Lilo and Stitch to return with new animated short

Disney is premiering a new Lilo & Stitch short this year. Lilo & Scratch will run ahead of Hexed, which premieres on Nov. 25, marking the first time in five years that Disney has released a new theatrical short. Chris Sanders, writer and director of Lilo & Stitch, returns as the original voice of Stitch, and Maia Kealoha, who played Lilo in the live action remake, will voice the character in the short.

Hexed co-directors Fawn Veerasunthorn and Jason Hand worked on the short along with the original film’s animator Alex Cooper Schmidt. He did hand-drawn versions of Stitch used in the film, which also utilizes CG animation, and watercolor backgrounds both painted by hand and with computer programs.

"Many people at our studio across multiple disciplines wanted to work with these characters," Veerasunthorn said during a panel at Annecy.

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