Lilo & Stitch director addresses Pleakley not wearing a dress in live-action remake

The director of the live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch has responded to fans who were upset that Pleakley did not wear a dress in the trailer.

Fans are gearing up for the live-action re-do of the charming 2002 Disney animated film of the same name. The film will once again tell the story of a lonely Hawaiian girl, Lilo, who befriends a mischievous alien experiment, Stitch, teaching him the meaning of ‘ohana’ while evading galactic authorities.

Starring Maia Kealoha as Lilo and Chris Sanders as the voice of the iconic furry blue intergalactic mischief-maker, and a supporting cast of Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen.

Magnussen will be playing Lilo & Stitch character Agent Pleakley in the live-action remake. Longtime Lilo & Stitch fans will know that part of Pleakley’s charm in the original animated film was their many ‘disguises’ while on Earth, a lot of which involved donning gender-bending clothing.

However, the first trailer, released on 13 March, had viewers noting that Pleakley’s iconic looks were amiss. Now, director Dean Fleischer Camp has responded to fans concerned about the lack of dresses and wigs.

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Dean Fletcher Camp, the director of the new Lilo & Stitch live action movie, has responded to backlash over the movie’s trailer. When the trailer was released, fans were unhappy with the depiction of the character Agent Pleakly. In the original Lilo & Stitch animated film, Pleakley wore many disguises while on earth, a lot of which included a fair amount of gender-bending clothing – from wigs to dresses. Pleakley quickly became a fan favorite, with audiences branding him queer and trans-coded.Although Pleakley only appears briefly in the live action trailer, he wasn’t wearing a dress or wig and fans were unhappy. Director Dean Fletcher Camp revealed that he “tried” to depict Pleakley in his iconic dress and wig, even showing early drawings of his design. #liloandstitch #liloandstichliveaction#disney #liveaction #Pleakley #lgbtqia

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“I have had people message me saying, ‘Why is Pleakley not wearing a dress?’,” Fleischer Camp said in a 6 May TikTok, where he responded to fan comments about the upcoming movie. 

“And I just want to say, I tried,” he said, sharing behind-the-scenes concept art of the character in a disguise. “I tried,” he reiterated. 

It’s still unclear whether Pleakley will be donning a wig and a floral summer dress in the final cut, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Elsewhere in the video, another fan expressed their delight at the original Lilo & Stitch creator and voice actor returning to voice Stitch. 

“I totally agree,” said Fleischer Camp. “One of the first creative discussions we had was, ‘We have to get Chris Sanders back.’ He was really, really generous, he would come in and do ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) for hours and hours… He was a delight.” 

Lilo & Stitch will be released on 23 May.

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