Lilo and Stitch review: If you have to watch a Disney remake, make it this one

When it comes to Disney's live-action remakes of its own animated films, my position is firmly "against."

Aside from being nostalgia-baiting cash grabs, films like 2017's Beauty and the Beast and 2025's Snow White may boast solid performances, but they never manage to recapture the magic of the medium that built the Disney empire in the first place. Gorgeous, emotive fantasy worlds like The Little Mermaid's underwater kingdom or Aladdin's Agrabah are flattened into CGI sludge. Strange adaptation choices like extra subplots (who needed to know so much about Prince Eric?) clog up what were originally tight, often powerful stories.

Disney isn't even reaching that far back into its catalogue to create these movies. This year's Lilo & Stitch retells the story of a film released all the way back in... 2002. (Meanwhile, 2026's live-action Moana remakes an animated film that's just barely a decade old.)

Despite my skepticism, 2025's Lilo & Stitch managed to win me over more than any other Disney live-action remake so far. Much of it comes down to the continuing charm of the original movie, which director Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel The Shell With Shoes On) capably emulates in the remake. Aside from the occasional baffling change from the original, Lilo & Stitch cements itself as sweetly fun in its own right, thanks to its loving treatment of its central pairing.

Lilo and Stitch shine in live action, too.

Maia Kealoha and Stitch in "Lilo & Stitch." Credit: Disney

Like many Disney remakes before it, Lilo & Stitch kicks off as a fairly beat-for-beat recreation of the original film. Exiled alien experiment Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders, who co-directed and voiced Stitch in the original film) crash lands in Hawaii, where six-year-old orphan Lilo Pelekai (Maia Kealoha) adopts him as a pet. Together, these two get up to heaps of trouble — but they also learn important messages about family and responsibility.

These familiar beats worked well in the animated film, and they translate well to live action. (Even if this movie is sorely lacking the vibrant colors of the original.) Much of that success comes down to the enduring power of the dynamic duo at Lilo & Stitch's heart, both of whom shine in "live-action."

Newcomer Kealoha is absolutely precious as Lilo, both a rebellious firecracker and a vulnerable outcast. She faces the tough job of acting opposite a completely CGI character, yet she makes every interaction with Stitch feel grounded and real. Any scene where she and Stitch hug? Instant tears.

Stitch himself proves a star in live action as well as animation. Camp and his team crafted a creature who looks and feels real (get a load of that fur!), all without sacrificing expression for photorealism. From his twitchy ears to his massive dark eyes, Stitch proves to be the most successful translation of an animated Disney creature to live action, in large part because the film maintains his dynamic sense of chaos. (A scene where he tears through a wedding is an early highlight.) Sanders' voice work remains impeccable as well, nicely bridging the two iterations of the character.

How is this Lilo & Stitch different from the original? Pleakley and Jumba.

Billy Magnussen and Zach Galifianakis in "Lilo & Stitch." Credit: Zach Dougan

Not every Lilo & Stitch character translates as well to live action, though. Stitch's creator, scientist Jumba Jookiba (Zach Galifianakis), and his partner in hunting Stitch down, Earth expert Pleakley (Billy Magnussen), look uncanny as CGI aliens. In Jumba's case, it's a matter of having two many eyes (four), and in Pleakley's, too few (one).

Lilo & Stitch knows this looks less than ideal, which is why the pair spends most of the film in human forms — thanks to alien cloning technology. This allows Fleischer Camp to focus the creature effects on Stitch, as well as add the physical comedy of two aliens trying to look human. Magnussen excels here, his Pleakley all manic smiles and overzealous body language.

Tragically missing is Pleakley's penchant for female-coded clothing, which Camp has stated on tiktok that he tried to include. The omission feels like an attempt to erase any moment that could be read as queer (even though Pleakley and Jumba still feel very queer-coded), making for another disappointing instance of self-censorship on Disney's part. Earlier this year, Disney's Pixar cut a transgender storyline from its series Win or Lose, and in 2022 cut a same-sex kiss in Lightyear until staff pressure led to its restoration.

Also missing is Lilo's penchant for photographing tourists in Hawaii. What little critique the original had of over tourism in Hawaii is replaced with Lilo sneaking into resorts instead. This too feels like Disney removing Lilo & Stitch's more subversive elements. Given that this story centers on two wild balls of chaos, taming even the slightest edges of the original undermines Lilo & Stitch's very core.

Another disarming change is the removal of the original's ultimate antagonist Captain Gantu. A 20-foot-tall shark-like alien, he likely would have been difficult to render well considering Lilo & Stitch's $100 million budget, which makes it among the cheaper live-action Disney offerings. Still, his absence moves Jumba into a more antagonistic role. Galifianakis, while generally funny, doesn't channel much of Jumba's mad scientist energy. So his take on Jumba comes across as less menacing and more exasperated — an odd choice for a Big Bad.

Lilo and Nani's relationship is a highlight in Lilo & Stitch.

Maia Kealoha and Sydney Agudong in "Lilo & Stitch." Credit: Matt Kennedy

While some of Lilo & Stitch's changes from the original don't function very well, the film's decision to focus even more on Nani's (Sydney Agudong) struggles in raising Lilo proves rewarding. The animated film painted a moving portrait of an overwhelmed young woman trying to do what's right for her sister. Camp takes his cues from that to further explore Nani's aspirations and her anxieties, which include securing health insurance for her and Lilo. Agudong is often heartbreaking in these scenes of real-world struggle. Her and Kealoha share a sweet, playful chemistry that brings their sisterhood to poignant life.

These tender scenes between Lilo and Nani are among the most powerful and grounded sequences I've seen in a live-action Disney remake. Also effective are Lilo's bonding scenes with Stitch, including a water fight and a sweet kiss on the nose. Again, much of that impact comes down to how well these same scenes worked in the original film, which makes talking about Disney remakes feel like grading on a curve.

Still, this Lilo & Stitch retains much of the fun of the 2002 film, and it comes with great performances and effects work that actually makes Stitch feel real. Like with every Disney remake, you'd be better off watching the original, but if you have to watch one of the remakes, make it this one.

Lilo & Stitch opens in theaters on May 23.