Story of Stitch continues on video, series

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

The misadventures of the alien pet in "Lilo & Stitch" will soon be on TV.

But up and down the Disney hierarchy, no one will say officially if the Islands will be the setting again for all the misadventures of Lilo, the little hula dancer who has a knack of getting into trouble, and her adopted alien pet Stitch, who has a knack for destroying everything he touches.

A studio announcement simply states that the video sequel will be called "Stitch! — The Movie," and that the tube outing, with an initial order of 39 episodes, will be dubbed "Stitch! — The TV Series." A spokesman indicated that it was premature to announce other specifics because story lines have not been set.

"The characters and themes in 'Lilo & Stitch' have strongly connected with audiences — and that includes our own creative people at the studio," Thomas Schumacher, president of Walt Disney Animation, said in a statement.

Added Anne Sweeney, president of ABC Cable Networks Group and Disney Channel Worldwide: "We welcome 'Stitch' to join a strong Disney Channel family of programs, where the 'Lilo and Stitch' franchise will continue to build upon its popularity in the more than 80 million households we reach. We're excited to be bringing these characters to television."

Most of the original cast is expected to participate in the encore, including Daveigh Chase as the voice of Lilo, Chris Sanders (co-creator, writer and director with Dean DeBlois) as Stitch, Tia Carrere as Nani, David Ogden Stires as Jumba, Ving Rhames as Cobra Bubbles, Kevin McDonald as Pleakley, Kevin Michael Richardson as Captain Gantu and Zoe Caldwell as Grand Councilwoman. Jason Scott Lee (as David) was not on the announced roster.

The video project places Stitch — also known in the original movie as Dr. Jumba Jookiba's "Experiment 626" — living with Lilo and Nani on Earth (presumably in Hawai'i, although it's not known whether it would be Kaua'i or the Big Island, which were featured in the original movie, or another island). In a series of misfortunes, Jumba's previous 625 experiments are activated one by one.

The TV series has Lilo and Stitch searching for these alien creature experiments to reverse bad to good, and to find places where each alien can find his or her own 'ohana to become a contributor to the 'aina.

The video movie will be directed by Tony Craig and Roberts Gannaway, the team that brought Mickey Mouse back to TV ("Disney's Mickey Mouse Works" and "Disney's House of Mouse").

The TV series will be directed by Vic Cook ("Disney's The Legend of Tarzan," "101 Dalmatians, the Series") and Don MacKinnon ("Disney's Teacher's Pet," "Disney/Pixar's Buzz Lightyear of Star Command").