What kind of music do you choose for a film that’s set in Hawaii and combines such disparate elements as surfing and a mischievous alien character? That was the question facing the filmmakers as they began fleshing out the screenplay and storyboards for "Lilo & Stitch."
Thomas Schumacher recalls, "It was early on in the process when Chris and Dean were pitching a scene where they had Lilo playing an Elvis record and I thought that it was hilarious to have this little girl who loves Elvis. It gave her an edge because it’s such a sophisticated thing to like. We found that having songs like ‘Suspicious Minds’ and ‘Hound Dog’ added so much character to the film and seemed oddly Hawaiian at the same time. A lot of us remember the Hawaii Elvis period. I remember the first time I came to Kauai and thought; ‘Ooh, this is kind of Elvisland.’
"Music is so organic to our movies," he adds. "The Elvis music gave us some humor and also a nostalgic charm. But being in Hawaii, there’s also a fantastic sound of native music. At first, you think of steel drums and a ukulele. But there’s also a native sound that involves chanting. It’s a rhythmic sound of hope and it has a real purity to it. We found a fantastic children’s choir to sing for us and their angelic voices leap off the screen and represent a hope and innocence that is there on the islands. It gives a purity that rises up and carries you through the story."
During the course of the film, Elvis is heard singing six of his biggest hits: "Heartbreak Hotel," "Stuck on You," "Blue Hawaii," "Suspicious Minds," "Devil in Disguise" and "Hound Dog." The songs add comedy, commentary and entertainment to the plot while helping to define the characters. The soundtrack for the 1961 film "Blue Hawaii" was one of the most successful in Elvis’ incredible career and landed in the #1 spot on the charts for 20 weeks.
In keeping with the Elvis music theme, the filmmakers decided to enlist two of today’s top talents to create new versions of Elvis hits. Country superstar Wynonna recorded a new version of "Burning Love" for the film. She first came on the music scene as part of the mother-daughter duo The Judds in 1984, and in six short years sold more than 20 million records worldwide and won over sixty industry awards including five Grammys, nine Country Music Association Awards and eight Billboard Music Awards. In 1991, Naomi Judd retired due to health reasons and the following year, Wynonna began the second amazing success story of her life. She signed her first solo record deal in 1992 and her critically acclaimed album, Wynonna, sold over five million units to become the highest-selling debut album by a female artist at the time. This was followed by such other wildly successful releases as Tell Me Why, Revelations, Collection, The Other Side, and New Day Dawning. Her new album will debut in the fall of 2002. She has accumulated sales totals in excess of nine million units as well as over seventeen major industry awards, including the coveted Female Vocalist of the Year in 1994 by the Academy of Country Music, and thirteen top-ten hits on the charts.
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