Disney's Live Action 'Lilo & Stitch' Crash Lands On Disney +

Warning, this article may contain spoilers if you have not yet seen the film.

Growing up Lilo & Stitch was one of my sister and I's favourite movie franchises. We both would never get tired watching it over and over again as it became an instant Disney classic when it was released in the early 2000s, but with live action films changing a lot from their original source material, and differing in certain aspects, does the 2025 remake live up to the original?

Live action remakes in my opinion have been a hit or miss. Disney's Beauty And The Beast and Aladdin seemed to have done extremely well, and were executed correctly, same with some of the world building films based on the originals like Cruella and Maleficent. Other films of theirs like Cinderella and Snow White were also decently made, but missed some of the classic parts of the original films. Recently Dreamworks released a live action film for How To Train Your Dragon, which was incredibly spot on to the original source material. Lilo & Stitch was a blend of changes and paying homage to the initial film, but it worked.

Some of the biggest key changes in the 2025 version of Lilo & Stitch is the erasure of Gantu, the shark/ whale alien bounty hunter, Jumba's Russian accent, the social worker and Cobra Bubbles being two separate characters, and the lack of Drag from Pleakly. The film also had a slight re-arrangement of scenes, such as Stitch's destruction of a homemade San Francisco became him taking down a row of sand castles. The film also used elements from the animated sequels, like when Stitch is being given a therapy session from Lilo in Lilo & Stitch: Stitch Has a Glitch, how Stitch describes his feelings is used when he is holding a pop dispenser as a gun in the live action. The film also replaced Gantu as the villian with Jumba, which in my opinion for the live action, worked.

The scene where Stitch almost drowns in the water was shifted towards the end of the film, after the destruction of the family home and Jumba kidnaps Stitch and threatened to turn him into experiment 627. This worked as a great ending, adding the perfect mix of drama and suspense. The use of 'Ohana', and representing the strong bond of family is still extremely strong and present in the film, even showing the examples that friends and neighbours, though not blood related, can still be your Ohana.

The film will leave you laughing and smiling, especially with scenes of Stitch getting up to no good. My mom and stepdad have two French bulldogs, and seeing how Stitch acts reminded me so much of when both of the Frenchies would get up to no good. The film will also leave you wiping away tears from your eyes, especially with the threat of Lilo, Nani and Stitch being split up, and the perils that Lilo and Stitch may face, whether it be their safety or wellbeing.

I know there was a lot of backlash to the films ending, but it isn't as heartbreaking as what the internet made it seem to be. Nani does have to give up Lilo to CPS, but the next door neighbour Tutu offers to take Lilo in to live with her and David so that Nani can go to school to pursue her dreams of becoming a marine biologist. Though Nani is living on the mainland in school, she has a portal gun taken from Jumba to continuously keep visiting Lilo as frequently as possible, and once her life is properly in order can Lilo return to live with her. Until then she has her extended Ohana living with her made up of Tutu, David, Cobra Bubbles and Pleakly.

The Film is now available to stream on Disney + and stars Sydney Agudong, Zach Galifianakis, Maia Kealoha, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Chris Sanders, Amy Hill, and Jason Scott Lee.