Editing Lilo & Stitch (section)

==Production==
===Development===
[[File:PreStitch.jpg|thumb|right|A 1985 [[concept art|concept sketch]] of Stitch by the character's creator Chris Sanders]]
In 1985, after graduating from [[California Institute of the Arts]], [[Chris Sanders]] had created the character of Stitch for an unsuccessful children's book pitch.<ref name="BTS">{{cite video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YKrFytA4Zg |title=The Story Room: The Making of 'Lilo & Stitch' |medium=DVD |publisher=Walt Disney Home Entertainment |location=Burbank, CA |date=2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108004546/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YKrFytA4Zg |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> He said, "I wanted to do a children's book about this little creature that lived in a forest. It was a bit of a monster with no real explanation as to where it came from." But he found it difficult to condense the story and abandoned the project.<ref name="VultureOralInterview" /> In 1987, [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Feature Animation]] hired him for their newly formed visual development department. His first project was ''[[The Rescuers Down Under]]'' (1990), but he soon transitioned into storyboarding.<ref>{{cite book |last=Canemaker |first=John |year=1999 |title=Paper Dreams: The Art And Artists Of Disney Storyboards |publisher=[[Hachette Books|Hyperion]] |pages=256–257 |isbn=978-0-7868-6307-5}}</ref> After that, Sanders storyboarded sequences for ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' (1991) and ''[[The Lion King]]'' (1994), and was promoted to Head of Story on ''[[Mulan (1998 film)|Mulan]]'' (1998).<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Lyons |first=Mike |url=https://archive.org/details/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2032%20No%206%20%28Feb%202001%29/page/n38/mode/1up?view=theater |title=Thomas Schumacher: The Walt Disney Features Animation Presidency on Mouse House Supremacy |magazine=[[Cinefantastique]] |page=40 |date=February 2001 |volume=32 |number=6 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

In 1997, several executives at Disney Feature Animation were invited to a retreat at [[Michael Eisner]]'s farm in Vermont to discuss the future animation slate beyond adapting preexisting legends, folklore or classic novels.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ryan |first=Tim |url=https://archives.starbulletin.com/2002/12/02/features/story4.html |title=Storybook Ending: With the success of "Lilo & Stitch," 2 Disney employees now have their own production company |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin |date=December 2, 2002 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912060642/https://archives.starbulletin.com/2002/12/02/features/story4.html |archive-date=September 12, 2015 |url-status=live |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref> At the retreat, [[Thomas Schumacher]], then executive vice president of Disney Feature Animation, suggested they produce a film that would be the "''[[Dumbo]]'' for our generation", compared to the large-budget Disney animated features they had already done.<ref name="BTS" /> Schumacher approached Sanders about producing the film, telling him: "Everybody wants this next film to be you."<ref name="VultureOralInterview" />

