A Fresh Take That Falls Flat
After 20+ years of growing love and merchandise for the original 2002 Lilo & Stitch, Disney’s live-action adaptation arrives with high expectations. Sadly, while it captures the shape of what made the original special, it loses almost all of the spirit.
This isn’t the charming chaos we fell in love with. It’s a sanitized, corporate remix that trades emotional punch for flat visuals, hollow updates, and baffling story changes. As a lifelong animation fan and a newly initiated Lilo & Stitch enthusiast, this one stung more than most.
Who’s Who in the Reboot
Lilo (Mia Kealoha) – The biggest win here. Young Mia delivers an honest, wild, and emotional performance that feels ripped straight from the animated classic. Easily the standout.
Stitch (Chris Sanders) – Thankfully still voiced by his original creator. He’s cute, animated well enough, and his chaos is toned way down—unfortunately.
Nani (Sydney Agudong) – Lacks the emotional gravity and fierce warmth of the original. Feels oddly disconnected from Lilo.
David (Kaimana) – Basically a background character. Charming surfer vibes and heartfelt scenes from the original are gone.
Cobra Bubbles (Courtney B. Vance) – A completely different vibe. This version of Bubbles lacks the humor, subtlety, and mystery. He’s introduced right away as CIA and feels awkwardly forced.
Jumba (Zach Galifianakis) – Miscast and misused. Galifianakis brings zero of the quirky menace or mad scientist glee. The film makes him the main villain, and it doesn’t work.
Pleakley (Billy Magnussen) – Acceptable, but sidelined.
New Characters – A nosy neighbor and extra side roles crowd the script and rob emotional beats from the main cast. They’re pointless.
How It Feels: The Heart’s Missing
The original was loud, weird, loving, and deeply human. This one’s quiet, cautious, and confused. Scenes that once sang now just sit there. Moments that once made us cry now feel like sad violin over stock footage.
Even the humor is dulled. Instead of Stitch wrecking the island in creative ways or Lilo fighting back with messy kid logic, we get surface-level gags that rarely land. The whole movie plays like it knows it has to hit emotional beats, but doesn’t understand why those beats ever worked.
The animation? Stitch looks fine. But everything around him feels like it’s trying to mimic the visual softness and color of the original without embracing its artistic weirdness. The world feels too clean.
Should You Watch It?
If you’re a diehard fan of the original, this might hurt. If you’ve never seen the original, it might come off as a mid-tier kids’ film with some laughs, a cute alien, and decent pacing.
Wait to stream it. Then watch the animated original right after. You’ll feel the difference.
🔒 Spoilers Ahead! Full Breakdown & Plot Twists
Major Changes:
- Captain Gantu is gone. He’s replaced by Jumba as the primary antagonist.
- Cobra Bubbles is no longer a mysterious social worker, but a CIA agent from the get-go.
- The “Ohana means family” moment is given to a new character, not Lilo or Nani.
- Key moments like Lilo crawling into the oven are removed (changed to a table due to safety concerns).
- The Ugly Duckling subplot is missing, stripping a major emotional parallel from Stitch’s story.
- Stitch’s destruction is nerfed. His guns are gone, and so is most of his menace.
The Climax:
In the live-action finale, Jumba captures both Lilo and Stitch and opens a portal to another world. Nani performs an underwater rescue thanks to a tacked-on “training” backstory. The third act plays like a confused mash-up of Lilo & Stitch 2 and the animated series.
The picture Stitch recovers at the end—which meant everything in the original—now feels like just one of many. Emotional resonance: gone.
Mid & Post-Credit Scenes:
- Mid-credit: Nani goes to college. Lilo is adopted by the neighbor. They use a portal gun to visit each other.
- Post-credit: Tease for future experiments (possibly a 627 appearance).
The Good
- Mia Kealoha as Lilo: perfect casting.
- Stitch looks good and is voiced by the original actor.
- The basic story is still intact.
- Some nostalgic music and scenic shots.
The Bad
- Jumba as villain? A mistake.
- Gantu missing. So is the emotional punch.
- Weak third act.
- Pointless new characters.
- Elvis subplot gutted.
- Scene-by-scene recreations are worse than the original.
- Charm and weirdness are replaced by flat sentiment.
Lilo & Stitch: A well-meaning remake that completely misunderstands the soul of the original. Lilo & Stitch (2025) has some decent performances and visuals, but it's too cluttered, too clean, and too forgettable. What should have been a celebration of weird, messy love is now just another checkbox remake. – Asmodeus
Quick Take (No Spoilers):
Sweet in spots, but lacks the emotional depth and character charm that made the original unforgettable. Watch it on streaming only.
What’s Next for the Franchise?
Expect more Disney+ Stitch content. With early hints at future experiments (like 627) and the animated series already in the canon, Disney might expand in that direction. But if this film is the starting point for a rebooted live-action Stitch-verse, they need to go back to the drawing board—fast.
