At this point, the general public has come to expect a certain kind of animation style from upcoming Disney movies, which is based in computer animation. While the House of Mouse never ceases to put a smile on my face with each new release even to this day, I can’t help but feel nostalgic for the 2D animation style I grew up with. If you feel the same way, I must point you in the direction of a Lilo & Stitch short hitting theaters this fall, as it beautifully uses that classic style.
CinemaBlend had a chance to visit Walt Disney Animation Studios in Burbank, CA in September, and we were surprised with a screening of Lilo & Scratch. It’s a short film that will play before the studio’s next movie, Hexed. And, y’all need to see it! When seeing a 2D animated Disney movie on the big screen again, I felt like I was transported to my childhood. Here’s the poster:
The short film utilizes the 2D animation style of the original 2002 movie to tell a cute and hilarious little story of a chaotic pink cat (who may have connections to Stitch) joining the Pelekai home. It’s always fun to see Stitch freak out at stuff, and it’s such a good time watching him square off against the tiny but powerful Scratch. And, yes, Chris Sanders reprises Stitch, with live-action Lilo & Stitch actress Maia Kealoha stepping into the recording booth to voice Lilo.
During CB's visit at Walt Disney Animation, co-directors Fawn Veerasunthorn and Malcon Pierce told us that the studio created a new pipeline that would combined the use of hand-drawn animation with their modern computer-based animation models to make the short happen. What I found exceptionally cool is that they even dug up some of the watercolor backgrounds from the original movie to serve as the backdrops for this new production. After we saw the production, Veerasunthorn told us this about creating the pipeline:
The pipeline came from so many people in the studio who wanted to work on it, and they were like, ‘Would it be this or would it be that?’ And we were like, ‘What if it's all of it?’ If you wanna work on this short film, you can. And, we created the pipeline to accommodate all of that. It's super fun.
I love to hear about Disney animators coming together to bring Lilo & Stitch to life as we remember it. And this isn't the first time in recent years that 2D animation has been utilized by the studio. A few years ago, Disney’s Wish was heavily influenced by hand-drawn animation along with the short Once Upon A Studio, which was made in celebration of the company’s 100-year anniversary.
So, of course, I had to pose the question: Could Disney make a feature film with this pipeline? Jason Hand, who is co-director on Hexed and previously co-helmed Moana 2, had this to say:
I mean, we use 2D in our film [Hexed]. The opening is a hand drawn part. So, I think whatever tells the story best, I'm up for.
How cool is it that 2D animation has a larger presence in Walt Disney Animation again? Not only that, but the mere existence of Lilo & Scratch also harkens back to the good old days of seeing shorts before Disney movies. That's something that hasn’t happened since Encanto back in 2021.
To put it simply, anyone who grew up with Disney flicks during the early aughts, should check out Lilo & Scratch along with Hexed, when the latter hits the 2026 movie schedule on November 25. I not only hope fans enjoy the short but that it also starts a new wave of 2D-animated productions.