During a karaoke dinner at the [[Walt Disney World Swan|Walt Disney World Swan Resort]], Schumacher asked Sanders, "Is there anything you would like to develop?" Sanders remembered the children's book project he had initially developed.<ref name="Fumettologica">{{cite news |last=Fiamma |first=Andrea |url=https://fumettologica.it/2022/07/intervista-chris-sanders-lilo-stitch/2/ |title=Intervista a Chris Sanders, il regista di "Lilo & Stitch" |website=[[Fumettologica]] |date=July 19, 2022 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719105835/https://fumettologica.it/2022/07/intervista-chris-sanders-lilo-stitch/2/ |archive-date=July 19, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> At his next meeting, Sanders pitched a remote, non-urban location, with Stitch crash-landing into a forest and interacting entirely with woodland animals, being ostracized by them, and living on his own at a farm in rural [[Kansas]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Harada |first=Wayne |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121419355/the-honolulu-advertiser/ |title='Lilo & Stitch' creators fall for Hawai{{okina}}i's 'ohana' |work=[[The Honolulu Advertiser]] |date=May 1, 2002 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-date=March 22, 2023 |pages=F1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121418952/the-honolulu-advertiser/ F3] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322193246/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121419355/the-honolulu-advertiser/ |url-status=live |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> But Schumacher suggested that Stitch should interact with people instead: "The animal world is already alien to us. So, if you wanna get the best contrast between this monster and the place where it lives, I would recommend you set it in a human world."<ref name="Fumettologica" /><ref name="DavisHanaHou">{{Cite journal |url=http://www.hanahou.com/pages/magazine.asp?Action=DrawArticle&ArticleID=389&MagazineID=24 |title=Disney Goes Hawaiian |first=Pat |last=Davis |journal=[[Hana Hou!]] |volume=5 |issue=2 |date=April–May 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309045701/https://hanahou.com/5.2/disney-goes-hawaiian |archive-date=March 9, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/newsletter/dec2002/index.html |title=DVD & Video Newsletter: 'Lilo & Stitch' Now on DVD and Video |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021211082937/http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/newsletter/dec2002/index.html |date=December 2002 |archive-date=December 11, 2002 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Sanders would eventually, albeit inadvertently, revisit his idea of a creature bonding with animals in a forest years later with [[DreamWorks Animation]]'s ''[[The Wild Robot]]'' (2024).<ref name="Ebiri">{{Cite web |last= Ebiri |first=Bilge |date=September 26, 2024 |title='When CG Came Along, We Couldn't Escape' How The Wild Robot's director, Chris Sanders, found a sweet spot between hand-drawn and CG animation. |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/chris-sanders-on-the-wild-robot-and-live-action-lilo-and-stitch.html |access-date=September 28, 2024 |website=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

For three straight days in his [[Palm Springs, Florida]] hotel room, Sanders created a 29-page pitch book drawing conceptual sketches and outlining the film's general story.<ref name="Fumettologica" /> He initially revised it by adding a boy character.<ref>{{cite news |author=Spence D. |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/06/19/a-look-inside-the-creation-of-lilo-and-stitch |title=A Look Inside the Creation of Lilo and Stitch |website=[[IGN]] |date=June 19, 2002 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413215011/https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/06/19/a-look-inside-the-creation-of-lilo-and-stitch |archive-date=April 13, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> But as the character of Stitch evolved, Sanders decided he needed to be contrasted with a female character: "I think Stitch represented a male character so the balance would be to put him with a little girl. We wanted someone who was going to be in conflict with Stitch, and we realized a little boy might be a comrade."<ref>{{cite news |last=Osmond |author-link=Andrew Osmond (journalist) |first=Andrew |url=https://www.awn.com/animationworld/lilo-stitch-revisited-part-i |title=Lilo & Stitch Revisited: Part I |website=[[Animation World Network]] |date=December 31, 2002 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224084025/https://www.awn.com/animationworld/lilo-stitch-revisited-part-i |archive-date=February 24, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Sanders then glanced at a map of Hawaii on his wall, and recalling he had recently vacationed there, he relocated the story there.<ref name="BTS" /> Not well versed in Hawaiian culture, Sanders turned to a vacation roadmap and found the names "Lilo Lane" and "Nani" there.<ref name="VultureOralInterview" /> After finishing the booklet, he shipped it to Burbank, and Schumacher approved the pitch with one condition: "it has to look like you drew it."<ref name="Fumettologica" />

