The Reel Rejects - LILO & STITCH (2025) HAS HEART TO SPARE!! MOVIE REVIEW!!

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Starting point is 00:01:59 Well, all right gang Is there a post Ohana means we wait for the post credit scene. Whoa. But in the meantime, we can always I need tissue. How did you all not cry during that movie? I cried a little bit. Shut up.

Starting point is 00:02:17 Not the only one experiences human emotions here. All right? Stone. Oh my god. It's so cute. I'm misty eyed. It was so cute. It was real cute. Gang, if you happen to be joining us here on the YouTube,

Starting point is 00:02:30 leave a like on the video. Maybe even subscribe. Do one of the bell things that these guys like to do, whether it's singing about it or. Rake the bell. Oh my god. We got stereo bell encouragements here. Also, yeah

Starting point is 00:02:45 If you happen to be listening on the Apple or Spotify five star rating if you could if you like or four star That's cool, too. I understand. We can't be perfect. There's got to be room for improvement And also hey big thanks to the folks over at prepper Chopping these highlights together It's a big old task and this is on a very tight turnaround because it's hot off the presses, and we want to get to you as soon as possible. So thank you to them.

Starting point is 00:03:10 And thank you to our Royal Rejects supporting us over on Patreon. And Stoke in the Fires of conversation, we're going to jump into a few questions, let them guide our review process. But before we do that, how's everybody feeling? Tara, you seem like you're having a blast over here. This movie was so great.

Starting point is 00:03:31 Like, it had so much heart in it. I cried multiple times. And sure, like I said, before I was crying for a while, before I came in here, I get it. Maybe I'm a little emotional. But honestly, this movie was filled with so much good comedic like tone and pace.

Starting point is 00:03:46 I mean, especially when it came down to Lilo and Stitch and so much freaking heart, like the scene with her and her sister and then also how I don't remember from the animated, the scene with her and her sister, which is really sweet. Also Lilo almost like dying, the sister going going back and then also what really got me is is Lilo looking at the hand prints of her like of her parents and going back to her sister and being like you you need to go I was like

Starting point is 00:04:17 I love this movie. It's the best Our run how you feeling? I feel good. I I liked it I don't think I loved it as much as Tara did but I wow that It's a very interesting movie. You're canceled. I'm canceled to cancel off the internet. Yeah, is it guys? All right? But no it's been nice nice But no, it's been nice knowing you guys. It's been real nice knowing you guys. This was an interesting movie for me because, you know, it's based on a classic Disney movie from my childhood and we just watched it recently so it's fairly fresh in my memory. I'm not going to say I remember everything perfectly.

Starting point is 00:05:00 I watched a lot of movies here. But I think all the stuff with the heart was really, really good. Like Lilo and Nani's relationship when Stitch was finally not acting like a menace anymore. I thought all that stuff was really good. All the hearts was really great. Not all the humor worked for me. Like there were there are definitely bits and stretches or I was like, okay, this is funny, this is cute. But I feel like some of the the humor was clashing with some of the heart likes felt like it was a different movie at points. But at the end of the day, I feel like the point of the story is

Starting point is 00:05:39 about its heart is about its connection and family. And I think everyone was really well cast. Most everyone was very well cast. I did not, I never really got used to Zach Galifianakis as Jumba. It was throwing me off every time he's on screen. But outside of that- I wanna know what happened there.

Starting point is 00:05:57 I don't know, I'm very, very perplexed. But yeah, I think that it was an enjoyable movie. I don't have any regrets about watching it. I think it's a fun time, it's a new interpretation for a new generation. So yeah, I'd say overall, a thumbs up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Much to you, man.

Starting point is 00:06:18 I enjoyed, I certainly enjoyed watching it and I enjoyed watching it with you guys. And I would agree kind of with both of you that there's a lot of great in here. Yeah, definitely. I definitely enjoyed watching it, and I enjoyed watching it with you guys. And I would agree, kind of with both of you, that there's a lot of great in here. Yeah. And a lot of that has to do with, yeah, Lilo, Nonny, and Stitch.

Starting point is 00:06:34 And even just the more grounded supporting characters. You know, her neighbor, you know, Tutu? Is that what they... Yeah. Yeah, she was new, but she was great. They're kind of a term of an earment. She was great. And, you know know her son or whatever

Starting point is 00:06:46 You know the charming guy who didn't get to be much of a character But was still charming like I liked I was drawn into them and yeah, I was thought the stuff all that stuff that had to do with just their struggle as You know their broken little family as they often describe it You know I thought was really lovely and lovely and it felt like you were watching. It was the kind of movie where multiple times I would be sitting there watching that stuff and sort of forgetting about the fact

Starting point is 00:07:11 that there's like sci-fi hijinks happening. And one of those movies where you sit there and you're like, man, if this never cuts back to any of that, again, high concept stuff, I would still be interested and I would still be pulled into this. The sci-fi hijinks, the fantastical stuff, I feel like is where the movie is a little funkier because yeah, like the way it's proportioned is a little odd.

