This Is The Lilo & Stitch You Want

Disney is back at it again with yet another Live-Action Remake. This time, they will tackle Lilo & Stitch. Over the last couple of years, Disney has been hard at work, taking animated classics and putting a natural live spin to them. Or should I say, they put a CGI spin on it. Live-action spin-offs are facing a mixture of good and bad reviews. Movies like The Lion King and Aladdin have been massive box-office successes for the studios. However, some remakes are also full of controversy. A bit more on that later, though.

While it is easy to criticize Disney for remaking all of its movies, it is easy to understand why it decided to do this. This type of movie is making billions at the box office, and they already have a massive audience. Thus, the financial risk is also negligible. Now, if you are a long-time Disney fan, it is understandable why you might be slightly upset. I am trying to remember when Disney came out with a new original IP, and it feels like they no longer want to risk making something new. So, instead, they are just banking on these old classics to carry them forward.

In many cases, they are not even old classics. Disney just announced that they will also make a live-action Moana movie. It won’t be long until other newer titles like Frozen also get a remake. We live in the era of remakes, and Disney is going to milk this new wave dry.

Complete Disaster: Lilo and Stitch Critics Show Their Hypocrisy

In many cases, they are not even old classics. Disney just announced that they would also make a live-action Moana movie. The reactions to this all-new Lilo & Stitch remake have been fascinating to observe. The movie follows a Hawaii girl Lilo, who finds a dog-like creature called Stitch. Together, their bond is vital as they set out on an adventure, fighting all sorts of aliens and Monsters. For the live-action cast, Maia Kealoha will be playing Lilo, while Sydney Agudong will be playing Nani’s sister Lilo. Most of the controversy comes from the casting of the sister.

Sydney, a native-born Hawaiian, is being blasted by online critics for not being dark enough. Many are calling out Disney for blatant colorism, saying that Sydney’s skin is too light. If you think this is not very honest, you would be correct. Over the last couple of years, race swapping has been a massive topic of discussion. Disney has decided to recast the race of many leading characters, and both Little Mermaid and Snow White have decided to change the race of the leading protagonist. In these cases, online critics have called out anyone as racist for even thinking about questioning this.

All of them make the same argument. Why do you care about the race of a fictional character? It should not matter. Now, I agree with this. It should not matter. However, these same online critics don’t believe in their own words. If you have been defending Disney’s casting choices over the last couple of years, you don’t now get to make any statements about someone’s race. The view of color should not matter; it goes both ways.

In Defense Of The Critics

Now some points, I do understand. Many argue that this is not the same as Snow White or The Little Mermaid. Many say that no ethnicity or actual race is attached to any of these fictional characters. However, with Nani and Lilo, there is ethnicity attached to them, and they are dark-skinned native Hawaiian. For this same reason, you can argue for a black Spiderman but not a white Black Panther. He is a Native African, so it is not the same.

This is an argument that I agree with. However, the people making these arguments do not keep that same energy when discussing European characters. Thus, they are all just a bunch of hypocrites who do not follow their logic. They will pander online and then ignore everything when you reverse the roles.

Lilo and Stitch Fans, Your Hypocrisy Is Showing

However, with all of this, it is also worth pointing out that the Lilo & Stitch Hypocrisy argument goes both ways. If you are a fan blasting Disney over the last few years and have been against race-swapping, you don’t now get to celebrate this. I see so many people I know go crazy when Disney cast a woman of color as The Little Mermaid, and people are doing all they can to call the movie a woke disaster. You don’t get to argue that characters need to stay true to the original writings and then celebrate a lighter-skinned Hawaiian being cast as someone darker-skinned in the original work.

Now, I will admit that even I have covered this topic before. You don’t need to search very far to find my woke disaster videos. Although I covered this topic many times and even made some outrage-bait titles, my argument has always been consistent. Race Swapping is fine with me. As long as the story is good, it does not matter. However, I have also been open about the fact that it is my personal opinion. One that people are free to disagree with, and I know that many do. I also push back against anyone who calls you a racist for not liking the concept of race-swapping.

You can not like race-swapping and not be a racist, no matter what a bunch of internet weirdo journalists on Twitter tell you.

Conclusion

However, if you are against race-swapping, ensure your hypocrisy is not showing—those who have spoken out about this issue in the past need to be consistent. I don’t want to hear that this actress is a native Hawaiian when we both know the original was much darker-skinned. Overall, I will say what I have been saying all along. The issue of race swapping is complicated if we ignore the few internet losers who are racist. In between, valid arguments will be made from both sides.

However, I do not play both sides. I am in favor of race-swapping. It does not matter what color the characters are. I want a good story that makes me forget about my bad day. We need to remember that the original work will always be there. As a person in his late twenties, I will leave it to the new generation to decide what they want their Disney Princesses to look like. Whoever they choose, I will respect them as the movies are not meant for me anyway. If a young little black girl can find joy in a mermaid or princess that looks like her, then I am in full support.

I grew up on all of these movies. I will always remember the original work; no one will ever take that away from me. Whenever I want to watch these movies, I watch those classics. One day, this new generation will have to do the same for those who come next.