===Writing===
{{Quote box|width=30em|quote="Animation has been set so much in ancient, medieval Europe&nbsp;— so many [[fairy tale]]s find their roots there, that to place it in Hawaii was kind of a big leap. But that choice went to color the entire movie, and rewrite the story for us."|source=—Chris Sanders, reflecting on the location change to Hawaii<ref name="DavisHanaHou"/>}}
[[Dean DeBlois]], who had served as "story co-head" for ''[[Mulan (1998 film)|Mulan]]'', was brought on to co-write and co-direct ''Lilo & Stitch'' after Thomas Schumacher allowed him to leave production on ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]'' (2001).<ref name="polygon"/> Meanwhile, Disney executive Clark Spencer was assigned as the film's producer. Unlike several previous and concurrent Disney Feature Animation productions, the film's pre-production team remained relatively small and isolated from upper management until the film went into full production.<ref name="RM">{{cite news |last=Moore |first=Roger |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2002-06-16-0206150049-story.html |title=For Disney's Orlando Animators, It's Show Time! |work=Orlando Sentinel |date=June 16, 2002 |access-date=March 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918200219/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2002-06-16-0206150049-story.html |archive-date=September 18, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Originally, Stitch was the leader of an intergalactic gang, and Jumba was one of his former cronies summoned by the Intergalactic Council to capture Stitch.<ref name="BTS" /> Test audience response to early versions of the film led to changing Stitch and Jumba into creation and creator.<ref name="BTS" />

While the animation team visited [[Kauai|Kaua{{okina}}i]] to research the locale, their tour guide explained the meaning of ''[[ohana|{{okina}}ohana]]'' as it applies to [[Extended family|extended families]]. This concept of {{okina}}ohana became an important part of the movie. DeBlois recalls:

{{blockquote|No matter where we went, our tour guide seemed to know somebody. He was really the one who explained to us the Hawaiian concept of {{okina}}ohana, a sense of family that extends far beyond your immediate relatives. That idea so influenced the story that it became the foundation theme, the thing that causes Stitch to evolve despite what he was created to do, which is destroy.}}

The island of Kaua{{okina}}i had also been featured in such films as ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' (1981) and the [[Jurassic Park (franchise)|''Jurassic Park'' trilogy]] (1993–2001). Disney's animators faced the daunting task of meshing the film's plot, which showed the impoverished and dysfunctional life that many Hawaiians lived during the then-recent [[Early 2000s recession|economic downturn]], with the island's serene beauty. The actors voicing the film's young adults, Nani and David, were [[Tia Carrere]], a local of [[Honolulu]], and [[Jason Scott Lee]], who is of Hawaiian descent and grew up in Hawaii. Both Carrere and Lee assisted with rewriting their characters' dialogue in proper [[Colloquialism|colloquial dialect]], and with adding Hawaiian slang terms.<ref name="Carrere interview 2022">{{cite web|last=El-Mahmoud|first=Sarah|title=Lilo & Stitch 20 Years Later: How The Disney Film Authentically Captured Hawaiian Culture With Tia Carrere's Help|url=https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/lilo-and-stitch-20-years-later-how-the-disney-film-authentically-captured-hawaiian-culture-with-tia-carreres-help|website=[[CinemaBlend]]|access-date=2022-05-02|date=2022-04-21|df=mdy-all|archive-date=May 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502204513/https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/lilo-and-stitch-20-years-later-how-the-disney-film-authentically-captured-hawaiian-culture-with-tia-carreres-help|url-status=live}}</ref>

One innovative and unique aspect of the film is its strong focus on the relationship between two sisters. At the time, a central relationship between sisters as a major plot element was rare in [[American animation|American animated films]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Solomon|first=Charles|title=The Art of Frozen|year=2013|publisher=Chronicle Books|location=San Francisco|isbn=978-1-4521-1716-4|page=13}}</ref>

===Casting===
Daveigh Chase earned the role of Lilo in the fall of 1998 against 150 other candidates.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gehrett |first=Les |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121445298/corvallis-gazette-times/ |title=Big Break |work=[[Corvallis Gazette-Times]] |page=E1 |date=August 18, 2002 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323013259/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121445298/corvallis-gazette-times/ |archive-date=March 23, 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>

