Chante JVR

★★★★☆

I think it’s fair to say that when we watched this, we didn’t look at it as if it’s some kind of American propaganda video that promotes the military and advocates for leaving your sister in the hands of the system, despite what TikTok might be saying. While those points are valid, my husband and I were looking for a fun night of nostalgia and didn’t think too hard about it. And no, it doesn’t follow the original movie beat-for-beat. But if you go in with a little perspective, remembering that this is a kid’s movie, it’s honestly a delightful watch. I still cried multiple times. Even my husband cried. And that man is made of stone.

The live-action remake, written by Mike Van Waes and Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, follows young Lilo (Maia Kealoha), a quirky girl who struggles to fit in, living in a small Hawaiian town with her older sister and guardian Nani (Sydney Agudong) after the loss of their parents. Desperate for a friend and a sense of belonging, Lilo adopts a bizarre-looking “dog” from the local shelter—who she names Stitch (Chris Sanders) who turns out to be a genetically engineered alien experiment designed for chaos and destruction. As Stitch hides from the Galactic Federation agents sent to retrieve him (Zach Galifragilisticexpialidocious and Billy Magnussen), he learns what it means to care for others through Lilo’s unwavering love and the concept of ohana.

Meanwhile, Nani struggles to hold their fragile world together under the scrutiny of child services worker Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrere), the threat of CIA agent Cobra Bubbles (Courtney B. Vance), who is investigating Stitch’s crash, and the looming threat of separation. While this version leans more into real-world emotion and slightly less chaos than the animated original, but it still packs a punch where it counts.

What works

🌊The emotional beats still hit hard.
🌊Hearing Chris Sanders reprise his iconic role as the voice of Stitch? Pure nostalgic joy. Stitch is as chaotic and lovable as ever. And freaking adorable (seriously, he’s dangerously cute).
🌊The visuals are vibrant.
🌊The soundtrack, while slightly different than the original, keeps that island heart.
🌊One of the true standouts of the film is Maia Kealoha as Lilo. She brings an incredibly grounded, mischievous, and emotionally rich performance to the role—never trying to imitate the animated version but fully making the character her own. She carries both the goofiness and the grief of Lilo in a way that feels deeply human, and every scene with her is magnetic. Watching her bond with Stitch is where the heart of the movie lives.
🌊Billy Magnussen as Pleakley was a real surprise. While he doesn’t wear drag in this version (reportedly due to budget constraints), he compensates with a wardrobe of wonderfully feminine, subtly flamboyant clothing choices. Think flowery knit shirts and whatnot. He keeps Pleakley’s anxious energy intact while leaning into a kind of modern, alien-trying-his-best-and-still-failing aesthetic that works surprisingly well.

What doesn’t

🚀It does deviate from the original, leaving out iconic moments.
🚀One of the more noticeable changes is how Jumba is positioned more firmly as an antagonist in this version. In the original, he was a chaotic, morally flexible “mad scientist,” sure, but still more comic relief than real villain. We had Gantu for that. Here, with Gantu not being present and the film needing a villain, Jumba’s actions leans more to the darker and more menacing side, and that shift in tone makes him feel like a more traditional villain. This honestly flattens some of the nuance that made him such an interesting character to begin with.
🚀Some plot points feel a little rushed, and there’s a weird tonal shift near the middle that doesn’t quite land.

Final Thoughts

Lilo & Stitch (2025) is not trying to replace the original—it’s just reimagining it for a new generation. And for what it is, I think it works.