The Disney live action remake of Lilo & Stitch is now showing at Cineworld – and it's already had an incredible opening box office weekend, surpassing the latest Mission: Impossible movie by nearly £2 million. With a lot of noise around the need for more Disney live action remakes, Experiment 626 sure did prove the haters wrong – and we certainly love the reimagining of that little blue guy.
While the numbers speak for themselves, we sat down and spoke to the producer and director, Jonathan Eirich and Dean Fleischer Camp, about the process of giving Lilo and Stitch its live action moment, and why the 2002 classic felt like the perfect title for Disney's next remake. Here are the key takeaways from our interview, with the full video available to watch below.
Eirich was in talks with Disney since 2019's Aladdin live action
Lilo & Stitch's producer, Jonathan Eirich, was also the producer for the live action remake of Aladdin, which came out in 2019. This relationship with Disney led him to be in conversations about what classic animation from the vault might be a perfect fit for another reimagining. And then, of course, there was the renaissance of Stitch merchandise.
The dawn of the Stitch "stuffie"
Whatever you want to call them – "stuffies" like Eirich, cuddly toys, plushies – there was a renaissance of Stitch merchandise around the time Eirich was having these conversations. The people were still loving Stitch (and Lilo) decades on from when the original was released, and that played a part in influencing the next live action project. Who knew cuddly toys had such influence!
Marcel the Shell got Fleischer Camp the gig
Marcel the Shell left Eirich laughing and crying, and ultimately meant there was no one up for the job of bringing Lilo & Stitch to life other than Dean Fleischer Camp – and it turned out it was one of his favourite Disney movies! In fact, it "changed [his] world!"
Lilo & Stitch tells the story of real people
There's no doubt the film industry could always do with a little more diversity, and the live action Lilo & Stitch was a chance to once again shine a light on the people of Hawaii, their culture, and their own life struggles. As both Eirich and Fleischer Camp noted, the live action remake was also an opportunity to reimagine a more contemporary story than that of the Disney princesses that have come before. And, of course, an important part of this process was casting the likes of Maia Kealoha who represents that racial background.
4DX is definitely the way to see Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stitch is available to see in a number of special formats at Cineworld, but both Eirich and Fleischer Camp agreed 4DX is the way to go with the live action remake. In the words of Dean, "It has all those elements of adventure. It's a space opera; it's a really nuanced, beautiful drama, but it also has surfing and Elvis, and all these things that I think will make for a really great sensorial experience." And, of course, it's perfect to go see with your own ohana.
Watch the full interview below and make sure you grab your tickets to see Lilo & Stitch at Cineworld if you haven't already.
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