Starting point is 00:07:34 And, you know, again, there's just some stuff I couldn't help but notice in terms of, yeah, like they kept feeling they were like they were cutting around Zach Galif. Like when they start, you feel like him and Pleakley are going to be, you know, a consistent plot line of the movie, which they are. But yeah, like throughout the middle, especially there were a number of times where it's like something else is happening right now. Usually Lilo and Stitch are up to something. And then we're going to do like a single shot of the two of them being involved in there, kind of following them around. But like, we're not really going to smooth that out so much.

Starting point is 00:08:11 Or I couldn't tell what happened. Like, I couldn't tell if they like cut a bunch of that stuff out or what. But yeah, I think there is an interesting clash of tones happening here. And it is an interesting one because of all the Disney live actions I've seen. This one seemed like it in some ways, it had all the Disney live actions I've seen. This one seemed like in some ways it had the best opportunity to work and be great. And I feel like it does grab a lot of that. Because yeah, I was with you.

Starting point is 00:08:32 I was getting choked up. And I was really feeling the heart and the adorable nature of just watching this relationship and the struggles that they face and all that stuff. And the two leads especially were just so lovely. They're all so wonderful. And that for the original movie was a unique relationship and a unique kind of family situation to portray.

Starting point is 00:08:55 And I thought this did a nice job of translating that the best, absolutely. And then I am fascinated. I would love to hear in five or 10 years when they can actually talk about this like What they were going for? Yeah, I just I just watching this it feels like somebody it was it feels like a thing that was retooled So that they could hit their date or whatever yeah and

Starting point is 00:09:22 Part of me sits here and goes man Yeah, and part of me sits here and goes man You probably could have made this like pretty perfect if you just wait if you push the date and like Dumped some more money on this or something, you know, I know it's hard to do that But like I feel like they had everything they needed to make this like a slam dunk But as it stands like there's a lot of stuff in here that's like really lovely and worth appreciating There were some hard cuts when it came to the Doctor. Jumba?

Starting point is 00:09:47 Yeah. Jumba. Doctor Jumba and then the other guy. Hard cuts, even when they landed on Earth, it was a weird, it would just be a short scene and then a hard cut to another thing. And it was a little jarring. Those cuts were a little weird because when

Starting point is 00:10:03 it came to Lilo and Stitch, there was really good panning, tracking shots, dolly shots, like zoom ins. Those cuts were a little weird because when it came to Lilo and Stitch, there's really good panning tracking shots, dolly shots, zoom ins, and there didn't seem to be any weird cuts there. Those were all very stylized, especially when they're in the house and they're running around. There was a lot of whip pan cuts. But when it went from the doctor, the scientist, to them, there was some weird just flat cuts, which I thought was a little odd. Yeah. It almost made me wonder if they had made some kind of weird

Starting point is 00:10:29 choice to have them do some kind of mocap thing and then partway through production. They were like, you know what? That's not working. We'll just make you Billy Magnuson and Zach Galifianakis. We'll just reshoot all this, but just with you guys and improv some stuff and we'll figure that out. Because you feel like you would just want to, yeah, like,

Starting point is 00:10:46 Lang, you would want to put the camera on them and let them go, you know? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, and it feels like. Have them improvise. Yeah. Yeah, and it feels weird, because some stuff, like, makes sense for adaptation.

Starting point is 00:10:57 Like, I feel like making them actual people makes sense for them having to do this job and having to blend in. I like some of the other areas in which it was updated with, you know, Nonny is like a 18, 19 year old kid who has the responsibility of taking care of a kid, herself, you know, a six year old. But in the, I believe in, you guys correct me from wrong,

Starting point is 00:11:18 if you guys remember, in the adaptation, you know, they ended up staying together. Cobra Bubbles plays both the liaison to the alien secret agent and the social worker so they kind of divided his character into two with this one but they gave Nani her own ambitions to go and be a marine biologist and I like the fact that they gave Nani her own ambitions and because I feel like with the other iteration like oh yeah she's gonna stay on the island and raise her raise her kid sister you know situation

Starting point is 00:11:49 that happens all the time but I like that she got to enjoy her yeah go after a career path and they tie that into the story I thought that stuff was very cool yeah and yeah and for me I feel like some of the stitch stuff before the heart came in went on a little bit too long. I feel like it was just high jinks for high jinks sake. Like what come into my mind specifically, it's like when you first land and they're at the wedding, I was like, okay, we didn't really need this.

Starting point is 00:12:14 It was like, it was just kind of there. Cause yeah, it was making me more like, I don't know. Get to it? Yeah, get to it, but it was more like, oh my God, this's stressing me out more. So I think this is funny. And I thought maybe that's just being an adult.

