“Sometimes family isn’t perfect. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good.”

Mostly separating itself from the other lifeless live-action adaptations of classic animations by having the winning combo of an adorable little girl and a cute creature at its center, Lilo & Stitch casually surfs the pipe of its family message without offering anything too new. It was even to the point that I heard my partner say out loud, “I remember that!” while watching the movie, referring to the 2002 animation. It’s basically a carbon copy, and I only give it a slightly higher rating than Disney’s other flat-footed remakes because the story still manages to say something worthwhile and showcases a community given too little spotlight on the screen. But make no mistake about it; if you’ve seen the animation, you’ve already seen this new version.

A science project creature escapes his planet, crash lands on Earth, meets Lilo (Maia Kealoha) at the shelter. He becomes the “pet” she adopts so as to blend in. Meanwhile, Lilo’s older sister Nani (Sydney Agudong) does her best to play parent but the social worker Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrere) finds her unfit. Stitch doesn’t help things either by wrecking havoc and getting Nani fired. Add in intergalactic agencies and some dopey disguised aliens trying to retrieve Stitch (one played by the hilarious Billy Magnussen earned real laughs) and you once again get the exact movie the vast majority of us have already seen. That’s about as much of this rehashed plot as I care to reheat.

The central performances are solid though, making us believe Lilo & Nani are actually siblings, and the CGI for the frenetic Stitch carefully blends him into the real world without so much as a glare. It all looks solid, errs on the side of goofiness, and knows how to tug at the heartstrings when necessary. The pain and the happiness emoted by the two sisters elevate a film that would’ve otherwise felt like still-life stock footage, or more appropriately, an single hand-drawn still.

The timeframe isn’t always very clear, the villains are a bit too narrow, and the whole thing just feels too familiar. And yet I have to say that Lilo & Stitch is a well-made, carefully directed feature with smart camera movements, and it was one I found myself drawn into despite my own reservations. I’ll always pick the original over this remake, but when push comes to shove, it’s hard to not acknowledge that this iteration of Lilo & Stitch isn’t at least somewhat charming. You’ll swoon but won’t be swept off your feet.

“Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind….”

Rating: 3 out of 5