Tia Carrere shares heartfelt reflection and appreciation for the story of Lilo & Stitch in new live action film
The Lilo & Stitch franchise is a beloved series that resonates with different generations. For those who grew up watching the original animated series, a new audience can now enjoy a live-action adaptation that introduces them to the curious experiment and the bond between the Pelekai sisters.
Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani, Lilo’s older sister in the original animated series and movies, returns to the “Stitchverse” as Mrs. Kekoa in the new live-action Lilo & Stitch.
Cold Tea Collective’s Jane Lee spoke with Carrere about returning to the Stitch universe twenty years later, family and hanai (the Hawaiian concept of extended family), and how the new generation of actors inspires her.
Returning to Lilo & Stitch
For Carrere, returning to the live-action version more than 20 years later as Mrs. Kekoa felt celebratory, in both how Lilo & Stitch kept key aspects of the original animated movie and through mentoring a new generation of actresses.
“I got to see that they kept all the key things from the original movie… When we were doing the walk-through, the sets… And here’s a hammock where Nani tells Lilo, by singing the song ‘Aloha.’ And I said, ‘That was my idea.’ And then Dean goes, ‘I remember reading that 20 years ago — that you had suggested that for the scene,’” Carrere reminisces.
“For me personally, as an actress and a woman to transition to another role like I have in life, which is mentoring and sharing my experience with a younger generation of females, was wonderful because Sydney is amazing… But so that I could actually be her mom and advocate for her, and show Mrs. Kekoa a map of life as it could be.”
See also: Grace Park reflects on her career and her hopes for the next generation of Asian creatives
Family and Love in Hawaiian Culture
For Carerre, she believes that love can make a family out of a bunch of strangers. She explains, “Family is your tribe of people who have your back, look out for you and advocate for you, whether they’re blood or not. In Hawaii, there’s hanai… You go to a big event, a luau and say, ‘Oh, that’s my uncle, that’s my cousin, that’s my auntie.’ Wait. So wait, is that your mom? Sister? Your dad’s – no – just hanai family looking out for each other.”
So when it came to digging into Mrs. Kekoa’s character, it was important for Carrere to open her mind to how someone, like a social worker, can deeply affect someone else’s family and life. Especially portraying Mrs. Kekoa’s character, Carrere wanted to show the small Pelekai family that their circumstances do not define them.
“At the heart of it all is that we can allow each other and our love for each other to affect each other. So Stitch is affected by the love that Lilo has for him, and he makes him want to be a better experiment,” Carrere says.
Carrere also shared that Dean Fleischer Camp’s mother is a social worker, and Mrs. Kekoa was very important to him, “To him, the things that [Mrs. Kekoa] says, and the way she helps advocate… There are ways that she would help people. Even down to the way I dressed, [Camp’s] like, ‘oh, that’s the way my mom used to dress.’”
Learning from the new generation of actors
Despite having a multi-decade-long career in the entertainment industry and being that trailblazer for Asian-American actors, Carrere notes that she is actively still building her legacy and attributes the young generation of actors for the way she carries herself now.
Carerre recalls her experience on set for the film, Easter Sunday, where she witnessed young actresses being strong and self-assured – something Carrere felt like she never was at that age as an actor.
“I feel heartened that there’s a sureness about them that they know that they deserve to be at the table, that they belong at the table. Partially because I busted through the door headfirst sometimes, furious that they didn’t see somebody like me… I was always so polite and trying to please everybody, but it was a different time.”
From the big screens to behind the scenes, Lilo & Stitch is elevated to another level with its live-action remake. For longtime Lilo & Stitch fans, Carerre’s portrayal of Mrs. Kekoa evoked sentiments of nostalgia, all while moviegoers of all ages felt the strong emotions of the Pelekai family.
Watch Lilo & Stitch in theatres today.
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