Starting point is 00:12:29 I don't know. But and I get this good for kids. But I think it's I think it's just the translation to photorealism is just it's going to be more stressful. You can't get as lost in the sort of fun silliness of it all because you're like, oh, my God, no, please. I can now imagine being in this situation and how stressful that would be. It's kind of like is weird watching Alice in Wonderland recently was was funny

Starting point is 00:12:54 because I hadn't remembered at all that that so much of that movie is about Alice coming into these like situations that are so nonsensical that they become like exasperating and frustrating. And like, I didn't realize how much of that there was. And in this movie, I certainly remembered back to the animation thinking like, oh, yeah, you know, like, obviously Stitch is causing a lot of trouble, chaos. Right. And, you know, I'm I'm some, you know, sucked up into that. But but yeah, it took it takes on a different layer when you're like

Starting point is 00:13:23 when there's like the cringe factor of like, oh god No, though, like I can feel the real-world repercussions of these situations. They went extra at the house Yeah, like the wedding was like it was kind of okay like I get it All right, the shots were fun. That was sort of in the beginning, but then the house don't know them. So it's fun Yeah, the house you're like, yeah, I'd give them away. What is going on? Like you wouldn't want to, but it was so extreme. I mean, it was just one thing after another that I think they want a little extra than the animation.

Starting point is 00:13:52 I wonder if that's part of it, because like, part of me imagines, just based on what we've seen here, a version of this that was like way more broad and more like wacky or cartoony and fitting with the original movie. And then maybe seeing some of how it was coming back or how it was cutting together and then going like, you know what, this is skewing a little more dramatic or at least a little more grounded than we initially anticipated.

Starting point is 00:14:19 Maybe we need to rethink some of the more sci-fi and the more animated and the sillier elements or the more heightened elements to match all of this. Because it's weird, in the cartoon, you do get this endearingly, for the time and genre, I think, kind of a raw look at a family who is struggling and dealing with some real world stuff. But also, you've got all the alien hijinks.

Starting point is 00:14:44 And because I think know, I think a lot, one thing I, I think, you know, you solve a lot of problems by turning, uh, uh, uh, Juba and Jumbly and humans. Yeah. Jumba and Plinkley. Like I think it's a fun opportunity to get more out of your actors that you've cast. Yeah. And it's a good way to solve the problem of like, well, they could never disguise themselves the way they do in the movie.'s a good way to solve the problem of like, well, they could never disguise themselves

Starting point is 00:15:06 the way they do in the movie because people would immediately pick it out and be like, well, that's not real. So I wonder if, yeah, like if they were aiming for a more ambitious blend of tones that probably would have been more like the original movie and then either realized that the tones weren't quite gelling together or something or like it's weird. I haven't seen a movie quite like this in a minute where I'm like there's

Starting point is 00:15:29 I can see the smoothed out version of this in my mind's eye. Yeah. That honors the best parts of it, which make up more than half of it. But also, yeah, leaves you with less things to be sort of like perturbed about. Like it's the things that are odd about this movie are like especially odd and fascinating to me, because, yeah, now I just want to know what happened. Yeah, it feels like they got an indie director to do this movie. But then they're like, oh, we've got to punch up with the comedy, though. We got to find someone.

Starting point is 00:15:59 We had to bring in another writer to make the wacky hijinks of comedy. And I felt like there are times where it worked and it played into the story but there are other times where I felt like we're just stopping the movie to do like a bit or to do something that's silly. Yeah, that stuff didn't work for me but a lot of the heart and the core of that story

Starting point is 00:16:18 really did translate extremely well. I thought the two leads had great chemistry. I thought for being a six-year-old or just even in general, the kid did a great job acting against, you know, a doll or a CGI character. So I think that alone is really impressive. And I wonder what work they did to prep, because the two of them, I mean, Nani and Lilo,

Starting point is 00:16:38 like, were so great together. Like, they're great chemistry. Yeah. Like, truly great casting. Cool to have Tia Carrera back in a prominent supporting role and to honor her presence in the original movie. And it's like Cobra Bubbles is a character that's so fun and such a nice surprise by the end of the animated version

Starting point is 00:16:58 that all this stuff at the end where they become like a, I guess, family was a little undercooked here because I'm like, Cobra shows up and you know, there's you know what he's up to from the start and you, you know, it's he's kind of just here. And then at the end, he's just like, I'm good. I'm not going to say anything. And then they're like, cool. You're done. And they just hang out their house. and that he hangs out with that. I'm like, you were like dedicated to this moments ago. And not that I'm, you know, arguing for him to, you know, not have a, you know, change of heart by the end. But yeah, just like that felt like it was supposed to be more of a.

