Summary

Fans of the animated film Lilo & Stitch are criticizing the live-action remake’s casting decision for the character of Nani, citing colorism as the issue. Many people argue that Nani’s character is depicted as Indigenous Hawaiian with dark skin, and casting a lighter-skinned actor interferes with the representation of the character and the larger trend of colorism in Hollywood. This controversy highlights the importance of proper representation and the need for Hollywood to consider factors such as skin tones when casting established characters. Colorism continues to be a concern in the industry despite efforts towards diversity.

The Lilo & Stitch live-action movie got into hot water when it was announced who would be playing Nani, with fans online calling out the decision as an example of colorism. Disney’s Hawaii-set 2002 animated film, Lilo & Stitch, follows a lonely young girl named Lilo who befriends a fugitive blue alien. Together, Lilo and her older sister Nani must keep Stitch hidden from both a social worker with his eye on the orphaned girls and aliens sent to take Stitch back into custody. Lilo & Stitch is a delightful and sometimes tear-jerking movie and one of the last great 2D animated films from Disney.

Plans for a live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch were swirling in 2018 and news slowly came out in the following years. One of the major characters in the movie is Lilo’s older sister Nani, who has become her guardian after the death of their parents. When it was announced that Sydney Elizabeth Agudong had been cast as Nani in Lilo & Stitch, fans complained that the casting decision showed colorism. While many point out that it’s not Agudong’s fault, they say it’s indicative of a larger trend in Hollywood.

Nani Has Much Darker Skin In The Animated Lilo & Stitch Than Her Live-Action Actor

n Lilo & Stitch, Nani is a native Hawaiian like Lilo. Therefore, she has dark skin common for people of the Pacific Ocean region. This is clearly depicted in the animated film with Nani and Lilo, as the various characters in the film have different skin tones. Some characters are obviously meant to be white and others are meant to be Hawaiian.

It’s never brought up in the movie, but it’s an important underlying aspect of Lilo & Stitch that the sisters are native islanders. Agudong on the other hand, has a much lighter skin tone, and it makes for a noticeable difference between the animated and live-action depictions.

Related Lilo & Stitch Live-Action Remake Cast & Character Guide Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch has cast mostly newcomers as the movie’s human characters with known comedic actors filling other roles.

As Hollywood Moves Toward Diversity, Colorism is Still Rampant

This is far from the first time fans have called out colorism in mainstream cinema. While Hollywood is slowly turning toward more diversity in casting, they are still stumbling into various pitfalls along the way. This includes a major habit of casting actors who represent the character’s race but with the lightest skin tone possible, as commenters point out.

Many studios are starting to move away from the controversial casting decisions of the past. Some of these missteps include the recent choices to include nearly all-white casts in films like 2014’s Exodus: Gods and Kings or 2016’s Gods of Egypt. In the wake of this, because the lead characters in Lilo & Stitch are native Hawaiians, it is especially important to viewers for the casting to represent them properly.

Disney has frequently made mistakes regarding colorism. Wreck-It Ralph 2 got into hot water for redesigning Tiana from Princess and the Frog to have lighter skin and European features. The live-action adaptation of Aladdin had people worried after Naomi Scott, a half-Indian actor with lighter skin, was cast as the Middle-Eastern Jasmine.

The casting departments are making an effort with their upcoming Disney live-action remakes. There has been race-blind casting for iconic princesses Snow White and Ariel and the casting of Hawaiian actors for the lead roles in Lilo & Stitch. However, because established characters like Nani have skin tones that are already well-known to fans, many more factors need to be considered in this process.

The 2002 animated Lilo & Stitch film is available to stream on Disney+.

Lilo & Stitch In Hawaii, Lilo, a young parentless girl being raised by her older sister, adopts a “dog” from the local shelter. Naming him Stitch, Lilo is unaware that the creature is actually an alien experiment, and he soon starts wreaking havoc at home and across the island. Release Date June 21, 2002 Director Chris Sanders , Dean DeBlois Cast Chris Sanders , Daveigh Chase , Tia Carrere , Ving Rhames , David Ogden Stiers , Kevin McDonald , Jason Scott Lee , Kevin Michael Richardson Runtime 85 minutes

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