Stitch was initially intended to be a non-verbal character, but Sanders said he realized "he'd have to say a few things, so we made sure that we kept it to a minimum." Instead of hiring a professional actor to voice Stitch, DeBlois suggested Sanders take the role. According to Sanders, Stitch's voice was the one he regularly used "just to bother people at the studio. I'd call people on the phone and do that voice and annoy them."<ref name="SyFy">{{cite news |last=Weiss |first=Joss |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/lilo-stitch-live-action-remake-christopher-sanders-original-director-interview |title=Original Co-Director of 'Lilo & Stitch' Has Thoughts About the Live-Action Remake |website=SyFy |date=September 13, 2022 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913192537/https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/lilo-stitch-live-action-remake-christopher-sanders-original-director-interview |archive-date=September 13, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Tia Carrere was originally considered for the [[Mulan (Disney character)|title character]] in ''Mulan'' (1998), but lost the role to [[Ming-Na Wen]].<ref name="OrlandoSentinel">{{cite news |last=Moore |first=Roger |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2002-06-25-0206240289-story.html |title=Actors Stitch a Perfect Fit with their Hawaiian Roots |work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=June 25, 2002 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724102421/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2002-06-25-0206240289-story.html |archive-date=July 24, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> After learning Disney was doing a Hawaii-set film, Carrere sought a voice role and was hired to voice Nani.<ref name="OrlandoSentinel" /> She spent two years recording her part in [[Los Angeles]], [[Paris]], and [[Toronto]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Ryan |first=Tim |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121418711/honolulu-star-bulletin/ |title=Voices from the Islands |work=[[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]] |date=January 17, 2002 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322222534/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121418711/honolulu-star-bulletin/ |archive-date=March 22, 2023 |pages=D1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121418780/honolulu-star-bulletin/ D3] |url-status=live |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}</ref> Jason Scott Lee was cast as David after Carrere recommended him for the film.<ref name="OrlandoSentinel" />

[[Chris Williams (director)|Chris Williams]], then a storyboard artist, suggested [[Kevin McDonald]] for the part of Agent Pleakley. After McDonald read for the part, he was cast.<ref name="VultureOralInterview">{{cite news |last=Ebiri |first=Bilge |url=https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/an-oral-history-of-lilo-and-stitch-a-hand-drawn-miracle.html |title='Let's Make the Dumbo of Our Generation' An oral history of Lilo & Stitch, the Disney movie that almost brought hand-drawn animation back. |work=[[Vulture (magazine)|Vulture]] |date=October 19, 2022 |access-date=March 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019144402/https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/an-oral-history-of-lilo-and-stitch-a-hand-drawn-miracle.html |archive-date=October 19, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> Cobra Bubbles was initially envisioned as more of a nebbish, with [[Jeff Goldblum]] in mind for the role. Goldblum declined the role, and Bubbles was reconceived as a more intimidating character. Sanders and DeBlois recalled Ving Rhames's performance in ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'' (1994) and cast him.<ref name="VultureOralInterview" />

During the film's early development, [[Ricardo Montalbán]] was cast as one of the villains, with his vocal performance based on the voice he used for [[Khan Noonien Singh]] in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]''.<ref name="VultureOralInterview" /> However, all the lines he recorded were removed and his character was cut after the meeting that lead to the removal of Stitch's gang from the story. Eventually the villainous role in the film would be Gantu voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson who is best known for playing villain roles in shows and movies. David Ogden Stiers (who had previously done voices for Disney in past films) was chosen to be the voice of Jumba. Australian actress Zoe Caldwell got the role of voicing the Grand Councilwoman, the leader of the United Galactic Federation.<ref name="VultureOralInterview" />

