The Lilo & Stitch Remake Leaves Out One Major Character From The Original

Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind ... or spoiled. This article discusses major spoilers from "Lilo & Stitch."

Disney's newfound tradition of live-action cash grabs remakes has finally set its sights on arguably the most beloved animated movie of my generation ... but, in a twist, not every fan-favorite character is present and accounted for. The newly-released "Lilo & Stitch" has retained the services of actor (and original co-director/writer) Chris Sanders, who originally lent his voice to the foul-mouthed alien (Experiment 626, to be precise) that captured so many hearts and minds over two decades ago. He's not the only holdover, either, as cast members Tia Carrere (who voiced Lilo's sister Nani) and Amy Hill (Mrs. Hasagawa) also make their returns — albeit in different, yet poignant roles. Otherwise, all the other characters and performances have been reimagined to better fit each one's age, heritage, and various other live-action concerns. All that is, except for the original villain of the story.

It's no secret that, despite extraterrestrial mad scientist Jumba Jookiba and his reluctant handler Pleakley leading the hunt for runaway Stitch on Earth, the real big bad of "Lilo & Stitch" was always the giant-sized alien known as Gantu. Voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, the no-nonsense captain receives the unenviable task of apprehending Stitch should the criminal Jumba and the unreliable Pleakley fail in their mission. Most memorably, Gantu ends up on the receiving end of several of Lilo's most colorful insults, a non-exhaustive sampling of which includes "Big Dummy," "Dummyhead," and, my personal favorite, "Stinky Fish-Face." In short, his presence gives our main characters someone who poses a genuine, physical threat along with a strong personality worth rooting against.

Curiously, director Dean Fleischer Camp and writers Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes opt not to include Gantu in the script for the "Lilo & Stitch" remake at all. Though the new direction they take (mostly) works, the change will undoubtedly make waves among fans of the original. Here's why.

Who knew that completely omitting the main villain of a movie would inevitably have ripple effects on the rest of the story? Of the many reasons why the original "Lilo & Stitch" feels so refreshing and holds up to this day, the love and respect it has for every one of its characters (yes, including Ice Cream Man) stands out the most. There's a reason why Lilo, Stitch, Nani, and the oddball, found family they create with Pleakley and Jumba continues to tug on all our collective heartstrings. But without Gantu existing as the main antagonist trying to tear this apart through his relentless pursuit of Stitch, well, that naturally trickles down and completely changes the dynamics of other characters — in this case, Pleakley and Jumba.

Gantu's absence from the remake leaves a narrative hole that needs to be filled by Jumba, of all characters. In the original movie, Jumba is a reckless rulebreaker whose unholy creation of a monster like Stitch leaves him in search of redemption. The fact that he can only do so by tracking down and arresting Stitch initially puts him at odds with us. That said, a key aspect of the story comes from the recurring theme of ohana (which, as we know, means family and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten) and its ability to win over even the most belligerent and stubborn of characters ... including Jumba, himself.

In the remake, however, Jumba begins the story as an unrepentant villain and ends the story in pretty much the exact same place. Although turning him into the main villain definitely helps streamline the script, it also robs us of Lilo and Stitch's wacky uncle figure who ultimately winds up as one of the good guys. Pleakley's entire role as his unwilling sidekick, meanwhile, retroactively sours their buddy-comedy antics. Zach Galifianakis as Jumba and Billy Magnussen as Pleakley bumbling around in public is entertaining and hilarious in any version of this story, but making Pleakley an unwitting accomplice of an unredeemed villain feels like a tradeoff that's just not worth the cost.

Considering the infamously scrapped third act of the original movie, "Lilo & Stitch" fans should be used to the idea of things not quite going according to plan. The big change regarding Gantu in the remake certainly ranks among the biggest in the franchise. But, despite the amount of fake internet ink I've just spilled over this little kerfuffle, it doesn't necessarily mean it's the end of the world as we know it. The movie's box office prospects make a sequel all but certain. Heck, why not take a page out of the popular Disney Channel series and pit Lilo and Stitch against all of the alien's experimental "cousins" let loose on the islands of Hawai'i? Gantu, for all intents and purposes, could still pop up at some point in this new live-action franchise down the line.

But should he? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Gantu was likely left on the cutting room floor (if he even made it that far to begin with) because of the enormous costs it would've taken to render this alien character with visual effects. On a related note, this also explains why colorful characters Jumba and Pleakley magically turn into normal-looking humans for most of the film, too. For a movie that's already stretching the boundaries of suspension of disbelief with its blue title character rendered in "live-action," well, adding another VFX-heavy alien on top of that likely would've been a bridge too far.

At the end of the day, Disney is sitting squarely in the driver's seat when it comes to "Lilo & Stitch." We purists might miss having our massive, whale-faced villain we love to hate running around and terrorizing our main heroes, but it remains to be seen if kids (and their ticket-buying parents) end up feeling the same way. 

"Lilo & Stitch" is now playing in theaters.