LOS ANGELES, May 20 (UPI) -- The live-action Lilo & Stitch remake, in theaters Friday, takes more liberties with the 2002 animated film than recent remakes of The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast. The story and themes remain faithful to the original but benefit from some irreverent additions.
Lilo & Stitch begins in an alien galaxy with Grand Councilwoman (voice of Hannah Waddingham) banishing Experiment 626 (voice of Chris Sanders), later known as Stitch. When 626 escapes to Earth, she assigns Pleakley (voice of Billy Magnussen) to assist 626's creator, Jumba (voice of Zach Galifianakis), in retrieving him.
626 lands on a Hawaiian island where lonely 6-year-old Lilo (Maia Kealoha) thinks he's a dog and names him Stitch. Stitch brightens Lilo's life, but causes more trouble for her already harried sister, Nani (Sydney Agudong), who is struggling with sole custody of Lilo.
Converting the animated Lilo & Stitch to live-action is less of a milestone than The Jungle Book's realistically rendered animals or even The Little Mermaid's underwater scenes. Lots of movies use CGI to make aliens, and Lilo & Stitch is in good company with Star Wars, Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy and others.
The modern grade digital aliens are the source of even more comedy than they are in the animated film. The montage of Stitch's dangerous abilities is hilarious, and other aliens are so sophisticated they make condescending asides about Earth.
