‘Lilo & Stitch’ director says he was frustrated by ‘Frozen’ praise and he’s got a point

When it comes to Disney's Frozen, it appears that everyone is still unable to let it go. After all, the film was praised for its depiction of how 'true love' can manifest itself in other ways than through romance.

Lilo & Stitch director Chris Sanders, however, is not happy with Disney's new money-making endeavor since Frozen has been hailed with high praise.

The New York Times recently interviewed Sanders, who expressed his desire that people would take note of the way Lilo & Stitch adapted the sisterhood story, after he noticed people were praising Frozen for something that they did first.

'Frozen is a great movie, I think. Nevertheless, I found it somewhat frustrating because people said, 'Finally, a nonromantic relationship between these two girls,' and I thought, 'We did!' It has definitely been done before.'

There was more than a decade between Lilo & Stitch's release in 2002 and Frozen's release in 2013. Lilo is the protagonist of the film, and her only sibling is Nani, due to the death of her parents in a car accident.

The story of Lilo includes her encounter with a space alien named Stitch, which created a challenge for Nani and Lilo to demonstrate their ability to care for each other.

Regarding the film's story, Sanders spoke about how fans were able to relate to the film as it is 'based in reality' and shows people 'can see themselves”.

Lilo & Stitch does have real-world themes that young audiences may relate to Nani, who becomes Lilo's guardian after their parents are killed in a car accident, faces parenting challenges. Moreover, Nani and Lilo consistently seem to be caught at their worst by a social worker.

When the film was released, that was what a lot of critics discussed,' he recalled. There were moments that were based on reality in a way in which people could easily recognize themselves in them. It didn't feel as though they were cartoon characters.'

The film celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, despite under-appreciation because of stronger titles like Moana and Frozen, and managed to find success all on its own while adhering to Hawaii's culture in the process.