TV Show or Movie: Movie
Where to Watch: Theaters, On Demand
Genre: Kids & Family, Comedy, Adventure, Action
What It Reminds Me Of:
Writer: Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, Mike Van Waes
Directors: Dean Fleischer Camp
Cast: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Hannah Waddingham, Chris Sanders, Courtney B. Vance, Zach Galifianakis, Maia Kealoha.
Premise: A lonely Hawaiian girl befriends a runaway alien, helping to mend her fragmented family.
Review: I don’t think I had ever seen the animated Lilo & Stitch. I know, I know. I have been saying, “Blue punch buggy” for decades, though. I went to see this with the family and it was an absolute blast. I have read a lot of people complaining about things they changed, including making the two aliens played by humans instead of being aliens the whole tie. But I must say, Billy Magnuson completely stood out in this movie. I loved him in Black Mirror and the canceled-too-soon Made for Love. For this movie, it seems that he studied every Alan Tudyk performance in his long career because Magnuson put on a fantastic Tudyk performance. And I mean this as the highest compliment.
The movie is a ton of fun, very, very funny, and has a ton of heart. People are complaining about a decision that the sister makes at the end of the movie, but if you actually watch the movie it makes sense.
Disney doesn’t have a great track record of remaking their animated movies as live-action. The Lion King was, unfortunately, not strong. I haven’t seen the newest and I can’t tell you why Disney is planning a whole big franchise and world-building off of these movies, but they are. I didn’t see the live-action Aladdin, because who did? Lady and Tramp was fine enough, because of puppies!
Trailer: