Controversial Live-Action 'Lilo and Stitch' Change Gets Official Response from Director

Lilo and Stitch's director officially commented on the live-action remake's "different" portrayal of two of the film's main stars.  

Coming to theaters on May 23, Disney's Lilo and Stitch mainly features a live-action cast, which is a problem for some fans regarding a certain alien duo. For the remake, Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen are primarily playing Jumba and Pleakely in human form, even though the two were only ever aliens (albeit in poor human disguises) throughout the 2002 animated film.

The latest trailer, which showed Jumba and Pleakley as humans, led to some online controversy. Some fans called the decision cheap and a missed opportunity since one of the original film's running gags was how badly the two aliens were disguised.  

In addition, fans took issue with Pleakley's CGI design when he's seen as an alien.

In talking with SFX Magazine, director Dean Fleischer Camp addressed changes the new film is making, saying, "We're doing something a little different with Jumba and Pleakley."

SFX further confirmed that while Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen will play Jumba and Pleakley in human form, they will voice their characters when they're shown to be aliens. 

What the director intends to keep the same is the film's heart, assuring that audiences will find themselves "falling into a trapdoor of emotion:"

"It's my favourite kind of story. The audience is going to find themselves falling into a trapdoor of emotion at some point."

He also promised Hawaiian influences, much of which is due to screenwriter Chris Kekaniokalani Bright (Moana), who incorporated his childhood experiences of growing up in Hawaii. 

According to Fleischer Camp, "I think you are doing yourself and the audience a big disservice if you don't actually ground it in the real place."

Another way the director attempted to ground the film was through Lilo and Nani's sibling relationship. Not only does he feel the live-action medium better allows for this kind of story, but he admitted his excitement in "giving the Pelekai sisters a happy ending:"

"There was a real opportunity to ground them in a lived reality in a way that you can do in animated films, but I don't think you can do in that animated film in quite as much detail and real texture as we were able to. My mom was a social worker so I saw a lot of these stories play out, all too often, and they don't always have happy endings. I felt really excited about giving the Pelekai sisters a happy ending."

Finally, Camp discussed the eight-month challenge of perfecting a 3D model of Stitch that he and the team could continually reference, saying, "We found ourselves doing that a lot:"

"We found ourselves doing that a lot. You don't realise how much you can cheat in an animated film - that's part of what makes animation wonderful. But in 3D you have to fill in a lot of blanks." 

To help, the director pulled in Alex Kupershmidt, Stitch's lead animator from the original animation team, who gave notes on the live-action remake's test footage:

 "He would do drawovers. We would send him our test footage and he would say, 'Okay, actually his butt slopes this way and his gait works more like this."

Find out which live-action remake Disney shelved following Snow White's box office performance.  

What the Lilo and Stitch Remake Is Getting Right

While the decision to have Jumba and Pleakley played by human actors in human form may be disappointing for some fans, the good news is Dean Fleischer Camp and the team seemingly went all in on getting Stitch just right and recapturing and enhancing the heart of the original film. 

Another silver lining is that Jumba and Pleakely will be aliens at some point in the film, even if they're not in their hilarious disguises from the original. Also, the Lilo and Stitch team may be able to polish Pleakley's CGI between now and the film's May debut. 

Check out Lilo and Stitch's unique popcorn bucket and where to get it here!

Lilo and Stitch arrives in theaters on May 23.