(This is my 100th movie review/reaction post!!)

First off, I enjoyed the movie! It was certainly a fun heartfelt movie.

I liked the acting from everyone. Maia Kealoha as Lilo was amazing. She was just a perfect little girl acting like a kid would with all the crazy situations happening. I also was very happy that Chris Sanders returned to voice Stitch. He was the creator of the original movie. He wrote and directed the original movie while also being Stitch. I will say that I would have liked for him to have directed this movie too.

The supporting cast was also enjoyable to watch. A couple recognizable faces which I liked seeing. I know that the character David (Nani’s boyfriend) didn’t have a lot to do in the original movie, but he still felt important. In this movie, I feel like he did the same things he did in the original, but something felt left-out. There is part of one line of dialogue that he makes that had something cut out of it and that stood out to me. Though that’s a writing issue.

I enjoyed Billy Magnussen as Pleakley a lot. He seemed very much like the original version of the character.

I was excited for Zach Galifianakis to play Jumba, and still think he did a good job acting, but they made a couple changes to his character and voice that stood out a lot. And I think those were writing and directing problems.

For Nani, I think Sydney Elizabeth Agudong did a good job. But I think there was something missing in the directing that didn’t let her shine more. The characterization felt a little off, but I can’t place why. But in her big moments in the movie, I think she did really well.

I liked Courtney B. Vance’s portrayal of Agent Cobra Bubbles. They added in new aspects of the character that added to the original character which I liked. There was a bit less of him, but I liked what we got. Though I wouldn’t have said no to Ving Rhames reprising the role from the original movie.

There are three other cameos (besides Chris Sanders) in the movie who I at first didn’t notice because I didn’t know all of the cast of the original movie, but I looked up some and now I realized who they were and now I retroactively enjoyed seeing them in the movie.

There is also a main character from the original missing from this movie which I think hurt the movie. You’ll know if you don’t already.

The movie still had chaotic fun and heart that the original did, and I enjoyed those aspects. But there is something missing from it that I can’t quite place. I think it may be just as simple as the directing wasn’t quite right. But having said that, it was a fun movie to watch and the kids in the theater watching seemed to enjoyed it, so that’s good.

I certainly prefer the original movie to this, but it’s still a good movie for kids to enjoy and learn from. Oh and Stitch and the other aliens looked great!!

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Mid-credit scene: As with the original movie, this one also had photos and drawings continuing the story in a photo-album-like way. So, that was nice to see again.

End-credit scene: Nope. I thought there would be something suggesting more, but there wasn’t.