Hollywood giant Disney has regained its pride with the live-action version of its animation, Lilo & Stitch.Unlike the previous live-action version of the animated film, Snow White, which suffered a box office failure and was met with harsh criticism, Lilo & Stitch, which properly captured the charm of the original work, has killed two birds with one stone: box office success and critical acclaim.

According to Box Office Mojo on the 3rd, ‘Lilo & Stitch’, which was released at the end of last month, has earned 613.45 million dollars(846.6 billion won)worldwide as of the 1st.It is a figure that far surpasses that of its competitor, ‘Mission Impossible - Final Reckoning’ starring Tom Cruise($354 million), and is comparable to ‘Minecraft Movie’, which was released last month and earned 947 million dollars.

The box office success of this film, a live-action adaptation of the 2002 animation of the same name, is drawing even more attention in contrast to the previous box office failure of “Snow White,” which was released in March.”Snow White,” a live-action adaptation of Disney’s first feature-length animation, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” from 1937, only managed to collect $204 million, less than half of the break-even point($500 million).

As much as the quantitative figures, the qualitative evaluation is also quite different from ‘Snow White’.Unlike ‘Snow White’, which received harsh criticism for ‘destroying the original work’ due to the casting of actors of different races from the original characters, ‘Lilo & Stitch’, which maximized the cuteness of the original furry blue alien ‘Stitch’, is receiving rave reviews.

The 5-year-old Hawaiian girl Lilo, who develops a friendship with Stitch, also became the center of attention due to her high synchronization with the original work.It is also evaluated that the beautiful scenery, culture, and theme of Hawaii, the background of the film, were well captured.Major foreign media outlets are already mentioning the possibility of a sequel.

Thanks to ‘Lilo & Stitch’, interest in Disney’s live-action animated films, which had been on the decline, is on the rise again.In particular, the live-action version of ‘Moana’, which is scheduled to be released next year, is expected to directly benefit from ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and is enjoying a significant afterglow effect.

‘Moana’, based on the 2016 animated film, has cast Katherine Lagaaia, an actress of Samoan descent who also starred in the original, in the title role, and Dwayne Johnson, who provided the voice acting in the original, will play the male lead, Maui.


Reporter Seungmi smlee@donga.com

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