Lilo and Stitch, and Elvis: Graceland's Ties to Disney

With the premiere of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis just a few weeks ago, some of Elvis’s music has resurfaced once again and his story is starting to become known amongst new audiences. Elvis’s career spanned 2 decades, beginning in 1953 with his first recording with Sun Records, to his final performance on June 26, 1977, less than a month before his passing. So what does Elvis have to do with Disney? With the recent resurgence of his popularity, this has not been the only time his name was in the news due to his music being featured in a movie. Lilo and Stitch, Disney’s 2002 animated movie, contributed to another rise in popularity for the singer posthumously.

Stitch dressed as Elvis. Image from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL3mpuKAlw0

The Idea of Lilo and Stitch

The 2002 film began being created 4 years prior, when the studio was trying to recover from the massive expenses used on the 1990s Disney Renaissance films. Much like the release of Dumbo in 1941, Lilo and Stitch was meant to act as a low budget film that still contained a lot of heart. The use of watercolour was prominent in this film, which hadn’t been done since Dumbo, due to the fact that the directors and writers Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders wanted the movie to have a storybook-feel. The idea of the movie originated from a story about an alien Chris had written in the 1980s that didn’t go anywhere.

Lilo and Nani’s home. Image from: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/55028426671251384/

Copyright and Graceland Permissions

Back in June 1982, Jack Soden became the President and CEO of Elvis Presley Enterprises. He was acquired by Priscilla Presley, Elvis’s ex-wife, who wanted to develop Elvis’s beloved home “Graceland” into a public tourist attraction and museum to honour her late ex-husband. Graceland is now the 2nd most visited home in America, right after the White House. Elvis’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, was the owner of The Elvis Presley Trust which held her inheritance from her father and her grandfather, and she was the owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises until 2005.

In the year 2000 when Lilo and Stitch was 2 years into development, Disney approached Soden at Elvis Presley Enterprises about the usage of Elvis’s name, photo, and music in their new film. The idea stemmed from two different ideas: one was that it allowed Lilo to be more of an outcast from the girls her age, while she listened to older music, her friends would listen to more current 2000s music. The range of Elvis’s discography also complemented the ebs and flows of the film, showing “Heartbreak Hotel” when Lilo is left home alone and Nani is trying to break back in, and “Stuck On You” when Lilo and Stitch are trying to understand each other better.

Lilo, Stitch, and a picture of Elvis. Image from: http://doctordisney.com/2018/10/03/disney-doing-a-live-action-remake-of-lilo-stitch/

The other reason that it made sense for the directors to feature the king of rock and roll in their movie set in Hawaii, was to pay homage to some of Elvis’s most iconic movies and performances ever. He made 3 movies set in Hawaii: Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Girls! Girls! Girls!, and Blue Hawaii. He performed 2 major concerts in the Aloha state as well: the USS Arizona benefit in 1961, and “Aloha from Hawaii” in 1973. Aloha from Hawaii was a live broadcast concert and was NBC’s highest rated program of the year.

Elvis in Blue Hawaii. Image from: https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/69214/blue-hawaii/#overview

When Lilo and Stitch directors and writers Dean Deblois and Chris Sanders asked for these permissions, they were granted by the estate, and it would be the first time Elvis’s music would be featured in a film that he was not in. This was a major feat for the directors and the progress of the film - not only were they able to use his music, but they were able to add a photo of his face into the film, and they were able to reference him more than once. DeBlois and Sanders received their own private tour of Graceland during the making of the film.

“Elvis Presley was a model citizen. I’ve compiled a list of his traits for you to practice.”

— Lilo (2002)

Elvis in the Soundtrack of Lilo and Stitch

5 Elvis songs were carefully chosen for the film to follow Lilo and Stitch’s turbulent relationship with each other and with their family. The songs in the film’s soundtrack are:

Stuck On You
Suspicious Minds
Heartbreak Hotel
(You’re the) Devil in Disguise
Hound Dog
Burning Love (cover by country singer Wynonna Judd
Can’t Help Falling in Love (cover by the A*Teens)

As mentioned above, “Stuck On You” can be heard when Lilo is trying to teach Stitch how to be a “real dog”. “Suspicious Minds” plays when Lilo shows Nani that Stitch has a new trick - he can play records by putting his nail on the vinyl and opening his mouth. “Heartbreak Hotel” can be heard during the scene where Lilo is laying on the ground of her living room floor with her record player. “Devil in Disguise” plays when Nani is running around town trying to find a new job. “Hound Dog” can be heard in the background when Jumbaa is chasing Stitch around the house. The cover of “Burning Love” is the final song in the film, showing Stitch being integrated into the family.

“Want to listen to the King? You look like an Elvis fan.”

— Lilo (2002)

Lilo and Stitch. Image from: https://www.dailyadvent.com/news/8d7ee93f9845871011674390c7d10772-PHOTOS-Lilo-and-Stitch-Art-Will-Be-On-Display-At-A-New-Disney-Exhibit

The Lilo and Stitch Premiere

The timing of the release of Lilo and Stitch coincided extremely well with the Elvis estate - as it was in 2002 that it was the 25th anniversary of Elvis’s death. It wasn’t planned that way, but it gave Graceland the added publicity with the success of the release of the beloved animated film. Lilo and Stitch premiered on June 16, 2002, with the public release on June 21, 2002. The month after the release of the film, Elvis was back on the top of the charts for several reasons, including the World Cup and the box set “Today, Tomorrow, and Forever”. In July 2002, “A Little Less Conversation” was number 50 on Billboard’s Hot 100, marking Elvis’s 152nd time on the chart, breaking endless world records.

The Lilo and Stitch premiere was held at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. The Hawaiian theme was spread throughout, with a long red carpet featuring the voice actors and actresses from the film, the production crew, Lilo and Stitch mascots, and celebrities. Wynonna Judd performed her rendition of “Burning Love” for the crowd. Priscilla Presley made an appearance at the premiere, stating to an interviewer:

“First of all the movie, really is all about family. [...] I hope this will be a great message to bring family back together again because really, that’s what it’s all about. Elvis was very much a family man, regardless of what you hear; he loved family and he always came home.”

— Priscilla Presley

On Thursday, June 20, the night before the movie went public, Graceland hosted a luau party for over 600 guests. The movie was shown in Memphis, the hometown of Elvis Presley, and then the party was transferred over into the home of the King, complete with torches, banquet tables, leis, and more. The party was for Disney associates and Graceland associates, celebrating the resurgence of Elvis in the theatres.

Lilo and Stitch reached #2 in the box office on its opening weekend, and #3 the following week, trailing just behind Spielberg’s Minority Report.