Disney’s latest live-action remake, Lilo & Stitch (2025), attempts to recreate the charm of the beloved 2002 animated classic but ultimately gets lost in Hollywood spectacle and unnecessary additions. The story of the mischievous six-legged alien Stitch remains largely unchanged, he’s genetically programmed to cause chaos, not because he chooses to be bad. Yet, this version is weighed down by bombastic explosions, a CIA subplot, and Tom Cruise-style heroics that feel out of place and overblown.
The film follows Lilo, a lonely 6-year-old Native Hawaiian girl bullied by her peers, played sweetly by Maia Kealoha. Her relationship with her older sister, portrayed with soulful depth by Sydney Elizabeth Agudong, is expanded here to include the sister’s dreams of becoming a marine biologist. “Am I bad?” Lilo asks her sister, to which she replies, “You’re not bad. You just do bad things sometimes.” This heartfelt dynamic remains the emotional core of the film.
Stitch, voiced once again by Chris Sanders, is faithfully brought to life with remarkable detail — from his fur to his koala-like nose. However, turning the 2002 animated story into live-action led to some puzzling changes. Two alien bounty hunters, originally quirky animated characters, are now human clones played by Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen. Unfortunately, the comedic energy they brought is lost in translation, leaving their roles as two bumbling doofuses.
Tia Carrere returns from the original, this time as a social services case worker, while Courtney B. Vance adds a new character, a CIA officer conflicted over his duty when faced with the alien Stitch. Director Dean Fleischer Camp, known for Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, skillfully blends live-action and CGI but leans heavily into chaotic action sequences that include lasers, blender mishaps, and a house fire, all of which feel excessive.
“What deranged maniac would create something like this?” asks the head of the Galactic Federation about Stitch in the film, a line that could easily apply to whoever approved this remake. The screenplay by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes borrows heavily from the original script by Sanders and Dean DeBlois, recycling dialogue and scenes with little fresh insight.
Despite its flaws, Lilo & Stitch still conveys its original message about family and love overcoming dysfunction, even if it is buried beneath temporal portals, a Jet Ski chase, and an over-the-top finale.
Lilo & Stitch (2025), rated PG for “action, peril and thematic elements,” runs for 148 minutes and opens today. It earns a modest one and a half stars out of four, a reminder that some classics are best left untouched.
Paraluman P. Funtanilla
Paraluman P. Funtanilla is Tutubi News Magazine's Marketing Specialist and is a Contributing Editor. She finished her degree in Communication Arts in De La Salle Lipa. She has worked as a Digital Marketer for start-up businesses and small business spaces for the past two years. She has earned certificates from Coursera on Brand Management: Aligning Business Brand and Behavior and Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content. She also worked with Asia Express Romania TV Show.
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla#molongui-disabled-link
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla#molongui-disabled-link
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla#molongui-disabled-link
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla#molongui-disabled-link