Starting point is 00:17:37 You get Courtney B. Vance, you know, like it feels like it's supposed to be a more prominent plot line. And it was reduced down to like, OK, a few key moments. And then we get our reveal, which at the end isn't even really actually a reveal because we already know. And then, you know, the same thing kind of happens with Jumbo and Pleakley. Yeah, because I felt kind of out of nowhere because the whole thing is that they're like this odd couple duo.

Starting point is 00:18:01 And then they do the hard turn like, oh, he's the villain now. Whereas in the original one, it was like, oh, he's the villain now. Whereas in the original one, it was like Gantu, the giant shark man, who they cut out completely out of this one. So yeah, I mean, I didn't dig that, but I'm like, I guess you have a mad scientist, you guys have him in prison, I guess it makes sense

Starting point is 00:18:16 that you would take him back to prison. But then you can have a spinoff with all the fun little, little other aliens and experiments. Like they showed Angel in there, they showed the sandwich making guy in there this I think they did but yeah I don't know that part that's part didn't gel with me but again if they had a heart I mean the movie had harm I'm saying it focused solely on the heart of maiden the other stuff more grounded I think the movie would have worked well

Starting point is 00:18:40 as a whole it was really just the scientists and the politely stuff that I think seemed as though it was trying to push the comedic tone and pacing and put it in there, except I'm not sure how many chances or takes they were able to get in being them. I'm not saying that those scenes didn't really work, but it's not like I was like cracking up. I really thought that the stuff with Lilo and Stitch

Starting point is 00:19:02 was fricking hilarious. That little girl, give her a fricking Oscar. I love her. Everything about the delivery. I mean, it's like such perfect casting there that to me, you know, they went through hell trying to find the perfect girl who could literally just sit down and she's on camera. You're like, she's Lilo. Because that's what casting is, is you got to go through it and they don't even need to see anything You just know it and that that is with her. I I really really felt it So I just feel like those those little details in those other side characters

Starting point is 00:19:34 And I don't know if what John is saying is true is that they were like maybe we need to turn them into people And not have them like who knows what they were what they were really thinking the only thing that gives it away that maybe things change was the hard cuts to me, because everything else in regards to Lilo and Stitch and the family and Tia and all of that was shot really well, no weird cuts. It was really just when those two characters came in, so I'm not sure, but I still love the crap out of this movie.

Starting point is 00:20:02 It got to me right here, and that's honestly all I care about, because when I watch a film and I'm not sure, but I still love the crap out of this movie. It got to me right here, and that's honestly all I care about. Cause when I watch a film and I'm like, you could have had more heart, then I don't really love it as much. And this one had a lot for me, so I appreciate it. Well, I would agree that like the most important thing for this movie to achieve is to have heart and to give you a good rendition

Starting point is 00:20:22 of the Lilo, Nani and Stitch. Yeah. You know, situation. And I feel like that is what got the most love and attention out of this. You know, I'm sure it all did on set. But in terms of this cut of the movie that we're beholding, it seems like that stuff was the stuff that they adjusted around to flatter, which I'm glad for rather than it being some kind of vice versa where they're like, we got to punch up, jump up,

Starting point is 00:20:49 bleakly cut down on some of this heart over here so we can get some more wackiness going. I want to know what they did to make that. She's played Lilo cry because she had a whole, whole ass snot rocket showing out of the hand. Like dang girl. It was probably just like, pretend that's your dog that's dying.

Starting point is 00:21:04 Let me forget about it. I mean, she was extraordinary. It was probably just like, pretend that your dog is dying. I mean, forget about it. I mean, she was extraordinary. She was great. Like, across the board, like, so natural. Castor and everything, man. And she really felt like she carried over that spirit of what I remember of the animated character, you know, like from her outfits to that mop of hair

Starting point is 00:21:21 to just her, yeah, like precocious sort of like ever fascinated and interested in stuff, but clearly like a little bit of a, you know, I got to march to the beat of my own drum. Yeah. But also with like a really nice, good heart. Like I bought the dysfunction between her and the other kids, even though they don't spend a ton of time on that.

Starting point is 00:21:40 But I bought that stuff. I bought her struggles. I bought the parts of her that are cute and endearing and like all that conflict of like, I can't every time she's at work and she's like, you're going to be good, right? And you're like, I want to believe you. I want to believe you because I do believe you, but I know it's not going to work.

Starting point is 00:21:58 And yeah, like terrific, terrific performance. Is there a live Moana? It's coming. It's coming next year. Oh, god, she would have been perfect. If she was like just a little bit older, if she can sing, I would have, I just love her on screen. I literally cast her in anything that would make sense.

Starting point is 00:22:15 And Moana would make sense. Moana's like a teenager, though. That's what I meant. If she was a little bit older and she could sing, like I'll cast her in anything. And I realized that not all kid actors grow up to be great teenage actors or adult actors, but like, I love the crap out of her.

