Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch” has broken nearly every expectation through box office sales and reviews from audiences who love re-living the original animated film. Whether it has been a result of nostalgia or the merits of a well-done movie, Dan Romer believes it can be both.

Romer was brought on to the project, directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, when it was determined by Walt Disney Studios executives that “Lilo & Stitch” should be given a theatrical release. The film was close to finishing filming in Hawaii, which gave Romer a smaller window to create the music for the movie.

To do that, he revisited the original animated movie and its score written by legendary composer Alan Silvestri. While Silvestri is more presently known for the theme he wrote for the Avengers movies or even Universal Pictures’ “Back to the Future,” he also wrote what Romer called a “perfect” score for the animated film.

“I think if you listen carefully to Alan’s score, you realize that it didn’t have to do much to make it meaningful for audiences,” he said during an online interview we had with him recently. “And that basically means that Alan just knew what music was needed for every frame.”

However, Romer determined quickly that he didn’t want to exactly replicate Silvestri’s score, but create a new musical toolset that would honor it. 

In discussing that further with director Camp, he decided a lot of the music for the film would be inspired by native Hawaiian music. “A lot of that music is vocal and percussive, so this score incorporates a lot of traditional Hawaiian chants and wooden drums that mark this genre,” Romer said.

This culturally authentic approach to scoring a film is similar approach that he took when he was asked to score Pixar’s “Luca” and using instruments and melodies that gets used in Italian music.

As for how his score has played a part in the success of the movie, Romer believes that it’s another attempt to just make good music. Having produced music that spans genres, different platforms including TV, and even another Disney-owned studio, Romer just wants to make it sound good.

“I think a lot of the reason why I do this type of work is because it teaches me a lot about telling stories through music. And that’s always a fun thing to do,” he said.

Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch” is now playing in theaters, and will be streaming exclusively on Disney+ soon.

Our special thanks to Dan Romer for contributing to this story!

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