A special video was released on July 4th showing Koichi Yamadera, the Japanese voice actor for Stitch in Disney's live-action film "Lilo & Stitch" (directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp, currently in theaters), expressing his joy after receiving a message of thanks from Stitch.
Yamadera has been the voice actor for Stitch for over 20 years. He has voiced Stitch in the animated version of "Lilo & Stitch" released in Japan in 2003, as well as numerous sequels, short animations, and TV series. In Japan, the image of "Yama-chan is the one who talks about Stitch" has become established.
In the released 1 minute 40 second video, a staff member calls out to Yamadera after he has finished recording, saying, "You have a message from this person," and Yamadera is seen gazing at the monitor. When Stitch appears on the monitor, Japanese subtitles appear, along with words of gratitude to his "partner," Yamadera, saying, "Stitch, I've been traveling with you for over 20 years! Thank you so much." The staff member continues, "Stitch and Yama-chan are ohana. From now on as well," and Yamadera exclaims in delight, "Wow!!"
Yamadera has voiced many Disney characters, including Donald Duck, Genie from Aladdin, and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, but this is the first time he has received a message from a character himself. In the second half of the video, he talks about Stitch, who he has voiced for over 20 years, saying, "He's like a family member to me, and I can't think of him as a stranger, but he's also a formidable enemy. I love him, but he's also a difficult character to express as a voice actor, so he's just like a mischievous, rowdy family member."
The film is a live-action adaptation of the 2002 Disney animated film of the same name. It is a fantasy set on the island of Kauai in Hawaii, depicting the important bond between "ohana (family)." It was released in Japan on June 6th, and has become a hit, grossing over 2.36 billion yen (as of July 2nd).
