Lilo & Stitch has always been special among Disney cartoons. The story began at the beach on a sunny day and then it went into space. There were two sisters who stood by one another. The 2025 live action remake does not just add old-fashioned sandals. Almost 25 years after Chris Sanders and Dean De Blois conceived of Experiment 626, the director Dean Fleischer Camp – known for Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – is taking a hands-on approach that puts the authentic Hawaiian feel over the theme park look. The movie has trouble duplicating famous scenes precisely, but it’s life when it tells stories about human beings-and the little guy steals the roles that the big alien actions had in the first movie.

Story and character

Lilo is Maya Kealoha, a girl from Kauai who takes pictures of tourists and gives them peanut butter sandwiches at the town pond. Nani is played by Sydney Agudong. She has several jobs and is very busy because social workers are constantly checking on her unstable family. Then there’s Stitch, the most animated character in the film. He was created by Chris Sanders. He made his alien chirp and modified him (digitally, of course) to make him sound clear. The question posed in the film is: what constitutes a family? The answer has more to do with the new environment, which demonstrates how quickly the systems that support old traditions can fall apart when money is tight.

Visual effects

The first shots look real. Stitch was created completely on a computer, but he has a natural appearance because he has a fur texture. It also reflects the Kauai sunlight. His paw prints leave wet prints on the kitchen floor. Real stunt rigs make the action look big, from a funny chase through the farmers market in Hilo to a slow motion fall on a wave on the north shore. Quyen Tran shoots in warm natural light instead of bright teal and orange colors so the green of taro fields and the blue of the Pacific really stand out without looking fake. When the screen opens up to reveal a spaceship hovering over the Nai Pali Coast, the effect feels earned, not cheap.

Tone and humor

Fans may wonder whether the jokes from the cartoon of 2002 will hold in a live-action movie. Most jokes still work. The people laugh a lot at Stitch does silly movement. One scene that was funny was in the kitchen with a fan and a big bag of powder. Director Fleischer Kamp included these jokes in the movie to entertain the audience and to make a character. Courtney B. Vance portrays Cobra Bubbles who is calm, but intimidating. He does not speak much, as in the cartoon. Every time viewers look at him they learn that the true government is scarier than any alien spaceship.

Music

Composer Alan Silvestri has returned with a new music score featuring a mixture of sound from ukulele, slack key guitar, and a full orchestra. Musicians from Hawaii have recorded new covers of Elvis songs; Jack Johnson’s sad song “Suspicious Minds” depicts the ties of the islands to visitors and to pop culture. These songs talk about cultural fusion without making karaoke a money-making activity.

Cultural sensitivity

Disney movies with live actors have had a hard time adapting its old cartoons on other cultures. This time, they hired specialists in Hawaiian culture. The film uses some Hawaiian words, and the characters use them during everyday conversation. A new theme for protecting the planet replaces an old joke about tourism from 2002. Nani assists in restoring coral reefs, and that is the highlight of the movie.
This change helps to speed up the story and it also connects the movie to an actual location.

Performance highlights

 Maya Kealoha does not imitate Lilo’s cartoon voice. She exhibits curiosities and silent anger. Her scenes with Agudong feel like chatting with a sister – a raised eyebrow, a dropped laundry basket, a playlist on her phone.  Chris Sanders fits into Stitch’s blue fur but manages to say few words, softly and quietly, like taking a small emotional trip when he says “ohana,” which means “family.”

How to watch Lilo & Stitch

The film is not scheduled to come out until June 2025. Disney hasn’t said when it will be on Disney+. It should be launched after the window of the normal movie theater, but no definite date is known. When it will come to Disney+, you can rent or buy it on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and other online stores though the studio hasn’t planned that yet.

Pros

• The movie is shot in actual locations in Hawaii.
• Maia Kealoha’s best known role is Lilo.
• Stitch’s CGI look is a combination of both cartoons and realistic styles.
• There is a score for the soundtrack, and there are new versions of Elvis Presley songs.
• The filmmaker hired cultural experts to make it authentic.

Cons

• Some of the new scenes are forced rather than natural.
• In some places the heavier tone removes the carefree funny moments from the original.

Final verdict

Lilo & Stitch (2025) takes the challenge not in duplicating all elements of the original cartoon, but in what matters to us today. It covers our concerns about fitting in, money and the earth. The movie is charming and fresh enough to earn its place in the bulging world of remakes. Families will be first drawn in by the goofy blue alien, but they will stay-whether watching in theaters or online later-for the sisters to remind us that ohana is made, protected and loved again by each new generation.