Film Review: Lilo & Stitch (2025) 

Disney’s Live Action remakes continue with Lilo & Stitch.

The results of the “live action” Remakes of Disney classics have been a very mixed bag.  I put “live action” in quotes because so much of what these remakes make use of is CGI that it would be hard to call them “live action”.  The “live action” interpretation of the neo-classic Lilo & Stitch sits atop Disney’s remake ventures besting the likes of Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King.  Though what made Lilo & Stitch such a lauded classic in so many people’s hearts, the rough edges, have been wilted down to make a relatively safe, shot-for-shot remake of the original just without attitude.  

Where the other remakes suffered from over bloated excess, Lilo & Stitch, could have used an extra five to ten minutes of breathing room.  Yes, adding an extra 90-minutes of unnecessary story/exposition/songs/whatever as with the case with these other remakes is what sunk them.  Here the time would have helped a story that feels like it wants to rush past the rougher moments of loss and grief or emotionally connective moments.  

The movie is a great summertime adventure movie. At its core is the plucky Lilo played by the amazing Maia Kealoha. Her work is astounding making you believe every moment Stitch is on screen.  The supporting cast around Kealoha is equally good with Sydney Elizebeth Agudong as the put upon older sister Nani being the other standout.  Getting Amy Hill, Tia Carrere and Jason Scott Lee in sizable roles, Hill reprising her exact role, is the right choice as they all shine.  

Stitch is everything you want him to be in “live action” form.  Disney working with multiple VFX company and original co-director/co-writer/Stitch performer Chris Saunder to ensure that Stitch made the transition without an issue.  There isn’t a moment where Stitch doesn’t feel like he a fully render character interacting with the cast.  Bravo to Disney for brining all of it to life in a way that feels weighty and real – no small feat considering prior remake ventures were far from successful.  

The adaptation by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes chooses strange things to drop and change.  Many will miss the coffee, the overuse of Elvis, and the time spent with Cobra Bubbles who is now just a defacto cameo to make room for the “comedic stylings” of Billy Magnussen and Zach Galifianakis. These choices in adaptation in short don’t work and add nothing to the film. The success in certain sections are a literal beat-for-beat remake though it never feels like the original’s inspired choices.  There is something missing even in the moments of pure chaotic joy of Stitch ruining situation after situation.  The glee and joy that one gets from these moments just don’t feel present rather the film wants to glide past them something the original never did. 

Even more of a problem with this adaptation is when the film goes for those emotional moments that made the original so special… Lilo & Stitch (2025) holds back or doesn’t give room to have those moments really sink in.  Mostly the magical touch that original writer/directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois brought to Lilo & Stitch is the ingredient that is missing.  As much as director Dean Fleischer Camp attempts to recapture it (his own Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is proof positive that he can conjure film magic himself) those rough messy edges that earmark Sanders and DeBlois work (see the original Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon and Wild Robot) are not present here.  Though many will not miss those small moments it is what separates a true classic and a good remake.  As it stands Lilo & Stitch (2025) is a good remake.  

Lilo & Stitch is in theaters May 23^rd