This article contains spoilers for Lilo & Stitch. Lilo & Stitch director Dean Fleischer Camp has a story about his lead, child star Maia Kealoha, that he's been dying to share. "To me, it just really encapsulates what a great performer she is and how far she came learning her craft over the course of this,

The larger conflict is interstellar.

"Maia was 5 when she sent her tape and we thought it was really promising," director Dean Fleischer Camp told the publication.

Newcomer Kealoha is absolutely precious as Lilo, both a rebellious firecracker and a vulnerable outcast.