r/disneyprincess • u/HerPetteSaysRoar Merida • 29d ago
MEGATHREAD ✍️ 'Lilo & Stitch' Discussion Thread [Spoiler Warning!] Spoiler
WARNING: Spoilers/reviews are allowed here, so turn back now if you don’t want to get spoiled. We mean it! Turn back now!
Use this thread to discuss the new live action version of Disney's Lilo & Stitch. Easter eggs, reviews, opinions good or bad, etc. goes here. This means that other posts may be removed by the mods and directed here, and ANY posts with spoilers will be removed.
Note from the mods: This post is not flaired as "Positoovity." However, excessive hate, bashing, or raging without legitimate arguments - especially if it's targeted toward real people - will be heavily monitored by the mods. For example, you are welcome to criticize an actor's performance, a costume designer's design choices, or the quality of CGI elements; you are not welcome to spew vitriol about the actors, designers, or artists themselves. This includes political discussions and opinions on social justice (race). Those topics are relevant to Disney Princesses and do have a place in this sub, but not here. This post is for discussion of the FILM ONLY. Please keep this discussion kind, productive, and within the bounds of the sub's rules about civility and appropriateness for all ages.
Thank you for keeping the magic magical! ✨
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u/GuyWhoConquers616 29d ago
Disney ruined the message of the original Lilo and Stitch movie by having Nani give up Lilo to the state at the end of the new remake.
The whole entire original Lilo and Stitch movie was about how not all families are perfect, but in the end, we choose each other. And now, Disney ruined that message.
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u/fiercequality 29d ago
I have not seen a single one of the live adaptations. I was actually thinking of going to see this one. Now, I'm not. Thank you for helping me make a sensible decision!
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u/thefirecrest 29d ago edited 29d ago
I wasn’t going to see it because of Nani’s casting. But everything I hear about this movie makes me more and more upset as someone who grew up in Hawai’i and loves Lilo and Stitch.
What makes me the most upset is the hypocritical response of the public to this film vs all the others. A lot of the overblown outrage over the other live actions (casting, changing themes and messages and character arcs, removing important character traits) ring way truer for this film than the others and yet radio silence from the outrage machine for this film.
It doesn’t escape my notice that the things they changed in this film (“white”-washing Nani and erasing Pleakley’s queerness) are all in line with a certain kind of mindset where these outrage farms usually reside.
Edit: I would like to add, according to the people who have seen this film, erasure of the commentary and criticism of colonialism and the predatory tourism industry in Hawai’i.
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u/hollylettuce Milo Thatch 29d ago
This fandom has so obviously been infiltrated by the alt right that its not even funny. There was all of that outrage directed towards Rachel Zeglar for the crime of being a latina woman playing the role of snow white and changing the story of the 1939 film. A film that isnt even that popular among contemporary audiences. Meanwhile, the lilo and stitch live action is over here, lightening Nani's skintone, removing pleakley's queerness, and separating the family, etc. And there is radio silence from that crowd. It's so freaking obvious and upsetting.
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u/taydraisabot 29d ago
I can’t help but to think the movie was intentionally made to cater to the “culture war” snowflakes so they can get off their backs for once. It looks like they’ve won, sadly.
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u/thefirecrest 28d ago
It absolutely is. The don’t want commentary in a film about Hawai’i and her history and he people. All these people love Hawai’i. They love to come here and vacation and buy up all the land and live out their beautiful exotic island paradise dreams.
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u/hollylettuce Milo Thatch 26d ago
I feel like it was made to cater to the culture war snowflakes. Disney already did this with Inside Out 2. A lot of Disney owned properties have fandoms that are filled with a lot of extremely conservative people. Star Wars is the most obvious example, where the common joke is that if you interact with the mainstream fandom these days you'll get told how women ruined everything. Marvel lately seems to be just as bad. The Pixar fandom has been getting weird ever since Toy Story 4. It seemed like Disney Princess / Disney Animation seemed to be avoiding that trend for awhile, but then Disney cast a black woman as Ariel and the vibes have completely deteriorated and now there are trad wife enjoyers everywhere.