Starting point is 00:22:31 I'll watch her in anything. Let's go. She was terrific. Like hats off. And yeah, they did a really nice job of just flattering every aspect of her performance. And you know, you wouldn't have gotten them tears if it wasn't on point.

Starting point is 00:22:47 It's true, man. All right, let's take a look at a couple questions from the patrons here. Jay Rushden, one of our most inquisitive. Sorry, that's for the editors there. Was that you guys who came over there? That was a good call. The clapping?

Starting point is 00:23:02 Yeah. Me and Andrew started to be like, because they were like in between the questions. I don't know. That's smart. Good. All right, J. Rushton wants to know, would Stitch make a great pet for you?

Starting point is 00:23:16 Nah. God, in that beginning, right? We can't keep him. That's too much. Yeah. She had a lot of resolve to last that long. I don't know if I would, yeah, like given infinite time and resources maybe, but like in the hustle

Starting point is 00:23:31 and bustle of every day, it wouldn't work out. Also, we live in LA, so he would have already destroyed the city. That's true. I am with you on that. We ain't got enough water coverage for Stitch. But thank you, Jay. And comment below. Could you handle a Stitch in your, you know, housing situation? Do you have a ranch of some kind that you could hang out on?

Starting point is 00:23:56 Okay, here we go. Brittany Winter, thank you for chiming into the convo. Lilo and Stitch, here we go. The story feels real to life in this version. Like the magic of the animation of the original wasn't able to manifest into the live action here. The ending is different from the original. Did that change your opinion about the movie as a whole or not? It didn't for me. I still liked it. Because yeah, in the original one, Nonny stays and then so do Pleaclian Jumba, right? And they become like a little, yeah, a ragtag family. Here, they sort of transmute that in a way

Starting point is 00:24:31 that I partially like on paper. I mean, I like all this stuff with like, yeah, you know, Tutu is going to take over. Like, in terms of all the real world junk of like, social workers and, know child services like I thought that was a neat compromise like yeah you know a family friend takes care and then I wasn't upset that Nani had some kind of other thing to go live for I thought that was like as much as I could see why you would be upset that she would leave to go pursue

Starting point is 00:25:00 her dreams at this stage in Lilo's life. I think if some of the other auxiliary character stuff had been on point, it would be easier to swallow the whole like, oh, she's going to portal gun back and forth. And like, you know, it seems like they've created a clever hack to make it so that she's going to be in her life a ton, no matter what. I think the only thing the ending is missing for me is just like more meat on some of the other characters. Like I want to care that Cobra's hanging out, not just be like, I guess it's neat

Starting point is 00:25:30 that Courtney B. Vance is here. You know? Yeah. You hung out with the end of the last one too. Yeah. It was just like, oh, okay, I guess he's here now. But yeah, here it feels distinctly more strange because it wasn't part of the aspect of bringing her in

Starting point is 00:25:44 or being the social worker stuff Yeah, the bit with him just isn't as fleshed out It's not he you know he's not the most prominent character in the original movie even but like I feel like just the those Types of subplots were a lot better rounded to sell ending that kind of ending. Yeah, I think I think the stuff that's the same Largely works. I mean the stuff at the heart. I think the stuff that's the same largely works. I mean, the stuff at the heart. I think the... I don't know if I like Jamba being the bad guy.

Starting point is 00:26:11 I feel like that... It just felt kind of abrupt to me. It felt like, oh, they're doing the odd couple thing. No, I'm like... It didn't make sense that the chief would entrust Plinkley to be the guy to arrest Jamba. I was like, you've seen how he is, right? It almost makes me wonder if that was an audible or something like they had. What's the shark guy's name?

Starting point is 00:26:34 Gantu. It's like it's I almost wonder if they like tried actually attempted to incorporate. Yeah, that couldn't for some reason. And then went back and we're like, OK, let's let's just crush that into Jumba and we'll reach tool some of this stuff Or something would kind of I would believe that as a plausible explanation as to why it came out like this Because it does feel abrupt and I feel like especially if I don't know it seems like a choice you would want to finesse Yeah feel like, especially if, I don't know, it seems like a choice you would want to finesse. Yeah, and also it felt like the ending wanted to have its cake and eat it too, because it wanted to be different. And like we live in the 2020s now, which, you know, with young

Starting point is 00:27:14 people prioritizes individualism and, you know, with, you know, in older generations and you sacrificed and like did the stuff, the fun stuff or the things you wanted to do later in life and then, you know, took care of what you needed to in the younger part of your life. And so I felt like they wanted to have Nani go off and have her own path, but use the portal guns. No, she's actually still here. So like, don't worry, they're not actually separated.

Starting point is 00:27:40 So I wish that they would have committed to the choice to have them, you know, her be here and her be here. But it's cute. It's a cute little detail. But yeah, I wish they would have. It definitely, yeah, it definitely rests more on whimsy to achieve the theme in that sense than just letting the theme do its thing.

