Lilo & Stitch (2025) Review

Lilo & Stitch is the second remake of a Disney animated classic to be released in 2025. This film brings to life everyone’s favourite chaos-loving alien.

Experiment 626 (Chris Sanders) is a genetically engineered creature designed to be the ultimate weapon. When he evades United Galactic Federation custody, he escapes to Earth and lands on Kaua’i, Hawaii. On Kaua’i is Lilo Pelekai (Maia Kealoha), a lonely six-year-old girl who just lost her parents and is looked after by her older sister, Nani (Sydney Elizabeth Agudong). Lilo wishes for a friend and finds it in the form of a strange blue dog, a creature that’s trying to use the little girl as a human shield.

Lilo & Stitch is a beloved property. The original animated film is considered one of the best post-Renaissance Disney films: it’s fighting for that position with The Emperor’s New Groove and Treasure Planet. It spun off into animated shows and straight-to-DVD films. This popularity extended to the live-action remake since it beat Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning at the box office, and when I went to the cinema over the weekend, it was filled with families going to see the Disney film, and I even noticed a lot of kids with Lilo & Stitch merchandise.

The live-action Disney remakes have been a mixed bag. The Jungle Book was an improvement over the original, and Cinderella was well-liked. On the other hand, the Pinocchio remake was eviscerated by fans and critics. Snow White was on the receiving end of a culture war backlash, although I thought it was fine, if average. The Lilo & Stitch remake had a great marketing campaign, but the reviews have been mixed, and YouTubers who focus on animation have released videos about the remake being a travesty.

The original Lilo & Stitch was a zany comedy about a mischievous alien causing havoc and hiding from alien bounty hunters, but the heart of the original was the family dynamic. Nani and Lilo were a broken family unit. Nani was thrust into being a parent at a young age, Lilo was lonely because she was bullied, and Stitch inadvertently fixed the siblings, as well as learning to love. This made the original Lilo & Stitch special, and the filmmakers knew this. The remake was able to pull at the heartstrings, although I will admit personal circumstances made me a little more emotional.

Kealoha and Agudong were excellent finds for the live-action version of the Pelekai sisters. Kealoha was a terrific find to play Lilo, and gave a great performance, especially for her age. The film showed why Lilo misbehaved due to her personal issues, and she needed to take responsibility for her fur baby. Agudong was convincing as the teen who was struggling to be a guardian and breadwinner. Nina was a convincing character because she wanted to do the right thing for her sister, but had to put her life on hold for Lilo. In the remake, Nani had an opportunity to go to college, but couldn’t take it because of her obligations to her sister.

The remake also kept the humour of the animated version. Stitch was an agent of chaos, and his mischief brought a lot of slapstick throughout the film. Stitch was loved for a reason. There were a lot of comedy antics from the alien characters. Dr. Jumba Jookiba (Zach Galifianakis) and Wendell Pleakley (Billy Magnussen) were a chalk and cheese pairing as they were forced to work together, and whilst she was a small character, I liked the axolotl-looking alien who wanted to blow up Earth.

The 2025 version of Lilo & Stitch was a faithful remake. The changes that were made were superficial, like giving Dr. Jumba Jookiba and Wendell Pleakley human disguises, and showing that Cobra Bubbles (Courtney B. Vance) was a CIA agent from the start. These changes were made because the rules for live-action films were different to animated films. Plus, human actors are cheaper than CGI aliens. The remake did bring back several of the voice actors from the original film. Tia Carrere played the social worker, Amy Hill was a neighbour, and Chris Sanders reprised his role as Stitch. It was a shame Ving Rhames couldn’t return, but he was busy with the final Mission: Impossible film.

The remake of Lilo & Stitch wasn’t as strong as the animated version, but it still had a lot of heart and humour that made it a stronger live-action Disney film. I saw the film with my brother and nephews, and they really enjoyed the film.