Disney's Lilo & Stitch (2025) - The Good and the Bad

Disney released their latest live-action remake of an animated classic in May of this year, "Lilo & Stitch." While the topic of live-action remakes and whether they should exist sparks a lot of emotion with some people, I won't be focusing on that as a whole but rather on what was done well and not so well in this particular remake.

Everything is my personal opinion, of course.

The Good:

Lilo & Stitch - I'll start off by saying that at least the titular characters are done well. Maia Kealoha, who plays Lilo, absolutely crushes it in her acting debut. And the fact that they brought back the original voice actor for Stitch, Chris Sanders, made a difference. The CGI was also well done (nothing like those AI abominations floating around the internet at one point).

Pleakley - I'll be honest... I always found the animated version of Pleakley a little annoying. Loveable, but a bit annoying. This version of the character, played by Billy Magnussen, was much more charming and comedic. And I didn't mind that they kept him in a human form for most of the movie because Magnussen did such a stellar job with the physical comedy (even dressing in some feminine clothing to stay true to the original character).

Ohana - This is the one criticism of the movie where I feel in the minority. I think this movie did a great job of expanding the concept of what "ohana" means. Not just blood-related family, but those in our lives (friends, coworkers, neighbors) who feel like family and treat us as such. The addition of the neighbor, Tūtu, was a welcome addition, and the change at the end to have her take care of Lilo so Nani could go to college made perfect sense.

Future Setup - It was subtle and quick, but the scene of Jumba scrolling through the other experiments was also a nice touch. When the original movie was released, I doubt they had any of the other experiments' designs planned, so this was a cool way to set up a [potential] sequel.

The Bad:

Jumba/Gantu - My biggest gripe of the entire movie. Making Jumba the main antogonist over Gantu was a strange choice that I can't wrap my head around. If it was a CGI issue (Gantu is HUGE and would probably be expensive), they have the excuse of him using a cloaking device like Jumba and Pleakley. Someone like Idris Elba would've been my personal pick for a human Gantu. Jumba's redemption and becoming part of Lilo's ohana along with Pleakley was so important to the original series. It's even pivotal to the plot of one of the sequel movies where he is kidnapped and the family has to go rescue him. If a sequel live-action movie is made, I have no idea how it will work without Gantu, and Jumba still being evil.

Cobra Bubbles - Bubbles was one of the best parts of the original movie. His menacing appearance contrasted with a silly name and soft demeanor was great, and there was so much potential for this character (Terry Crews was RIGHT THERE). Not only did they water down the character, but they changed his role to the FBI and added a whole different social worker character for some reason. It removed a lot of the emotion and depth that Bubbles had.

Misc:

I know it would've been gut-wrenching, but I think it was a missed opportunity to not give us an apperance from Lilo and Nani's parents at the beginning of the movie. Give us a heartfelt scene of them all surfing together at the beginning, a storm rolls in, and they drive off to never be seen again. It would've added more emotion to their deaths if we got a chance to know them and see how great of a family they were together before they died.

Final Thoughts:

There are a few characters and moments I didn't address above because they were just middle of the road for me. Not good, not bad, just there. Nani and David were just okay. I do appreciate that they gave Nani aspirations beyond just being Lilo's sister. I think they could've done more with David to make him a more compelling character. The music was also just okay. It's hard to follow up the amazing soundtrack from the original, so not holding that against the movie.

I would probably give it a 7/10 overall. Not the best remake by a long shot, but not terrible either. The original remains my go-to watch for this franchise.