Starting point is 00:28:00 Yeah, I feel like I, I, I've still really really liked it and I think it would have been Probably I think less ideal if she didn't have the portal gun because I thought that was really cute I I liked that portion of the writing of like oh, that's good that she still gets to like get her education Like when you think about it She's gonna be a better sister for if she goes off to school and does her thing rather than like, I don't know, you could think about real life. She has to raise her baby sister,

Starting point is 00:28:31 becomes bitter, resentful, who knows? I don't foresee that happening with them. But I didn't mind that they flipped up the ending a bit. I do think with Cooper B. Vance, that he could have been, you could have just left a CIA jacket there or made a joke of like, don't worry, we can call her CIA friend.

Starting point is 00:28:54 Because I do agree that I thought him, I know that in the animated he is there, but I thought it made maybe a little bit more sense for Pleakley, Pleakley, right, is his name for Pleakley, because Pleakley is just like, yeah, let me hang out like that. It is him. Clearly loves it here. Like totally. He's going to be there.

Starting point is 00:29:15 He's just going to shove his way in. And it just didn't make as much sense for his character because he's not Tia Carrera's character where he's the social worker. But I did really love that, how they worked it in, where the neighbors become and take her over and foster care. I like that they worked in from the very top. The reason that makes sense is because her neighbor is like,

Starting point is 00:29:36 oh, so I see that you, this thing that you threw away in the trash ended up in your bag while you were at work. And I'm like, oh, she's really, she's looking out for her. All we needed were those two lines. And when I normally say that in some movies, they forget to set the foundation for certain characters so that we feel that sort of devotion, that family, that connection.

Starting point is 00:30:00 And that's all it needs is like, that was two sentences. You're like, oh, she's got her back. She's looking out for her. So when we see her on that borough drive and like she tells the guy to get on and she goes to like save them You know that she's she's there and when she says that she's going to take care of Lilo. You're like, yeah totally makes sense It didn't feel like out of left field to me. It was just good because it could have I think if they had done it a different way So I definitely still liked it even with even with the changes. And in the animated one, she doesn't save stitch like that and go along the ocean floor.

Starting point is 00:30:33 No, that was a cool. I thought that was a fun detail. The freaking picture and she trained in the surface. She has the weight. And then I knew she picked her up and she's on the ground. You're like, here we go. I loved that that was Really well set up and paid off like really great great because even when they show you that picture initially They're not like this is important

Starting point is 00:30:56 You know it's just sort of like one of many details that are giving you an insight to the character Yes, and then it pays off And yeah, and then it gives you that fun moment as an audience member where you get to go Oh wait, put the stone in the picture Like yeah, like that was super sweet and I mean to your comment it's weird I'm torn because like I feel like this did achieve some level of magic in its execution And I don't begrudge it feeling a bit more real-life because it's obviously going to. I think it was mainly for my watch, it's mainly just in the balance of those things.

Starting point is 00:31:28 Because I think you need, like, the part of the charm of the animated movie was that it was like, oh, a little bit more real and dealing with a bit more of a down-to-earth subject matter in its human characterization than you would have imagined necessarily. And I think, you know, to further follow that here is a good idea.

Starting point is 00:31:48 I just yeah, I wish that the whimsy and the magic side had clicked a little better because I do think they probably had some difficulty in figuring out how to marry those tones together. And it's weird because I feel like they came out with something that doesn't feel too heavy or dour, you know, in its depiction of like a struggling family. But at the same time, yeah, just like doesn't know what to do quite with all of its other like sillier elements. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, I did appreciate some of those just charactery

Starting point is 00:32:18 updates and changes and things like that. And yeah, I'm not. I think, yeah, it's like the ending in the animated one for the circumstances is probably stronger because this ending takes again. Mumbo jumbo to get it done. Yeah. But you know, for what it is, I appreciate the heart of that anyway. And then, you know, it's if it was at the end of a perfectly executed version of this, I probably wouldn't have that big of a deal with it. No, you're good, man. You're good.

Starting point is 00:32:47 Have be thank you for chiming in on the convo. Do the storytelling feel off like they stripped away the heart or the quirky charm that made the original so special? I feel like they stripped it of all the heart they could. Kev B, I'm sorry to hear that. Savage, Kev. I don't feel that way, man. I don't agree. I mean, I could see how you would feel that.

Starting point is 00:33:09 And this is a movie where I think everyone's results will vary uniquely to them. I thought this managed everything that worked for me pretty much about this was heart related. And I do think that while maybe the heart could have been employed in a way, in a broader way to like bring all of the things the movie is trying to do together, I would just still say that I think the heart

Starting point is 00:33:37 and the attention paid to Lilo and Nani's relationship is some of the best stuff in the movie. And I still felt that. I still felt that heart and that sort of, yeah, just a swell of endearment and the emotion of not wanting them to get split up. I think the quirky charm is something that they could have done better at. Like the quirk happened and worked sometimes.

Starting point is 00:33:59 And then other times it seems like they wanted to do quirk, but cut it out or didn't have the rhythm to make the quirk happen or something. I think the quirky charm, the more fun and fantastical side is yeah, where they didn't quite know so much how to proceed. Yeah, I feel like it definitely had the heart and I feel like in the animated movie the the heart and humor work in tandem with one another but at point in this iteration the heart and humor feel like they're sort of at odds But sometimes I feel like they're in tandem Cuz yeah for like for example there was like a almost family guy as cut at the beginning of the movie where

Starting point is 00:34:35 Drama's in prison that shows them cuts them playing chess together. It's like yeah, there's nothing else like that in the movie really yeah So and then there's like the called snap zooms Well, they like zoom in quick those like quick punch in yes, and that stuff's like a little Inconsistent it's there, but I don't know I do think overall the original one is stronger But I wouldn't say this is a bad movie by any means if like the heart definitely makes us worth watching I'd love watching Lilo and Stitch and Lilo and Nani all together Yeah, I mean my heart was on my sleeve. I was crying. But like, it was really just between Lilo and Nani. I mean, the way that even towards the end, the way that she just looks at her and hugs her and like smushes her little nose against hers and smiles. How can you not?

Starting point is 00:35:21 I mean, it's so real. And that takes like two actors to be just really grounded and settled and that you can trust that person that she really does feel like a sister and on screen I think that this whole story is all about Ohana. It has to feel like family and to me it did because of the casting and because of the way that they felt together even when they're in the the why am I blanking thank you on the hammock that was just so sweet and it was a nice callback to the song that she was singing to Stitch in the beginning and then they go through the whole thing with her sister and it was just it was just so sweet and it felt so real. It came through the screen. And I think all of those scenes with them, that just has to do with good direction, good casting, great actors, feeling settled and grounded,

Starting point is 00:36:13 and it flies off the screen. And no matter what this movie did wrong or not right, all of the rest of what I just said makes up for all the rest of it. Because there are a lot of good movies They try to do Casting and they try to have scenes that are like that and it doesn't fly off the screen because everything isn't totally right But with them I felt like it was yeah also I feel like they paid off stitch his weakness of water

Starting point is 00:36:42 Better in this iteration that I do in the original. Feels like when he, he sacrifices himself and even though he's too dense to save both him and Lilo and then he did the thing as he was falling down, I was like, that's so good. Yeah. So good, I know. Well, I would say like the, like the con, the combination of quirk and charm and heart

Starting point is 00:37:04 comes together through Stitch and Lilo, especially because they are like ornery little devils together. And so, yeah, like that, I could absolutely feel a lot of people probably sharing exactly your experience where it's like this movie, yeah, gets enough of the right things, like, so well with the heart that, like, again, I would watch just a whole movie about Lilo and Nani. Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

Starting point is 00:37:32 Totally. And, yeah, it's like, you know, I thought they got the quirk at times, whereas, like, a character like Cobra Bubbles, for example, should be quirky and didn't get that treatment necessarily. But, yeah, I don't feel like for us, I wouldn't say that they stripped it wholesale of heart because I think again, the heart shown through quite a bit,

Starting point is 00:37:55 at least again for us. Let's see, we got one more, I believe Lindsey. Lindsey Deudee, I hope I'm saying that right, unless it's just do you do Lilo crew. Oh, oh, how upsetting is the new ending for you compared to the original. What they did with Nani undermines the whole point of the story.

Starting point is 00:38:20 I don't think so, because she has the gun. She can come back. It's still all about still about Ohana. She just also gets to follow her dream. Yeah. I don't, I don't think it under con I, I, I get where Lindsay is coming from. I really do, but they, they did have a bit of a work around with it. Like with the gun, she is still very much involved in her life, but gets to live, you know, her dream as well. Yeah. I think it's great.

Starting point is 00:38:50 You know, they'll always have each other. They're not. She's not abandoning her. Their family, you know, they get to love and plus, you know, as a 19 year old who's trying to make ends meet, trying to raise a kid who also has their own ambitions. I feel like they found a way to be able to have both of them, you know, still be able to live. You know, Lilo isn't alone anymore. She has Stitch and Nani gets to live her dream and then in turn when she's older help Lilo have a better life.

Starting point is 00:39:20 Totally. It's definitely going to help her. Ohana means you, you better have a portal gun Because if that wasn't in there I wouldn't have been been like it's still Ohana because she would have been gone Yeah, I'm with you on that visiting at Christmas Yeah, I could definitely imagine I can't really again, I'm not compelled to argue you out of this feeling because I could absolutely see a lot of people agreeing with you. And I think that it it all hangs on that poral gun. It really does. It's like because they did that and I will grant you that it's not a, you know, really smart.