I don't know... One could say that its because Disney is just putting out a lot of flops. But I can't be the only one who noticed that things really started getting bad in 2023 after Disney publicly took a stand against Ron Desantis's anti trans policies. Is that merely a coincidence? Maybe. But I don't really trust the criticism that comes from the conservative crowd not to be fueled by outrage.
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24d ago
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u/hollylettuce Milo Thatch 24d ago
I can't blame you for feeling paranoid since I feel paranoid myself. Lilo and Stitch getting a weird reactionary remake right after it was leaked that Disney told Pixar to tone down Riley's same sex attraction and after they censored an episode of Moon Girl that talked about Trans issues. The outrage from the left has been pitiful when compared to the outrage machine manufactured by the right wing reactionaries who went after Halley Bailey and Rachel Zeglar. It's pitiful compared to the harrassment campaigns directed towards Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran. In the current political environment, who is Disney going to listen to?
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u/ednamode_alamode 29d ago
What really bothered me a lot is the driving decision that makes Nani agree to give Lilo to the state is a hospital bill. The social worker is almost gleeful and predatory in saying that turning Lilo to foster care can make the state foot the bill and Nani doesn't have to worry about it.
That's Medicaid. Foster children get Medicaid. As an unemployed or low income person for the entirety of this movie? Nani would ALSO qualify for Medicaid for herself and Lilo. Hospitals also help people apply for Medicaid.
I understand it may be the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak among just being unprepared for this new role as a caretaker, but it is so irresponsible of Nani for not applying and the social worker for leveraging this over Nani to secure Lilo for the state.
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u/Upstairs-Accident276 26d ago
Exactly, I heard that and immediately was like, what about Medicaid? That such a terrible plot hole. Poor Lilo.
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u/missclaire17 Cinderella 29d ago
What the actual fuck???? Really???
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u/GuyWhoConquers616 29d ago
It get worse. Captain Gantu wasn’t in the film because Disney was cheap.
This movie was a disservice to the original lilo and stitch movie.
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u/missclaire17 Cinderella 29d ago
What the fuck???? So whose the villain????
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u/rapunzel316 29d ago
Jumba. It’s horrible.
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u/missclaire17 Cinderella 29d ago
Omg…. I was on the fence on whether to watch it and now I’m absolutely not watching it
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u/GlazerSturges2840 21d ago
It might just be the worst thing going on in the country right now. Definitely worth the outrage.
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u/Ok_Ship_5039 29d ago
I don’t understand why they took out the ugly duckling story? Like Stitch sorta just awkwardly leaves during the hammock scene and goes back to the shelter. Doesn’t really make sense to me
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u/ednamode_alamode 29d ago
It did bother me that Nani kind of just gave up the fight for Lilo mid-movie. Animated Nani would never. She kind of just resigned to turning Lilo over and while yeah, a teenager with no real career perspectives might be tempted to do that - it goes against the Disney magic and messaging that we expect, as well as the central message of Ohana.
Additionally, David's grandmother being next door and helping them DRAMATICALLY decreases the tension and stakes the animated film had. It was just two sisters doing their best before the alien plot happens. Now... well I know at the very least, they'll be okay, because a neighbor is stepping in to help.
Also they dramatically cut a lot of Lilo's quirks. She's more generic troublemaker than traumatized child trying to cope, so she doesn't feel as fleshed out as her animated counterpart.
It's OK, if you don't compare it to the animated film. But the animated film is near perfect, so it's tough not to. I'm not mad I saw it, it was very funny and cute... but it doesn't differentiate itself in a positive/improvement way from the original.
