Filmforce offers the following preview of L&S, as well as quotes from Writer and director Chris Sanders. Very interesting material.
The story centers around Lilo, a lonely Hawaiian girl who adopts a small ugly "dog," whom she names Stitch. Stitch would be the perfect pet if he weren't actually a genetic experiment who has escaped from an alien planet and crash-landed on Earth. Through Lilo's love and faith in "ohana" (the Hawaiian concept of family), she unlocks Stitch's heart and gives him the one thing he was never designed to have a family.
As evidenced by the previews, Disney wants people to see this film as something different and it is, thankfully. In a rather bold move for the studio, they've broken the mold and have discarded storytelling patterns that become stagnant. Lilo & Stitch is offbeat, funny, imaginative, and I can't wait to see it!
The film is also a visual departure for Disney. Stitch marks the first time in sixty years that the studio has widely utilized watercolor backgrounds in a feature film. And the film's original designs, inspired by director Chris Sanders, are also very different. Co-writer/director Dean Dubois describes Sanders' style saying, "I don't think I've ever seen Chris do a drawing that has a sharp angle. His characters tend to be very grounded, bottom-heavy, either in a poetic or chubby way." The film's art director Ric Sluiter adopted Sanders' style, taking what he called the "chub it up" approach.
In addition to the lush visual palate, a rich musical tapestry is also woven into the film. Lilo is a huge fan of Elvis' music, something that Director Sanders felt would help define her character, and so six of The King's biggest hits are included in the film: "Heartbreak Hotel," "Stuck on You," "Blue Hawaii," "Suspicious Minds," "Devil in Disguise," and "Hound Dog." And country music's Wynonna (*shudder*) provides a new rendition of "Burning Love" which can be heard in the new trailer. The soundtrack also includes two traditional Hawaiian-themed songs that feature authentic hula music and native instrumentation.
It's that type of attention to detail and realism that makes the Lilo & Stitch seem so genuine. Obviously, I haven't even seen it yet, but you can already sense the honesty in this film it's refreshing. Sanders, who got his start in the business as a modeler on Muppet Babies observes, "With this film we really wanted to go back to Disney's roots. We looked at the simplicity and warmth of films like Dumbo and Bambi and the way the characters interacted with each other. There was a purity and nostalgia that appealed to us." Sanders says that the crew opted to place their emphasis on character development and relationships instead of technical marvels or pushing new boundaries. "We wanted to slow the world down a bit," he says. "We were really attracted to showing the 'gray zone' in our characters. There's no one character in our film that is pure evil or pure good. Everybody has moments of honorable intent. We were able to create characters that are believable because they are fallible yet they try very hard."
The story centers around Lilo, a lonely Hawaiian girl who adopts a small ugly "dog," whom she names Stitch. Stitch would be the perfect pet if he weren't actually a genetic experiment who has escaped from an alien planet and crash-landed on Earth. Through Lilo's love and faith in "ohana" (the Hawaiian concept of family), she unlocks Stitch's heart and gives him the one thing he was never designed to have a family.
As evidenced by the previews, Disney wants people to see this film as something different and it is, thankfully. In a rather bold move for the studio, they've broken the mold and have discarded storytelling patterns that become stagnant. Lilo & Stitch is offbeat, funny, imaginative, and I can't wait to see it!
The film is also a visual departure for Disney. Stitch marks the first time in sixty years that the studio has widely utilized watercolor backgrounds in a feature film. And the film's original designs, inspired by director Chris Sanders, are also very different. Co-writer/director Dean Dubois describes Sanders' style saying, "I don't think I've ever seen Chris do a drawing that has a sharp angle. His characters tend to be very grounded, bottom-heavy, either in a poetic or chubby way." The film's art director Ric Sluiter adopted Sanders' style, taking what he called the "chub it up" approach.
In addition to the lush visual palate, a rich musical tapestry is also woven into the film. Lilo is a huge fan of Elvis' music, something that Director Sanders felt would help define her character, and so six of The King's biggest hits are included in the film: "Heartbreak Hotel," "Stuck on You," "Blue Hawaii," "Suspicious Minds," "Devil in Disguise," and "Hound Dog." And country music's Wynonna (*shudder*) provides a new rendition of "Burning Love" which can be heard in the new trailer. The soundtrack also includes two traditional Hawaiian-themed songs that feature authentic hula music and native instrumentation.
It's that type of attention to detail and realism that makes the Lilo & Stitch seem so genuine. Obviously, I haven't even seen it yet, but you can already sense the honesty in this film it's refreshing. Sanders, who got his start in the business as a modeler on Muppet Babies observes, "With this film we really wanted to go back to Disney's roots. We looked at the simplicity and warmth of films like Dumbo and Bambi and the way the characters interacted with each other. There was a purity and nostalgia that appealed to us." Sanders says that the crew opted to place their emphasis on character development and relationships instead of technical marvels or pushing new boundaries. "We wanted to slow the world down a bit," he says. "We were really attracted to showing the 'gray zone' in our characters. There's no one character in our film that is pure evil or pure good. Everybody has moments of honorable intent. We were able to create characters that are believable because they are fallible yet they try very hard."
