The latest promotional spot for Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch made its debut during Super Bowl LIX. It features the feral, blue alien running rampant on a football field, sewing seeds of chaos everywhere he goes.
I know we’re getting swamped with live-action versions of animated favorites, and only more are coming (Snow White arrives in March; Moana sets sail in 2026), but Lilo & Stitch feels like one of the few worthy of spinning in such a way.
Maybe not all of us have been on board, and the teaser released last November made Stitch look more like a demonic menace than the more adorable version we got in the animated movie. Still, something in the original feels more interesting to explore in the live-action format. I get that’s an unpopular opinion, but add to that Dean Fleischer Camp – the mind behind the lovely Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – directing, and Disney might actually have a winner here. As with the 2002 version, Lilo & Stitch follows the friendship between a Hawaiian orphan and a mischievous alien.
At the same time, it’s hard to argue against the fact that it does look as if Disney is going back to the well. And with such a steady stream of remakes, they’re going to eventually run out of their animated classics to pull from. We all know they’ve already mapped out when the live-action Raya and the Last Dragon hits theaters…(But seriously, bring on Atlantis: The Lost Empire.)
The live-action Lilo & Stitch stars newcomer Maia Kealoha as Lilo Pelekai, while Chris Sanders—who not only voiced Stitch in the original movie and its various spin-offs but also co-wrote and directed it—returns as the alien experiment. Other notable cast members include Zach Galifianakis, Tia Carrere, Hannah Waddingham, Courtney B. Vance, and Sydney Agudong. Lilo & Stitch arrives on May 23rd, 13 years after the original.
Stitch was also seen after the coin toss, causing complete chaos on the field—thankfully, it was a pre-recorded scene.
What did you think of the Lilo & Stitch Super Bowl spot? Will you be checking it out? Does it have a shot at changing our perception of Disney’s latest trend?
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed