“Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind.”
This is one of the most memorable quotes from Disney, and it has made its return in the 2025 live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch.” The much-anticipated movie had trailers streaming everywhere there was a screen, with Stitch merchandise plastered anywhere that sold souvenirs, clothing or even home goods. (No, seriously, I even found a Stitch cushion that lights up in the back.)
Even with this celebratory (and capitalistic) fanfare around the movie’s release, I felt ambivalent going into the theaters. On the one hand, I was excited to see beloved characters from my childhood acting out a heartwarming story about finding belonging in unlikely places and redefining what it means to be a family. Plus, after watching clips of the CGI Stitch, I found he wasn’t half bad in resembling the expressively adorable one from the animated film. On the other hand, I was aware of the controversies and discourse surrounding the remake, particularly around its casting, lack of a well-loved queer element and altering Nani’s costuming to prevent oversexualization.
Despite this mix of opinions, I was just as emotionally moved by this version as I was by the one that came out more than 20 years ago. Though the remake ran 23 minutes longer and took out some of my favorite scenes — like Lilo narrating “The Ugly Duckling” story to Stitch — it made up for it by portraying the realities of guardianship and responsibility in a way that older audiences could understand.
Like the animated version, the live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch” follows an outcast orphan named Lilo, played by Native Hawaiian Maia Kealoha (debut), who adopts Stitch (Chris Sanders, “The Wild Robot”), a fugitive alien mutation that others on his planet call a “flawed product of a deranged mind.” The two then go on to have a rocky relationship where Stitch’s penchant for destruction almost rips Lilo’s family apart: Nani (Sydney Agudong, “At Her Feet”), Lilo’s older sister and now legal guardian, loses her job and struggles to find a new one. To make matters worse, Jumba (Zach Galifianakis, “Thelma the Unicorn”), the creator of Stitch, and Pleakley (Billy Magnussen, “Reunion”) chase Stitch, endangering Lilo’s loved ones and her memory-filled home.
As the film goes on, Lilo and Stitch find belonging and solace in each other, rather than their respective social circles — Hula School for Lilo and planet Quelte Quan for Stitch. The “delinquent” parts of Lilo and Stitch that isolated them from their peers ultimately brought them together as they discovered what it meant to embrace self-acceptance. So over time, what began as constant tug-of-war battles and frustrating disobedient behavior eventually becomes tender and affectionate hugs that rebuild an unconventional family together.
Given the many iconic scenes from the original in the trailer — Stitch escaping in a red spaceship, Stitch landing on Earth with an ominous neon haze and Lilo finding Stitch at the animal shelter — one would expect a film almost identical to the 2002 version. Instead, we get changes that emphasize the parentification of the eldest daughter and the village community, which helps focus on the movie’s theme of family togetherness.
In this film, Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrere, “Waltzing with Brando”) replaces the social worker from the beginning of the original. She lists out concrete responsibilities for Nani to handle, such as paying bills on time and filing for health insurance — stressors that many adults today could probably relate to. While Nani bears this caregiving role, she has more of her own identity than in the original, where her whole world essentially revolved around Lilo. In the live action, Nani is a top student and skilled surfer with hopes of becoming a marine biologist, a passion that comes at odds with her desire to be there for her sister. Giving Nani’s personality more depth makes her a more nuanced character, as she juggles being a motherly sister and an ambitious, career-oriented young woman.
Another welcomed and major change is the addition of Mrs. Hasagawa (Amy Hill, “Orion and the Dark”), a close neighbor of Lilo. She also happened to be the grandmother of David (Jason Scott Lee, “The Wind & the Reckoning”), the male love interest from the original. Except in this version, David plays the role of a clueless and funny side character, giving the women in the movie a chance to truly shine.
The saying “it takes a village to raise a child” couldn’t ring more true than in the live action, where scenes show Mrs. Hasagawa babysitting Lilo when Nani is working or when David takes Lilo out to surf. Given the small village the movie is set in, it seemed more realistic to have community members help out with raising Lilo rather than isolating Nani to do it all by herself. This enhanced the viewing experience by bringing in a colorful cast of characters to help with Lilo’s development as she grows up in an enriching community that’s more than just her and her sister, like in the animated version.
In all honesty, I didn’t expect to tear up at the end. A lot of poignant scenes from the original were missing: the cartoon Stitch was definitely cuter when he asked to say goodbye and it seemed the extra run time from the movie went to Stitch’s wild antics. Strangely enough, it was the changes, not reenactments of the original, that made me cry. It was the illustration of the “realities” of providing a good upbringing and helping others feel as if they belonged that I felt most emotionally drawn to.
The comedic relief scenes from Stitch near the start of the film seemed to be there to attract younger viewers, probably reminding them of their own impulsively troublesome behaviors. Surprisingly, it didn’t come off as overly childish, since the more mature changes seemed to tug at the heartstrings of the old fans who grew up watching the film.
Somehow, Disney, at least this time, has struck a balance in its quest to appeal to the mass audiences with their newest live-action remake.
Daily Arts Writer Michelle Wu can be reached at michewu@umich.edu.
