Lilo & Stitch review

LILO & STITCH: 

DISNEY’S BAFFLING YET SOMEWHAT CHARMING UPDATE OF BELOVED 2002 ANIMATED FEATURE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** ½ out of 4

DISNEY

Experiment 626 in Lilo & Stitch (2025)

 

Everyone’s favorite Hawaiian girl and alien experiment disguised as a dog are back on the big screen in Lilo & Stitch, the latest of Disney’s live-action remakes based on the 2002 animated film of the same name. The original Lilo & Stitch I will go on record and say is one of my all-time favorite Disney movies, I was eight years old when it came out so I was the target audience for the film at the time and I loved it back then and love it even more now as an adult. 

            The film hits a lot of familiar beats as other beloved classics like E.T. and The Iron Giant, but through brilliant storytelling, memorable and endearing characters, and strong emotional weight it feels like you’re hearing this kind of story for the first time. It was also a huge critical and box-office success especially during a dark time for Disney fare in theaters and spawned three direct-to-video sequels, a TV series on the Disney Channel that also featured crossover episodes with other cartoons on the network like Kim Possible and The Proud Family, tons of merchandise, and even an anime. 

            So, of course the studio behind the cinematic masterpieces, Mufasa: The Lion King and the recent Snow White remake has to give this the live-action remake treatment which was originally set for a Disney+ release before going theatrical. Despite acknowledging Disney’s remake history being rather bumpy numerous times in the past, I didn’t really have any expectations when it was announced and not even after trailers and posters came out for it. 

            I thought the design of Stitch looked fine and cute (Thankfully, not another Ugly Sonic situation) and the little girl playing Lilo seemed incredibly charming. Plus director Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On) who directed one of my favorite animated films of the 2020s, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is helming the project so, there was some hope here… *sighs*. 

            Look, I’m probably going to be a small minority on this and there are aspects of the film I admire, but I did not enjoy this update of Lilo & Stitch all that much. I don’t think it’s godawful or anything and there are aspects about it that are worth praising, but it really pales in comparison to the original movie which did so much so right whereas this one does some things right but gets a lot completely wrong. 

             The film follows an alien experiment known as 626 AKA Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders-How to Train Your Dragon, The Wild Robot; who also directed and voiced Stitch in the original film) escaping from an intergalactic council and crash landing on Earth, but not just on Earth… Hawaii. He disguises himself as a dog and is adopted by a young girl named Lilo (Newcomer, Maia Kealoha) and her older sister and legal guardian Nani (Newcomer, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong) who soon realize their new pet is quite a troublemaker, causing tons of mischief wherever he goes. 

            However, through Stitch’s antics, Lilo, Stitch, and Nani learn the importance of family (Ohana) and that nobody gets left behind or forgotten. All the while Stitch is being hunted by his mad scientist creator, Jumba (voiced by Zach Galifianakis-The Hangover trilogy, Puss in Boots, Bob’s Burgers) and his Earth expert sidekick, Pleakley (voiced by Billy Magnussen-Into the Woods, Bridge of Spies, Aladdin (2019)). 

            The film also stars Courtney B. Vance (Space Cowboys, Final Destination 5, The Photograph) as Agent Cobra Bubbles, Kaipo Dudoit as David Kawena, Tia Carrere (General Hospital, Wayne’s World 1 and 2, Easter Sunday) who originally voiced Nani in the 2002 film as Mrs. Kekoa, Amy Hill (Max Keeble’s Big Move, Big Fat Liar, 50 First Dates) who originally voiced Mrs. Hasagawa as Tūtū, and Jason Scott Lee (The Jungle Book (1994), Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, Mulan (2020)) who originally voiced David as Nani and David’s Manager; and features the voice of Hannah Waddingham (The Fall Guy, The Garfield Movie (2024), Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning) as the Grand Councilwoman. 

            Overall, Lilo & Stitch (2025) technically is one of the better Disney remakes that thankfully isn’t completely soulless like some of their other ones, unfortunately its autopilot pacing and questionable changes made make it an “Experiment” that struggles to recapture what made the original animated movie so captivating. First some positives, Stitch’s design looks great and captures the mannerisms and expressions from the animated version quite well and the film does have fun with Stitch’s shenanigans in different ways than the original but still feels in-character. 

            The actress playing Lilo is fantastic who perfectly plays up the troublemaking and kooky personality of her animated counterpart while also being the emotional core of the movie through genuinely sweet moments with both Stitch and Sydney Elizebeth Agudong’s Nani. I don’t think the sister dynamic is as strong as the original, but Kealoha and Agudong do a great job anchoring the film. 

            It’s a shame the rest of the movie couldn’t live up to their charm because this film makes some of the worst Disney remake changes you could imagine whether it’s pointlessly introducing new characters that weren’t present in the original, completely changing a character or characters’ motives, or flat-out removing a character that was prominent in the source material (There’s no Captain Gantu to be seen in this film). This is a remake that says “You know what this great animated movie that didn’t need a villain needs? A villain!” and they do something to a character that appeared in the original and had a small yet effective arc in the animated movie that left a sour taste in my mouth. 

            The first half of the movie is horribly paced with the film rapid firing through plot elements from the original with no real flow to anything. It was as if I was watching a Cliff Notes version of Stitch’s escape from the United Galactic Federation and not a re-imagining of that opening sequence, not helping matters is it does a lot of “Hey, remember that from the original?” throughout the movie. 

            I’m sure kids and families will enjoy this movie and it’ll likely be very successful at the box-office, but Lilo & Stitch (2025) is a lesser version of Lilo & Stitch (2002) that aside from some charming moments and once in a while a creative sequence continues to bring the point home for what’s wrong with these Disney remakes. It’s not clever, it’s not unique, it doesn’t even retell the original story that well, it’s just another middling remake of a beloved Disney classic that’s better than some but is still a long way from home.