Disney live-action adaptations have been known to change a thing or two from the animated versions. That’s usually the case with most adaptations, from Game of Thrones to The Last of Us. Some things just don’t translate well in different genres, whether you are adapting from a book, a video game, or, in this case, an animated feature.
But there’s no doubt that the fan reaction to changes is usually less than warm. When people love one thing, they usually want to see the same thing in the adaptation, and that’s why there are complaints every time there’s a deviation. Disney has experienced this before with its live-action adaptations of movies like Snow White and Aladdin. It’s very hard to make everyone happy.
Lilo & Stitch, the latest adaptation to come from Disney, makes some pretty big changes to the animation. Perhaps the biggest one is one particular missing character, one that people have surprisingly been missing. But why was Gantu not in Lilo & Stitch? Why was the decision to cut him and therefore change the story made?
Why was Gantu not in Lilo & Stitch?
In the 2002 animated version of Lilo & Stitch, Kevin Michael Richardson voiced Captain Gantu, Stitch’s biggest rival, who spends the entire movie trying to apprehend him. In the live-action, however, he is nowhere to be seen. Director Dean Fleischer Camp explained the decision to Cinema Blend, saying, “Gantu was one of those things that just didn’t work so well in live action. We explored it a bit, but ultimately we had to make the decision.”
He added, “And also, I do stand by the decision, ’cause I feel like a lot of the things that, in trying to ground these characters more and tell a story with a little more emotional depth, especially between the sisters, I feel like you have to free up real estate to allow that breathing room to do those things.”
The director had previously spoken to Deadline about what would make the adaptation. “I think we were all coming from a place of real love for the original. It’s always been my favorite Disney movie,” he said. “And so, I think there were a lot of those, and sometimes you have to let go and kill your darlings and it just doesn’t work out for one reason or another.
It seems like Captain Gantu was indeed one of those darlings that had to be killed to focus on what the team behind the adaptation wanted to showcase. This is also something Camp spoke about to Deadline, saying, “I think the main things that we were really focused on, we got, and I’m proud that we nailed it. I think the character design of Stitch and his personality really coming through was one. I think that bringing back so much of the original Ohana that made the first one special like Chris Sanders and Tia Carrere [who voiced Nani in the 2002 film] and consulting with a lot of the original animation team were just super important to us and lucky enough that they worked out.”
No Captain Gantu, but at least we got Stitch still being Stitch.
