Lilo might be trying to pass him off as a cuddly dog, Stitch is anything but, and finding that happy medium of Stitch being a menace and Stitch being adorable was a tightrope that Fleischer Camp was all too aware of.

"If you re-watch the original, he is literally just using Lilo as a human meat-shield for the first half," Fleischer Camp explained. "[His particular brand of mischief is akin to] a toddler putting something in their mouth. He's leading with curiosity, and all he knows is destruction."

The people who love Stitch tend to really love Stitch, and apparently, that was very true on set as well. While Stitch was brought to life via VFX, there was a puppet involved as well, and Maia Kealoha, who is playing Lilo, apparently fell in love with the puppet. Fleischer Camp said, "Even on days when we weren't shooting them in the same scene together, she would insist on giving him a kiss goodnight." Well that's adorable and now you know everyone is going to want to see the puppet. Whether or not that happens will likely depend on the box office and fan reaction to Lilo & Stitch. 

Lilo & Stitch: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

Lilo & Stitch is the wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family. The film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Dean Fleischer Camp, with a screenplay by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes, and stars Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Hannah Waddingham, Chris Sanders, with Courtney B. Vance, and Zach Galifianakis, and introducing Maia Kealoha. Lilo & Stitch is produced by Jonathan Eirich, p.g.a. and Dan Lin, with Tom Peitzman, Ryan Halprin, Louie Provost, and Thomas Schumacher serving as executive producers.

Lilo & Stitch opens exclusively in theaters nationwide on May 23, 2025.

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