Disney’s live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch” has beamed into theaters all over the world, and it’s quite clear that it will not bomb like the studio’s “Snow White” redo did last March. You might be stunned to learn that the company’s traditionally animated hit from 2002 – which grossed an impressive, but hardly jaw-dropping $273 million worldwide – has more box office traction than its flagship film, but that’s what a couple of direct-to-DVD sequels and a popular animated series will do for a brand. “Snow White” feels like a museum piece by comparison.
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For parents planning their unavoidable trip to the multiplex this Memorial Day weekend (and folks who can’t resist the anarchic draw of Stitch), you’re probably wondering just how long you’re going to be stuck in a theater with other people’s feral offspring (108 minutes, which is over 20 minutes longer than the animated original), and whether there’s a mid- and/or post-credits sequence that will forestall your departure. This being a Disney movie that will surely spawn at least one sequel, you better believe there’s a tag-on sequence. It arrives in the middle of the credits, and it might just bring a smile to your face.
Nani has gone to college, but she’s never far from home
I suppose a spoiler warning is in order here if you’ve somehow never seen the delightful 2002 feature. Obviously, everything works out in the end. Nani (Sydney Agudong) manages to overcome the odds and remain in the life of her little sister Lilo (Maia Kealoha), while the Grand Councilwoman (Hannah Waddingham) is so impressed by Stitch’s reformed behavior that she allows the rambunctious alien to become a part of the Pelekai family. Moviegoers will enjoy a nice, cathartic, happy cry, and walk out of the theater feeling hopeful about humanity’s capacity for kindness for a few seconds. Just don’t walk out the moment the credits start, because there’s a little more for you to savor.
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The mid-credits scene in “Lilo & Stitch” reveals that Nani has gone off to college — with Lilo left in the care of neighbor Tūtū (Amy Hill) — but she is able to use a portal gun to drop in on the title duo whenever she wants. It’s a sweet little epilogue to a film that hammers home the importance of family, and you can rest assured that, once it concludes, you are safe to hightail it for the restroom and rid yourself of that large Dr. Pepper you sucked down throughout the movie – though I’d recommend hanging out and taking note of all the talented professionals who worked hard (in Marvel’s case, sometimes too hard) to bring you this $100 million summer tentpole.