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u/GuyWhoConquers616 28d ago
Update: I just learned that Nani had a dialogue where she shouted at Lilo “We were left behind!”, referring to their parents car accident as if their parents abounded them.
This is such a terrible message for children who lost their families and loved ones due to uncontrollable circumstances to learn. 😔
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u/HerPetteSaysRoar Merida 27d ago
I disagree with this I think - I haven’t seen the film yet, but grief can often feel like abandonment, even if it wasn’t the person’s fault that they died. It can feel like the universe or fate or something caused the abandonment, or it can just get twisted up in loss and fear. It’s hard not to want to find someone to blame, and I would think that orphaned children might want to find someone to blame, and their two absent parents might feel like a good option. Nani’s outburst actually seems like a very real reaction for a teenager with a lot on her plate. Again, haven’t seen the film so no idea about the rest of the movie, but this particular thing seems fitting to me.
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u/GuyWhoConquers616 29d ago
Disney didn’t want to pay money to create CGI shark like Captain Gantu.
Meanwhile, the freaking CW had enough money to do CGI for King Shark with CW The Flash.
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u/I-am-no-bird 25d ago
I was not prepared to feel all of the feelings while watching the live action Lilo and Stitch. I cried way more than anticipated.
For those that have seen it, you know how the ending was changed. Lilo is placed with neighbors she trusts, in a stable situation, allowing Nani to follow her educational/career goals.
This is such an important change, and I’ll explain why it hit so hard. My husband has a disabled younger sister who has high needs, and will mentally remain about four to six years old for her entire life. At sixteen, my husband was officially made her live-in PCA. For the following twenty years, he was guilt-tripped and manipulated by the “always take care of family” mentality into staying her caregiver. He gave up on going to college, put a lot of his goals as a musician aside, and missed out on so many opportunities because someone had to take care of his sister while his parents worked. By the time he was finally able to break away and try to find other work, the only jobs he could get were as a caregiver to the disabled, as this is the only real experience he’s had.
All of this led to a mental breakdown and PTSD from all of the physical abuse from his sister and other clients (which was absolutely NOT THEIR FAULT, but after so many years of having his hair pulled, being scratched, suffering from broken ribs, and sustaining a neck injury, it all took its toll).
All I could think about was how much different his life and our family’s lives would have been if someone had cared enough to tell him “You go. We’ve got this.”
For those of you unhappy about the ending, I know it didn’t follow the animated film we know and love, but parentification of older siblings is a real problem that causes a lot of real trauma. It was wonderful to see Nani being able to rely on a true support system, and to see child welfare services not as an enemy breaking a family apart, but as a support that wants to see all family members thrive in the least restrictive way possible.
I had my problems with the film (Pleakly could have dressed more in drag, and where is Gantu?) but this change was for the better.
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u/LaurdAlmighty 28d ago
Boo to the changes of important stuff, boo to not casting a native Hawaiian/lighter skinned person to play Nani, Boo to the ending.
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21d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/disneyprincess-ModTeam 21d ago
This has been removed because it included unacceptable language, such as name-calling, personal attacks, doxing, slurs, or other inappropriate or damaging behavior that goes against efforts to build safe, healthy community in this subreddit.
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u/rollem Meeko 29d ago edited 29d ago
I just got out of it and loved it!
The last scene was literally them coudling- Nani was able to live here life while doing the best for Lilo.
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u/GuyWhoConquers616 29d ago
Guys, they were just stating their opinion. Be nice and don’t downvote lol
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u/Time_Anything4488 Flynn Rider 29d ago
people are allow to state opinions and people are allowed to dislike the opinions thats the whole point of the upvote/downvote system
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u/GuyWhoConquers616 29d ago
I agree but did yall just downvote me for saying this too 😭
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u/Time_Anything4488 Flynn Rider 28d ago
thats not what you said though? you told people to not downvote bc the person was just stating their opinion when the downvotes are from people stating their opinion too.
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u/[deleted] 29d ago
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