Lilo and Stitch Live Action Remake Review- Does It Live Up to the Hype?

Did Disney make it? Did Disney save itself from the criticism of bad live-action remakes, as was its latest Snow White remake?

We had already said it before that the Lilo and Stitch live-action remake is crucial for Disney’s success in the genre since Snow White didn’t meet the expectations at the box office. The upcoming rumored Moana live-action remake is also in the pipeline.

But before that, here is our version of Lilo and Stitch live action remake review, which will help you decide whether you should rush to the cinema to watch Stitch crash-land on Earth or give it an easy skip. 

Plot details of the Lilo and Stitch live-action remake

In our previous article, we gave an overview of the plot of the Lilo and Stitch live-action remake. Still, for revisiting purposes, a six-year-old orphan girl, Lilo (played by Maia Kealoha), is raised by her older sister, Nani (played by Sydney Agudong). 

Lilo has no friends and wants a close one desperately. Meanwhile, Stitch (played by Chris Sanders, one of the directors of the 2002 animated film) comes to Earth, who is an alien lab experiment, 626, from another planet. 

They come close to each other despite causing trouble to the rest of the world, and Stitch is aggressive and uncontrollable. However, some people are after Stitch as they don’t want him to stay on this planet.

Watch the trailer here for a recap:

Actors’ performances in Lilo and Stitch 2025

The three main leads- Lilo, Stitch, and Nani- did pretty well in the film as they are the ones around whom the entire plot revolves. Nani is constantly seen struggling as an elder sister, she wants to keep Lilo beside her. She is constantly looking for a job so that she can prevent child services from taking Lilo away.

Lilo and Nani are both grieving, though. They are trying their best to overcome it, and that is when Stitch becomes part of their “ohana” (family in which nobody is left behind).  

An interesting factor that we noticed in the film this time is that there was more attention to Nani (Sydney Agudong) in this version as compared to the 2002 feature. She seems to be a devoted caretaker and is worried about her sister. Even if it means conflict with her dreams, she prioritizes her sister. 

And we need not say anything about Maia Kealoha’s Lilo and Chris Sanders’ Stitch. They are both adorable. They just see each other and are all over the place, but we love it. There is chaos because of these two, and certainly, that is what we are here for. 

What do critics add to the Lilo and Stitch live action remake review?

The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes shows a positive response to the movie. It said, 

“Recapturing the adorable charm of the original if not quite matching its rambunctious sense of imagination, Lilo & Stitch emerges out of the crate as one of the better live-action remakes of a Disney classic.” [Source]

The movie surely is a better live-action remake than most of Disney’s rest, but the critics are not very thrilled about it since it misses the “sense of imagination”. The critics felt that the plot was quickly done, and all the characters felt as if they were pushed into danger for no reason, just for the sake of making the story “manipulative”. 

The others were completely happy as the flick kept the emotional moments between Lilo, Stitch, and Nani intact. The fun moments between Lilo and Stitch were highlights of the film, allowing Disney to ditch the live-action remake failure this time, which didn’t seem like a cash grab. 

Fans reaction

Fans are much enamored with the charm of Lilo and Stitch’s nostalgia, and they “definitely recommend it”. They loved everything about it- the characters, the direction, the visuals, and the story, of course. They found the emphasis on family, love, and care for each other to be the best part of the narrative, and most of them were left in tears. 

Is it worth watching?

Disney did not leave any chance for mistakes this time, and that is what makes it totally worth watching! Since Disney didn’t change the story much, as it wanted to stick to the 2002 original film’s roots, which is a good thing, the interest and intrigue levels were retained. We loved the opening moments of Lilo and Stitch, which closely replicated the content of the 2002 film but with more speed, more rumpus, and more excitement this time.  

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Disney’s Lilo and Stitch (@liloandstitch)

Stitch was a believable-looking CGI-animated buddy that did justice to the character. It was fun to watch Lilo and Stitch getting close in their amusing moments, especially when Nani asked them to sit like good kids, but they decided otherwise. They were seen splattering water on each other, Stitch setting things on fire, which obviously came out as a disaster, but we couldn’t help but smile to ourselves, watching these two create a world of their own.

A big thumbs up to Disney for the Lilo and Stitch live-action remake. Disney might have cracked the code for making good live-action remakes, and we can expect something good to come our way when it comes to Moana’s live-action remake.  

Our rating: 7.5 

Is Lilo and Stitch live-action available for streaming?

Right now, Lilo and Stitch 2025 is playing in theaters, but it is expected to get an online streaming date for Disney+ later.

Genre: Action, adventure, comedy, family, fantasy

IMDb rating: 7.0

Rotten Tomatoes: 70 percent on Tomatometer (critics’ score) and 93 percent on Popcornmeter 

Cast: Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders, Sydney Agudong, Zach Galifianakis, Hannah Waddingham, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Jason Scott Lee

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Writers: Chris Kekanioikalani Bright, Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders

Producers: Jonathan Eirich, Dan Lin

Release date: May 23, 2025

Movie runtime: 1 hour 48 minutes 

Do you agree with the review here? How did you find Lilo and Stitch 2025? Share your thoughts in the comments.