===Design and animation===
[[File:Lilo and Stitch Deleted Scene.png|thumb|254x254px|The original scene (top) and the one used in the release (bottom); the [[Boeing 747]] and the spaceship are both flying in a sideways position]]
In a deviation from several decades' worth of Disney features, Sanders and DeBlois chose to use watercolor painted backgrounds for ''Lilo & Stitch'', as opposed to the traditional [[gouache]] technique.<ref name="BTS" /> Watercolors had been used for the early Disney animated shorts, as well as the early Disney features ''[[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs]]'' (1937), ''[[Pinocchio (1940 film)|Pinocchio]]'' (1940), and ''[[Dumbo]]'' (1941), but the technique had been largely abandoned by the mid-1940s in favor of less complicated media such as [[gouache]]. Sanders preferred that watercolors be used for ''Lilo & Stitch'' to evoke both the bright look of a storybook and the art direction of ''Dumbo'', requiring the background artists to be trained in working with the medium.<ref name="BTS" /><ref name="RM" />

The animation itself was all based on 2D work since the budget was too small for [[computer-generated imagery]].<ref name="polygon">{{cite web |first=Petrana |last=Radulovic |url=https://www.polygon.com/features/22675483/lilo-and-stitch-disney-animation-chris-sanders-dean-deblois |title='We're going to hide it': How Lilo & Stitch succeeded by staying off Disney's radar |date=September 16, 2021 |access-date=September 16, 2021 |website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916164727/https://www.polygon.com/features/22675483/lilo-and-stitch-disney-animation-chris-sanders-dean-deblois |archive-date=September 16, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> The character designs were based on Sanders's personal drawing style, rather than the traditional Disney in-house style.<ref name="BTS" /> To assist the animators with adapting Sanders's style, [[Sue C. Nichols]], the film's visual development supervisor, created a manual, ''Surfing the Sanders Style''.<ref name="Fumettologica" /> Because of the limited budget, details like pockets or designs on clothing were avoided in the animation process, and since they could not afford to do shadows throughout much of the film, many of the scenes took place in shaded areas, saving shadows for more pivotal scenes.<ref name="polygon"/>

The film's extraterrestrial elements, such as the spaceships, were designed to resemble marine life, such as whales and crabs.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Elemental Magic: The Art of Special Effects Animation |url=https://archive.org/details/elementalmagicar00gill_285 |url-access=limited |first1=Joseph |last1=Gilland |year=2009 |publisher=Focal Press (Elsevier, Inc.) |isbn=978-0-240-81163-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/elementalmagicar00gill_285/page/n282 256] }}</ref> One altered scene in the film involved Stitch, Nani, Jumba, and Pleakley [[aircraft hijacking|hijacking]] a [[Boeing 747]] jet from [[Lihue Airport]] that scrapes against buildings through downtown [[Honolulu]]. But after the [[September 11 attacks]], with only a few weeks left in production, the climax was completely reworked to have them use Jumba's spacecraft instead. The location was also shifted to have them fly through the mountains of Kaua{{okina}}i.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cronin |first=Brian |url=https://www.cbr.com/lilo-stitch-9-11-edit/ |title=See How 9/11 Caused a Dramatic Change to the Ending of Lilo & Stitch |website=[[Comic Book Resources]] |date=March 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330130811/https://www.cbr.com/lilo-stitch-9-11-edit/ |archive-date=March 30, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Renfro |first=Kim |url=https://www.insider.com/lilo-and-stitch-airplane-scene-before-and-after-9-11-disney-2017-9 |title=Disney's 'Lilo and Stitch' originally included an airplane crash scene that was cut after 9/11 |website=[[Insider.com]] |access-date=November 16, 2021 }}</ref> Regardless, the final design still has engines that resembled the 747's jet engines, according to Sanders.<ref name="polygon"/>

Even after this adjustment, the team had enough budget for about two additional minutes of animation, which was used to create the epilogue montage of Lilo, Nani, and Stitch becoming a new family.<ref name="polygon"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Orwall |first=Bruce |title=Disney Delivers 'Lilo & Stitch' On Competition-Driven Budget |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1024359150128557760 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=June 18, 2002 |access-date=March 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317231942/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1024359150128557760 |archive-date=March 17, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>