I’ve had a challenging experience with Disney’s recent trend of remaking its animated classics into live-action films. When they are done correctly, the re-examination of a fan favorite story with new context can really elevate the experience. When they’re not done correctly, which to be honest is most of the time, they can feel like dead-eyed and lifeless exoskeletons of the films legions of fans have loved for many years. I was exactly the right age for Lilo & Stitch when it came out in 2002, I was 10 years old and I remember seeing it in theaters. It’s always been associated with fond memories for me and I’ve always loved the original Lilo & Stitch. How does director Dean Fleischer Camp’s live-action Lilo & Stitch live up to the original? Better than you might think.

Six-year-old Lilo (Maia Kealoha) lives in Hawaii with her teenage sister Nani (Sydney Agudong) after both of their parents passed away some time earlier. Lilo is having a hard time making friends and staying out of trouble. One day, she makes a wish for a true friend. Little does she know, rogue alien Experiment 626, a fuzzy koala-like creature has made his way to earth and he’s got fellow aliens hunting him down. Trapped in an animal shelter, and sensing that the visiting Lilo might need a little furry friend and also wanting to keep the intergalactic fuzz off his back, 626 changes his appearance to appear more dog-like and is adopted by Lilo & Nani, being given the name Stitch. Stitch immediately causes a ton of chaos but eventually begins to learn the importance and meaning of ohana.

So, this is one of the live-action Disney adaptations where pretty much anything critical anyone could say about it might be true on some level, and it doesn’t matter to me. They basically made the same movie again and I don’t care. From my vantage point, Lilo & Stitch (2025) is not just one of Disney’s best attempts at the live action remake, but it’s a nostalgia play that works. Yes, some characters from the original aren’t here, or some of them are composited into new characters. But as an exploration and expansion of the original film’s themes – namely that of ohana (meaning family, that no one is left behind or forgotten) is expanded in a way to include the concept of community. Longtime character actress Amy Hill plays new character Tūtū, who is a longtime neighbor and de facto maternal figure to Lilo and Nani, and you get the idea this woman has been through thick and thin with them. And despite not being a blood relative, she is part of the ohana. And you get the idea so many others in this small neighborhood would do whatever it took to help out this story’s central sisters, and that provides a lovely message.

Child actress Maia Kealoha makes her feature film debut here and she’s a real find. She’s got the rambunctious energy of the original Lilo plus more heart and emotional depth. She is an utter delight to watch from beginning to end, and in a just world, the powers that be in Hollywood would be pushing her on us for the years to come in the same way they did Jacob Tremblay about a decade ago. I hope she’s got the kind of management team that would find the opportunities for her. And Sydney Agudong makes the most out of Nani’s new character arc, which is expanded in lovely ways which I won’t spoil. Billy Magnussen and Zach Galifinakis also appear as aliens Pleakley and Jumba, respectively, and I particularly enjoyed Magnussen here, giving this character full camp and embracing the absurdity and comedy of this character.

And honestly, if you’re going to do a live action Lilo & Stitch movie, half of the battle is getting the character design of Stitch right. If he isn’t rendered perfectly, the emotion of this story doesn’t work, the connection between Lilo, Nani and Stitch wouldn’t resonate with the viewer, and the chaotic antics of this character could register as cringe rather than cute. And also, this means Disney would have fumbled the bag from a merchandising perspective, and considering how incredibly financially lucrative the Stitch brand is, this would be a fatal flaw. And luckily, Dean Fleischer Camp and co. manage to avoid this. Live action Stitch is adorable, and probably the best version of this they could have done. It also helps significantly that we have Chris Sanders, co-writer and director of the original film, reprising the voice role here. 

As far as what’s added here, the entire third act is rewritten in ways that I’m still not entirely sure if they worked fully, but I will say they managed to not ruin anything that fans love so much about the original movie. The ending is fleshed out in other ways that are surprisingly satisfying emotionally, particularly in a mid-credits scene that you don’t want to miss. One of the alien characters isn’t here, probably as a result of needing to save money on CGI – this was developed originally as a film for Disney+, after all. But I will say nothing that’s cut here is particularly missed overall. Dean Fleischer Camp previously made the very cute and emotionally resonant indie Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, and if you’ve seen that film, you have a pretty good idea of the energy he brings to this one as well.

I went to this film with a friend who is a big Disney fan, she did the Disney college program and has always had a strong affection for the brand as a whole, and she has accompanied me to many of the Disney live action remakes. We both enjoyed this one, but on the way out I asked her if there’s a single one of these Disney live-action remakes that she would prefer to watch over the original film. We both agreed that there probably wasn’t. But as a whole, I’m not sure if that matters. Judging by the energy in the theater lobby alone, with adults in Stitch T-shirts bringing their children carrying Stitch plush animals and people buying the special themed popcorn buckets offered by the theater, the theater’s entire vibe was that of a big party. And it’s lovely that the children who grew up with the original Lilo & Stitch will be able to share this moment with their children. And considering the existential dread and the soul-crushing news cycle we live with on a daily basis in 2025, I think now’s the perfect time to go to a movie theater and simply have a good time. And Dean Fleischer Camp’s Lilo & Stitch is absolutely a good time – a remake done right, full of heart, laughter and joy.