‘Ohana’ means family and fans of Disney’s animation will know the line that comes next, but even as audiences embrace the latest fun and emotional live-action retelling of the beloved 2002 animated film, Lilo & Stitch, let’s also remember that no family has that fairytale ending Hollywood glamourises, and there will be moments where you just need time away from family.
Lilo & Stitch (2025) continues the recent trend of the House of Mouse revisiting its library of animated films as live-action, but with over a dozen titles having made the transition, one would be hard-pressed to name a modern remake that has emerged as being memorable or superior over the original. Longtime fans of the 2002 classic remember it as one of Disney’s last hand-drawn animated films, and despite its age, there is something heartwarming and memorable about the film that spaned multiple home-video sequels, short films and an animated series.
Directed by Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon, Wild Robot), who also voiced the loveable blue genetically modified alien Stitch, the original was a whimsical tale about family and loyalty, told against a Hawaiian backdrop with an alien in the centre. Handdrawn animation, while paling in comparison to the sophisticated polish of 3D animation, has a stylistic quality to it, which made it an instant classic. The 2025 is an almost beat-by-beat remake of that, offering few surprises, with some narrative updates that simply serve to switch things up, and nothing more.
Young Lilo (Maia Kealoha, in her acting debut), together with her elder sister, Nani (TV’s Sydney Elizebeth Agudong), only have each other after the death of their parents, though there is a risk of seperation, if only Lilo didn’t jeopardise her sister’s job with her antics and tantrums.
Meanwhile, Experiment 626, a genetic agent of destruction created by mad scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba (Zach Galifianakis) escapes exile and hides on Earth, in Hawaii of all places. Agent Pleakley (Billy Magnussen), along with Joobika, is tasked to capture the furry blue creature, while not alerting the inhabitants of the planet. 626, renamed Stitch by Lilo who found him, masquerades as her pet dog to evade capture and discovers the family he never knew he wanted.
The mischievous Stitch, still voiced by Sanders, acts and behaves like he did in the majority of Disney outings, forever wreaking havoc in a bid to remain undetected, but inadvertently causing some level of messiness that requires human intervention or cleanup. A lot of the humour comes from Stich slobbering all over because he’s a blue dog that everyone questions but falls for, and from the other two illegal aliens, one who thinks he knows Earth culture, and they end up Abbot and Costello-ing along the story.
Galifianakis is the surly mad-scientist who wants to rescue his greatest creation, while Magnussen is more interested in observing and indulging in Earth culture, than playing bounty hunter but other than playing for type, neither talented actor adds much to their established characters. In fact, the majority of the movie is pretty much a retelling of the original but with prettier graphics and realistic humans. Agudong, and especially Kealoha, have huge shoes to fill and luckily, they do enough to make you feel them as more than suitable replacements to the original. Naturally, 23 years after the original gives audiences a chance to reflect that despite Lilo being a kid, she is rather spoilt and her rather impetuous behaviour is what led to the predicament with her sister losing custody. But of course, Disney isn’t here to make any changes and why do they? Kealoha is adorable and has the energy to match that of Stitch, who, through his interactions with the siblings, learns about caring for others.
There’s joy in seeing, or rather hearing, Sanders’ return, just as fans would appreciate seeing Tia Carrere play social worker Mrs. Kekoa handling the case of both sisters. While she was the voice of Nani in the original, her character here is new. Sort of. In the original film, the role of social worker Cobra Bubbles was also a former CIA officer but now, Bubbles, played by Courtney B. Vance, is simply a CIA officer looking to capture an alien who landed in Hawaii. Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), who voiced David, Nani’s boyfriend in the animated film, now plays one of Nani’s managers in an extended cameo, while Amy Hill (Magnum P.I. reboot), who voiced Mrs. Hasagawa in the animated film and animated series returns as Tūtū, grandmother of David and neighbour to the sisters.
If you’re a fan of the original, nothing here will change that. While there are elements to love in this one, it’s too similar to the first. Interestingly, my daughters love the original and adore the new one as well, so maybe there is a reason for these remakes, for a younger generation to appreciate the classics of the older generation, in modern live-action glory – like enjoying a theatrical cut, and appreciating the extended cut on home video as well.
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