It’s a weird sensation when you wake up one morning and the joke many people have been making, suddenly becomes a reality. That’s the perpetual feeling as Disney continues to deem every animated film in its vault, perfect for a live action remake. Today sees yet another casualty.
The Hollywood Reporter has a story stating that Lilo & Stitch is the most recent film Disney is throwing into the conversion machine. An interesting tidbit in the release mentions it will be a live-action/CGI hybrid. The mind reels at what kind of monstrous creations they’ll come up with. Whatever it looks like, it’ll probably still sell like hotcakes.
For those unfamiliar with the animated film, Lilo & Stitch was a hit back in 2002. It follows a young Hawaiian girl named Lilo as she befiends and adopts the adoable blue koala-dog looking alien, Stitch. The film came out when Disney was unsure of it’s its box office hold. They mostly were in vesting in theatrical and home video sequel properties. In the years since its release, the film itself has spawned several sequels and a tv series. Not exactly a flash in the pan property.
Assigned to produce the film are Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich. If they sound familiar, that’s because they’re also the ones producing Disney’s live-action Aladdin remake. As a public service announcement, we regret to inform you, that one is being directed by Guy Ritchie. With Will Smith as the Genie.
No director’s been announced for Lilo & Stitch yet, though the screenwriter is curiously already known. Mike Van Waes will be handling those duties. His previous work is….well, non-existent. For the moment. He’s supposedly attached the newest Conjuring spin-off, The Crooked Man. As well as a horror take in The Wizard of Oz. Because if there’s one way to teach kids that “Ohana means family”, it’s through jump scares & terrifying imagery.
All joking aside, there’s very good reason to believe that this film will be a success. It could even be very good. The reticene built into this move is just how many productions Disney plans on juggling. With one live-action remake set to be released each year, and the likelihood that it gets up to two soon, something eventually has to give. If one company can manage to pull it off or has the reseources to take a small, it’s them.
As with all these things, expect a flurry of information and casting concerning Lilo & Stitch to hit in a few weeks. In that time 3 more films will probably be in the works as well. Just wake us when things get really nuts and they announce a live-action remake of DuckTales The Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp. It’ll probably happen sooner than you’d think.
