Spoilers follow for Lilo & Stitch.
At this point, the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch has made so much money that, if you’re reading this, it’s possible you’ve seen it twice.
You’re also probably aware that the remake makes a lot of changes to the original plot of the 2002 animated film — and that people aren’t happy about the biggest change to the ending, which sees Nani leave Lilo behind in Hawaii to study marine biology in San Diego.
In a new interview with Variety, the remake’s director Dean Fleischer Camp addressed the backlash toward the film’s ending for the first time. “I’ve had some time to think about this,” he said. “I do think that a fair amount of the people who are dunking on that premise have not actually seen the movie, and they write me stuff that is clearly wrong. They get the beats of the story wrong. But when you see it doesn’t feel that way at all, and you see the intent of the actual filmmaking.”
“There are two larger conversations going on that led us towards that ending. We wanted to expand the meaning of ohana, and ground it in traditional Hawaiian values of collectivism, extended family and community. [Screenwriter Chris Kekaniokalani Bright], who’s Hawaiian, made a really important observation about the original early on in our discussions. He didn’t buy that the two orphan sisters would just be left to fend for themselves. He said, ‘Neighbors, church groups, aunties and uncles, all these people would step in. That’s just the Hawaii I know and grew up in.'”
“That led him to create this character of Tutu, and she ultimately takes Lilo in as hanai, which is this culturally specific term and tradition that is a form of informal adoption. It isn’t about blood or paperwork, but love and responsibility for the greater good and for one’s community.”
Dean went on to say that Hawaiians who have seen the film “love” the reference to hanai, which is “this uniquely Hawaiian answer to the question of who shows up when things fall apart, and that idea of informal adoption. It shows the broader community’s willingness to sacrifice and do whatever it takes for these girls and for their ohana.”
He also pointed out the difficulty of aiming to “satisfy everyone” when it comes to remaking beloved properties like Lilo & Stitch. “You are treading on hallowed ground when you make one of these, because these are films people grew up with, and I’m one of them, and I totally understand it. But we didn’t want to just restage the beats of the original film, as much as we both loved it.”
“We wanted to tell a story that’s honest about what it means to lose everything and still find a way forward. People do get left behind, like what Nani says, this is, and it’s incumbent upon the community to make sure that they aren’t forgotten.”
You can read the entire interview here.