Starting point is 00:40:05 It's a it's a cheeky, fun solution to a problem that, you know, again, if you didn't have that one detail, would not be possible. And thus, you know, it's not a particularly smart piece of writing necessarily. But I would say that, yeah, because of that, they're able to orchestrate at least what appears as like, oh, cool, a new family unit that is bigger than just the two of us even. And yes, I'm going to be in San Diego studying or whatever, but I can be here anytime. I'm I am here.

Starting point is 00:40:36 And we just have like a slightly different lifestyle now. Like that didn't wreck the theme or yeah, the whole idea, you know, no one gets left behind. She's leaving to go someplace else. I get it. But I would argue or I again, I'm not compelled to argue against this very much because, yeah, it's like the original ending is better earned than this is, you know, more gracefully orchestrated. And, you know, again, I feel like if this movie in certain other ways had been a bit more smoothed out, then that might be an easier pill to swallow

Starting point is 00:41:10 or at least easier to want to extend the benefit of the doubt to. But yeah, it's weird. It's like I could absolutely see how this would would or could undermine the idea of the story. But due to this one very specific piece of tape they have put on the whole, it doesn't do that for me. But yeah, I get where you're coming from. I feel like it speaks to two different ends of people.

Starting point is 00:41:35 Like one, too, you do stay behind to take care of your family, your sister, your mom. You understand the animated a lot better. And you're like, yes, that's me. And there's going to be other people who gravitate where they're like, I felt guilty. I left to do a thing so that I think I could be better for them in the future. So it's like, you're still getting, you're getting basically two different stories that two different groups of people would relate to. So I can understand if some people are like, yeah, I chose to stay home because I care about family

Starting point is 00:42:08 versus other ones who view it as like, I chose to leave because I do still care about my family, even though it was hard because I thought what I was doing was still gonna benefit them in a different way. It's just, it's ideally about how two different sets of people live their lives. And I still think either one works for me. Yeah, because you can also head canon.

Starting point is 00:42:31 I mean, like marine biology certainly seems like it would be useful living on an island surrounded by marine life. I was going to say, yeah, I mean, I guess for narrative tension, they had to set it somewhere else. But I'm like, you'd imagine they'd have that available in Hawaii. I feel like there's a whole whole. I hear you have some whole college right here. She doesn't come home on the weekend. Exactly. She doesn't have to leave Hawaii. But yes, yeah, totally.

Starting point is 00:42:54 Yeah, it's I don't know. This is a very fun and interesting experience, partly like I of all the Disney live action remakes we got to, you know, check out together. I'm glad this was one of them, because again, there are I from what I've gathered. There have been other ones that have gone way more awry. You know, I don't think this is maybe the most perfect translation of any of them. But this was actually better than I was led to believe it might be the same. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:43:20 And that also has something to do with it. I mean, when this came out and was in theaters, I feel like I remember hearing mixed things. It wasn't like panned the way that like Snow White got panned. So, you know, I think that's a nice sort of opportunity for anyone to come in and just see how it strikes you. Gang, you got any more thoughts before we? I know. Thanks for the movie Hanna still means family ohana means no one gets left behind. You know what they did I should we have a portal gun

Starting point is 00:43:52 That world gun is integral to the plot I Got a bra. I got to pick one nit though Yeah, those mosquitoes never came back then they paid Service at the beginning and I was waiting for them to be like, no, you can't vaporize Earth. It's a protected natural habitat for the mosquito. Oh, and Snow Cone Guy, he didn't come back. Okay, I have one more nit to pick.

Starting point is 00:44:16 The frog looked like an animated frog and they could have made it look like a real frog. I was like, I don't think that's based on any frog. I think that's just an cartoon frog. That was his most... That was the experiment. That's it. The frog was on screen for 2.5 seconds.

Starting point is 00:44:32 You know, what happened with the frog? What happened with that frog? Comment below if you have any inside scoops from the production. Release the frog cut. Release the frog cut. How many real life frog actors did they audition? You mean to tell me they couldn't find one Bring the Budweiser frogs out of retirement

Starting point is 00:44:48 Yes You tell us if that's the cut that you wanted in the movie or if you're if you're fighting over what Aaron would say Yeah, you drew a real one and they didn't We didn't get to see sexy guy enough in this one. He was barely even a thing. Yeah, sexy guy. Yeah Yeah, yeah boy. He didn't get to do it in much of anything Funny a couple times. Yeah, he only took his shirt off once Thanks for joining us and go hug your Ohana. Do it.

Starting point is 00:45:26 We'll see you soon. Love you.

The Reel Rejects - LILO & STITCH (2025) HAS HEART TO SPARE!! MOVIE REVIEW!!

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