Dean Fleischer Camp’s debut feature, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, is a real charmer. I should’ve hated it, considering the short film version from a decade ago failed to move me even one bit. But Fleischer Camp and the film’s star, Jenny Slate (also his ex-wife), won me over and the film is another critically-acclaimed hit for A24. And now Camp is moving on up to the big time, taking on Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch movie.
Deadline reports Camp will direct Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch, based on the animated 2002 film about 7-year-old Hawaiian girl Lilo who befriends a rowdy, mischievous extraterrestrial she nicknames Stitch. The film has gone on to launch a multimedia franchise that is powerful to this day with multiple sequels, spinoffs, video games, comics, and of course, theme park attractions.
I like the hiring of Camp for this. He managed to make Marcel, a tiny talking shell with footwear, feel like a person with real, human emotions. He should be able to do something similar with the koala-like Stitch. That said, the tones and energy of the two films is vastly different. Lilo & Stitch moves a mile-a-minute and animation made that a lot easier to show. Hopefully, Camp can keep up that pace.
In a final note, how crazy is it that Disney is remaking their own movies from 2002 now? They’re really moving right up the chain, aren’t they?