Disney unveils glimpses of animation series in Japan

The Japanese version of Disney’s original Lilo and Stitch is being jointly produced by Japan based mid-sized studio Madhouse and Walt Disney.

The original Lilo and Stitch series told of the bonding between the orphan girl Lilo and a little blue alien named Stitch on the lush Hawaiian island of Kauai.

The local version has a Japanese girl skilled at karate and set on a fictional island in Japan's subtropical southern chain of Okinawa.

In the three-minute pilot version, the girl, tentatively named Hanako, and other characters dance to the tunes of traditional Okinawan music while eating a bowl of rice with chopsticks.

A Japanese adaptation of Lilo and Stitch will kick off in late 2008.