There’s been a lot of internet chatter about live-action Disney movie remakes, especially regarding how they differ from their OG counterparts. That's certainly been the case for "Lilo & Stitch." As I noted in my "Lilo & Stitch" review, given I'm someone who grew up at the exact right time when the 2002 animated original came out, I knew the remake had a high bar to clear. And, while I think some fans have a good point about how Nani’s arc differs from the original, I also want to talk about how the new movie explored a long-running fan theory about her.
In the original "Lilo & Stitch," 18-year-old Nani is doing the best she can, working service jobs and trying to support Lilo however possible following the deaths of their parents. It’s heavily suggested that there’s a history involving social workers that have given the sisters a bad rep, and Lilo is very close to being turned over to the state. Over the years, eagle-eyed fans also noticed that in Nani’s room, there are a ton of surfing trophies on her dresser. You can see them in the image above.
00:00I mean, to be able to work with Tia, too, not just be able to get, you know, words of wisdom from her and hop on a conversation as soon as I got it, I was like, how bad I'm trying to get on a phone call with her.
00:12But, I mean, I think to be able to, like, just in general, kind of create more of that nuance and dive deeper into Nani's arc and backstory and, like, our struggle and stuff.
00:23And we got to do a lot of the water training before production, and I got to do a lot of the stunts, and it was really cool to kind of see, build more of Nani's life in real time, too, as far as that goes, which was incredible.
00:37And she's such a strong, independent girl, and she really is, like, doing her best to try to keep the family together.
