A Deleted Scene From “Lilo & Stitch” Has Resurfaced, And People Are Discussing Why Disney Cut It From The Movie In The First Place
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As someone who was born and raised in Hawaii, I consider Lilo & Stitch to be one of my favorite childhood movies.
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So, when I found out that Disney deleted a scene where Lilo gets tourists off the beach, I couldn’t help but wonder why.
Twitter: @nenolpunk
In the scene, Lilo and Stitch were on their way to the beach, when they were confronted by several obnoxious tourists. One looked at Lilo and yelled, “Speak English?” A little later, another one noticed her and shouted, “Oh look, a real native!”
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Knowing that the sirens at the beach were due for a test run that day, Lilo and Stitch decided to trick everyone. They warned the tourists of the “big, hundred-foot waves” that were coming and told everyone that they should leave the beach.
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With perfect timing, Lilo yelled, “Tourists, prepare to die!” Seconds later, the siren went off, and the tourists scrambled to leave the beach in a panic. Once all the tourists were gone, Lilo said, “If you lived here, you’d understand.”
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To me, the scene painted a great picture of why Lilo felt so frustrated at the tourists. After being harassed like that, I don’t really blame her for wanting to prank them. It made me curious to see if there were any reasons for the removal of the scene, and while I couldn’t find any official statements from Disney, there were quite a few speculations from viewers.
One person claimed that there was an official reason: that Disney couldn’t show Lilo “committing a crime” in the movie. Apparently, scaring people off the beach and causing chaos could be considered inciting a riot.
Chris Sanders on the DVD commentary said it was because they couldnât show Lilo committing a crime at the end of the clip. Like S and P had an issue with it.
Like Iâm with you on Disney being Satan but like⊠thereâs a documented reason why it was cut.
â Puff, Your Guardian Raccoon đłïžâđ (@KoiPuff) April 16, 2023
Twitter: @KoiPuff
Another person speculated that Disney might’ve cut the scene because they could’ve already been planning to construct the Aulani Resort soon. The Twitter user figured that framing tourists negatively wouldn’t have been a great look for them, especially considering that the Aulani was about to attract many tourists.
Kent Phillips / ABC via Getty Images
And of course, there is always the possibility that it was cut simply because it didn’t flow with the rest of the movie, or because of time restrictions, but I have a hard time believing that.
While the reason it was removed officially remains unknown, many people were unhappy that the scene was taken out.
every time i watch lilo + stitch now, i think about the deleted scene + how they should have kept it in the movie.
â âšmatilda wormwoodâš (@otehiminfaerie) May 17, 2022
Twitter: @otehiminfaerie
Most agreed that it added a lot of context about Lilo’s Native Hawaiian identity and how she was treated because of it.
There was a deleted scene where Lilo & Stitch were going about the island & Lilo was getting harassed by tourists because sheâs indigenous. Thatâs a huge part of the movie & the struggles their little family face. White-washing them takes away so much from the story. https://t.co/QJCQQkwAiJ
â Anjunabitch (@peggingforsoup) April 15, 2023
Disney /Â Twitter: @peggingforsoup
What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
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