volando-voy replied to your post:
um say more because twitter suggests the changes are AWFUL
Off the top of my head:
They tone down a lot of Lilo's eccentricities/'weirdness' (affectionate) like gone is the amateur voodoo, the reason for Scrump's surgery, taking pictures of tourists, etc.
The other little girls teasing Lilo is framed more as a result of not knowing how to talk to her because her parents have died, than a response to Lilo's quirks. (I guess to make them more sympathetic? It doesn't really matter though because they aren't in the movie that much.)
Nani and Lilo now have a really kind/caring next door neighbor (David's mom? Aunt? Grandma???? Never specified but they're related somehow, I assume, since he lives there too.) So now Nani and Lilo have a convenient source of support which begs the question: why does Nani not lean on her more for help? (They have a dumb rationale for this--I'll get there.)
Cobra is not the social worker, he's just straight up a CIA agent.
Instead the social worker is a brand new character who is also kind and supportive and ultimately convinces Nani to give Lilo up (and the movie wants us to know that this is a GOOD thing*)
*I want to be clear that like. I am not advocating for negative portrayals of foster care/social workers, obviously. XD It's just that in the context of this movie specifically, 'the state separates a Hawaiian family for the greater good' is not the happy ending they THINK it is
Nani now has an additional tragic backstory element in that she was this really bright, promising young woman with dreams of going to college to major in marine biology but all of that had to be tossed aside in order to care for Lilo.
Nani overhears Lilo's wish for a friend (just like in the original) but then DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT IT. The NEIGHBOR is the one who takes Lilo to the animal shelter and suggests getting a pet. Nani even argues with her about it after the fact!
Nani, in response to Lilo reminding her of THE FAMOUS LINE FROM THE ORIGINAL AND YA KNOW, THE THEME OF THE FILM, 'Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten': That sounds nice but that's not reality!
No Gantu, because they didn't have the budget for him.
Pleakly and Jumba have a device that lets them morph into two human guys and they remain that way for most of the movie because again, budget.
Jumba is the primary bad guy. He's arrested again at the end/doesn't join their little family unit.
After the incident where Stitch nearly drowns Lilo, the social worker convinces Nani that it's best for her to give Lilo up. Nani agrees.
Therefore the most moving and nuanced scene in the original movie--when Nani sings "Aloha Oe" to Lilo--is fundamentally changed. Nani still hasn't told Lilo that they're being separated (BY CHOICE) and it's Lilo who asks Nani to sing the song, seemingly motivated by nothing. At least, nothing pertaining to the original context.
(Context that is IMPORTANT to the MOVIE ABOUT A HAWAIIAN FAMILY BEING SEPARATED BY AN AGENT OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, SINGING "ALOHA OE", ORIGINALLY COMPOSED BY QUEEN LIL'UOKALANI, NOW VIEWED AS A FAREWELL TO HER COUNTRY AND PEOPLE AFTER BEING DEPOSED AS MONARCH OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS BY THE US GOVERNMENT)
Nani isn't really fighting to keep Lilo because she like. Wants to care for Lilo, and understands what she needs emotionally--the movie frames Nani's prolonged refusal to seek help and support as a misguided sense of responsibility.
(That isn't an interpretation, she tells Lilo outright that it's her responsibility to look after her because they're family. And then another character is like, 'Ohana means family and family means no one gets left behind...but that also means not leaving yourself behind.' Again, not an interpretation, that's the text of the film.)
So Lilo ends up with the neighbor and Nani goes to college but it's TOTALLY OKAY because she has an alien portal device that lets her come visit Lilo so it's FIIIIIIIINE that the state convinced Nani to separate the two of them TOTALLY FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE.
Oh and Lilo doesn't formally adopt Stitch--I guess because they felt he's sentient enough to make the 'I bought him!' thing uncomfortable??? I don't know. He's a cartoon alien dog! Do we also feel that Shaggy owning Scooby is bad??? ....I weep at the current state of media literacy.
Another change that just annoys me: They keep the 'Stitch plays the record through his mouth' bit, but when Lilo shows Nani, they have Nani get distracted every time he opens his mouth, I guess because if Nani had seen it, that would break the suspension of disbelief that she's buying his 'earth dog' act?
In conclusion: Neither Nani or Lilo really wants to be here, so the movie simply spins its wheels, putting off the inevitable, easy solution of listening to the nice neighbor and social worker, totally undermining the point of the original.
(And I've already seen this attitude in online spaces of people seeing this new movie and being like, 'wow! Nani was wrong/selfish in the original movie for keeping the two of them together and it's not FAIR to burden her with motherhood and Lilo is unsafe and--' AAAAAGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!)