Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stitch
A lonely Hawaiian girl befriends a runaway alien, helping to mend her fragmented family.
Zoey reviewedJune 8, 2025
Let me just say right off the bat: I love the original Lilo & Stitch. I grew up with it. I’ve rewatched it so many times I can quote half the movie in my sleep. That blend of chaos, heart, and real-life family pain layered over this wild sci-fi story was lightning in a bottle. The animation had soul, the soundtrack was unforgettable, and the message hit hard—about broken families, grief, love, and choosing each other when the world tries to tear you apart. It wasn’t just a “kid’s movie.” It was real. It was raw in places. It meant something. So going into the live-action version? My hopes were mixed with dread. And now that I’ve seen it, I’ve got a lot to say.
Look, I get it—Hollywood loves to reimagine. Directors want to put their stamp on things. Studios want to modernize, add flair, make it “fresh” for a new audience. But here’s the thing: if you’re doing a live-action remake, then don’t forget the damn point. It’s not about reinventing the wheel. It’s about honoring what made the original special while translating it into a different format. The magic of the original doesn’t need “fixing.” What it needs is respect.
The heart of the movie should’ve stayed the same—family first. That gritty, awkward, emotional core about a kid and her sister trying to survive in a world that doesn’t cut them any slack. Stitch wasn’t just comic relief—he was a symbol for everything broken and misunderstood. A destructive little alien who found a home with people who were falling apart themselves. And Lilo wasn’t some cutesy Disney kid. She was weird, sad, angry, artistic, intense—real. That was the power of the movie. So why strip that down? Why dilute it?
I won’t lie—there are moments in the live-action version that do work. The visuals? Gorgeous at times. Stitch’s design? Controversial for some, but I didn’t mind it as much as I thought I would. And yes, some of the new musical choices are catchy, and it’s cool when a soundtrack evolves. But no matter how shiny it looked or how many dance breaks they threw in, it missed that soul-punch the original had.
The plot took too many liberties. They bent and warped scenes that didn’t need changing. And sometimes it felt like they were more focused on showing off what they could do technically rather than telling the story they were supposed to be adapting. I’m not saying it had to be a shot-for-shot remake, but when you start drifting so far from the original emotional beats and character dynamics, then what’s the point? You end up with something that kind of looks like Lilo & Stitch, but doesn’t feel like it.
Now, I know not every change is bad. There’s nothing wrong with evolving a story if you’re enhancing it. If you’re going deeper, fleshing things out more, giving characters room to breathe in ways they didn’t before—hell yeah, go for it. But changing things just to change them, or to shove in more spectacle, or to appeal to an imaginary “modern audience” that supposedly can’t handle emotional depth or quiet scenes? That’s where you lose me.
Some of the acting choices? Mixed bag. The actor for Lilo had charm and potential, but I don’t know if the direction let her explore the full weirdness and rawness that made original Lilo iconic. And Nani—don’t even get me started. She deserved way more screen time, way more emotional weight, and way more grit. In the animated movie, Nani was practically a second mother, trying to hold the world together with duct tape and pure desperation. She felt real. Here? Too polished. Too softened. And that gutsy, terrified, overworked version of her got lost in the fluff.
I will always give credit where it’s due. It takes guts to revisit a classic, especially one as beloved as this. And I can see the effort. I know the team behind it probably poured a lot of love into what they thought people wanted. But sometimes you’ve got to take a step back and ask, “Are we doing this because we believe in the story, or just because it’s IP that sells?”
In the end, the live-action Lilo & Stitch isn’t a bad movie. But it’s not the movie I needed it to be. It’s flashy, it’s got its moments, but it doesn’t hit the gut the way the original did. It doesn’t leave that emotional crater in your chest. It’s fine as a reimagining. But as a remake? It kind of forgot its mission.
I’m not mad. I’m not even disappointed in the way people usually mean it. I’m just… sad. Because I wanted it to bring that same feeling I got when I first heard Lilo say, “Ohana means family.” And instead, it gave me a reminder that sometimes, keeping it real beats keeping it new.
Final thoughts:
If you’ve never seen the original, you might enjoy this live-action version for what it is. But if Lilo & Stitch meant something to you growing up—if it helped you feel seen, or made you cry, or reminded you that misfits can find family—then this remake probably won’t scratch that same itch.
Watch it if you’re curious, but don’t be surprised if you end up reaching for the animated version right after, just to remember what real storytelling looks like.