Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois have had a hell of a summer, with live action remakes of two animated films that they directed decades ago, for two different animation studios, both being released within a few weeks of each other. "Lilo & Stitch" and "How to Train Your Dragon" are the latest remakes of beloved animated classics, and they're good ones. Both Sanders and DeBlois are still involved - DeBlois directed the "How to Train Your Dragon" remake, and Sanders is still voicing the blue alien, Stitch, in "Lilo & Stitch." Frankly, neither of the original films are ones that I'm especially attached to, so I was more receptive to seeing live action versions than I suspect more ardent fans would be.
Neither remake's plot deviates much from the original films, though "Lilo & Stitch" tweaks its ending a bit. However, what sets both films apart is that the Sanders/DeBlois films aren't part of the fairy tale milieu, and don't feature princesses or songs or magic. "Lilo & Stitch" takes place in present-day Hawaii, and stars Maia Kealoha as Lilo, who was six years old at the time of filming. The scenes of her and older sister Nani (Sydney Elizebeth Agudong) dodging child protective services and worrying over money hit a lot harder in live action than they did in animation. Similarly, while "How to Train Your Dragon" is a fantasy film featuring all manner of impossible dragons, protagonist Hiccup (Mason Thames) and the other Viking kids are played by young actors instead of adult comedians voicing caricatures of kids. This makes a lot of the scenes of peril and family strife much more intense, and I was getting unexpected Amblin-esque vibes from the climax.
A major stumbling block of live action remakes has always been that some characters just don't translate well to live action or photorealistic CGI, particularly traditionally animated characters. Fortunately, both of the new movies do a good job. Stitch looks fine in CGI, just as cuddly and destructive as he ever was. The aliens, particularly Stitch's pursuers Jumba and Pleakley, are less successfully adapted, which is probably why they spend most of their time in human disguises played by their new voice actors, Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen. "How to Train Your Dragon" is one of the first live action adaptations of a CGI animated feature, and the original film was long ago enough that the animation looks noticeably dated. The 2025 Toothless looks bigger and more intimidating than the 2010 Toothless, but the character design is almost identical. I'm sure it helped that DeBlois directed the new film and could keep a close eye on the animation, which is often an improvement on the original.
I'm surprised how much I liked both of these movies. "Lilo & Stitch" focuses much more on Nani and Lilo, and Agudong and Kealoha are both excellent. There's the usual chaos of big action set pieces and Stitch destroying things, but the goofier humor is toned down to let the family drama play out more fully. A few characters like the villain Gantu are removed, and others, like a supportive neighbor played by Amy Hill, are added to keep the girls' situation from feeling quite so dire. I'm generally in support of the new ending, which fits the more serious tone of the remake. "How to Train Your Dragon" is more of a carbon copy, with some scenes recreated shot for shot and Gerard Butler returning to play the character he originally voiced, Stoick the Vast. However, the spectacle of dragon flights and viking battles is genuinely thrilling, and worth seeing on a big screen.
Both of the remakes feel somewhat less kid-friendly, and there's no substitution for the expressiveness and energy of the original character animation. Stitch and Toothless feel like smaller presences in their respective films compared to the human characters. Stitch loses a lot of character development scenes, and it's really not his movie past a certain point anymore. I expect that some fans will be unhappy with the remakes for being less colorful, less fun, and less silly. I, however, view this all as a plus. I found I actually prefer parts of the remake of "How to Train Your Dragon" to the animated film, because I always found Jay Baruchel grating as Hiccup.
The success of these movies means that we can look forward to a lot more remakes coming our way. However, Dreamworks Animation really doesn't have a lot in their back catalog to remake, aside from possibly a live action "Shrek" and the "How to Train Your Dragon" sequels. Honestly, I'd love to see them try a live action "Trolls." Disney, however, seems ready and willing to tackle their post-Renaissance films, and will be testing our tolerance for remakes of even more recent output, starting with "Moana" next year.
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