Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Writers: Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, Mike Van Waes
Cast: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders, Billy Magnussen, Zach Galifianakis, Hannah Waddingham, Courtney B. Vance, Tia Carrere, Kaipo Dudoit, Amy Hill

It has been twenty-three years since little Lilo and her blue koala-looking alien friend Stitch first hit cinemas and became firm favourites of millions of kids (now adults!) around the world, all from Lilo’s native Hawaii. From Lilo’s one-liners and Stitch’s attitude to the themes of family and fitting in, Lilo & Stitch (2002) is a timeless classic, so when a live-acting/CGI version was announced, there was certainly a lot of trepidation, as there always is with remakes of beloved classics. But, seeing as Disney’s live-action remake slate shows no signs of slowing down, we might as well make our judgements once these films are released. Does Lilo & Stitch (2025) live up to its origins while adding something new, or is this one film we won’t be allowing to join our ohana?

Six-year-old Lilo (Kealoha) lives with her eighteen-year-old sister Nani (Agudong), both orphans since the death of their loving parents. As Lilo struggles to fit in with her peers, she is “gifted” a friend in the form of Experiment 626, an alien escapee hellbent on destruction. When Lilo officially adopts him, she names him Stitch (Sanders), and she attempts to teach him how to be good. All the while, Nani is barely managing to hold things together and make ends meet, losing job after job and facing the threat of losing guardianship of Lilo. As their relationship becomes more fractured, both Lilo and Nani try to find ways to stay afloat while remaining together, but it’s not easy when Stitch is causing all kinds of havoc.

This remake succeeds in adding some new dimensions to its story and characters. The main messaging has always been about ohana: having a family, or people who care for you, and somewhere to belong. This film retains that messaging well and adds extra depth by creating new friends for Lilo and Nani that deeply care about their situation, however it doesn’t seem to have quite the same amount of heart that the original film had nor as much of the fun that only an animation can provide. The character of Lilo still feels left out by other children and struggles to make friends, however her mental state has been played down within this film, with her being a little less of a pain to Nani and not lashing out quite as much because she’s too young to take on such big feelings of abandonment. On the flip side, Nani’s story gets more depth, with her education and personal wants and needs beyond Lilo coming to the fore, creating a much better balance for her character. The relationship between the sisters is portrayed well and almost has the same strength as the original characters. It also shoves Elvis Presley’s music aside a little to represent Hawaii with more inclusion of native songs and music, which was a good call.

Another thing the film manages to do well is invent new ways to portray some of the more difficult physicalities of the alien characters. Jumba and Pleakley, played by Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnusson respectively, are different to their animated counterparts in some style and voice changes (Pleakley’s voice in particular sounding a little strange and almost Stitch-like), but their core is still there, with Jumba being something of a mad scientist and Pleakley retaining his fascination for anything Earth-based (but with less of the mosquitoes this time). Sadly, there was no sign of original alien antagonist Gantu due to the filmmakers wanting to give more breathing room for Lilo and Nani’s story, and that was probably the right move to explore the stories of the more important characters.

The performances on the whole were pretty solid, particularly from young Maia Kealoha, and it was a relief to know Chris Sanders would be back to voice Stitch – the majority of other voice actors can do a good rendition of Stitch, but there’s nothing like the original. Agudong portrays Nani very well, although the character was written to be a little more mature than her animated counterpart, leaving less room for friction between Nani and Lilo. Galifianakis and Magnusson are a good duo as Jumba and Pleakley, though Magnusson edges out Galifianakis when it comes to adding a playful element to the character (Galifianakis was apparently uninterested in delving into the character any deeper than necessary, which kind of comes across onscreen with a relatively unmemorable performance). The addition of Tia Carrere’s social worker Mrs. Kekoa was a nice touch to ground Lilo and Nani’s story in realism (not to mention Carrere being the original voice actor for Nani), though it did mean that Courtney B. Vance’s Cobra Bubbles took a more straightforward role as a CIA agent – he’s a less threatening version but has a more sensible storyline.

As Disney remakes goes, this isn’t one of their better ones, but it certainly isn’t one of their worst. Did we need a Lilo & Stitch remake? No. Did we actually want one? Also no. It was originally slated for a straight-to-streaming release, but after testing well with audiences, studio heads figured it would fare well enough in theatres to bring in some cash, so we can’t say it’s not about the money. Having said that, the remake allowed for a more grounded story, even if that meant it took some of the fun out of it, and more inclusion of Hawaiian culture, which can only be a good thing. Will we see a sequel in the future, as a brand-new story rather than a Stitch! The Movie or Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch remake, or will they leave it at that? Only time (and box office takings) will tell, but one thing is for sure: Lilo, Stitch and all their friends will never be left behind or forgotten by their fans.