A Hawaiian roller coaster ride of movie: Lilo & Stitch Live Action Movie recap and review
Last week, I had the immense pleasure of attending an early screening of the Lilo & Stitch live-action remake film in theaters! The original Lilo & stitch animated film is near and dear to my heart, and is one of my favorite childhood movies that I still rewatch to this day.
I was a bit hesitant at first about this live-action because, as I’m sure many people are aware, Disney’s live-action remake haven’t really been a hit in the past. All of the fun promo leading up to the movie, though, was getting me excited! I loved all the Stitch takeovers and crossovers into other films that was so reminiscent of how they marketed the original animation - it felt like they were really taking care of the charisma and charm of this movie to make sure it matched the original.
In this recap and review, there will be SPOILERS of the movie! So if you’d like to avoid spoilers, please come back to read this after you’ve seen the movie!!
I will say that overall, I did really enjoy it. I laughed a lot and even cried and teared up a few times. So suffice it to say, it was a great experience as a whole. If you’re a fan of the original, I think you’ll still have a good time with the live-action! I did end up watching the live-action twice, and I actually found that I appreciated the movie more the second time around than I did the first!
In this post, I really want to discuss the differences between the live-action and the animation and how I feel like it impacted my experience of the film as a viewer. I’m not typically very critical of movies so I really tried to give it a fair chance!
Lilo & Stitch live-action changes
Here are some of the changes that the live-action made to the animated story. There are definitely more, but here are the ones that stood out in my mind after watching the live-action and rewatching the animated original.
There is no Gantu
Captain Gantu from the animated Lilo & Stitch movie. Credit: Disney+
I think a lot of people knew this already based on some interviews that are circling around online. Gantu as a character was cut from the storyline, which impacts the development of other characters that need to fulfill Gantu’s plot contributions. Overall, I can see why they felt that removing this character would allow for them to delve into other parts of the story. I liked the additional humor that was brought by Gantu in the original, but actually overall I didn’t super miss him in the live-action. I actually think cutting him out was a fine idea and worked out well for the story that was being told this time around.
Lilo doesn’t punch or bite Mertle during hula
Lilo fighting with Mertle. Credit: Disney+
This was honestly one of my favorite fun scenes in the original animation. It just shows how spunky and fierce Lilo is (and honestly Mertle deserved it). The live-action Lilo does push Mertle off the stage though during their hula performance, which is what replaced the tussle. I actually wasn’t a fan of the live-action sequence because Mertle actually hip checks Lilo to the floor during a hula performance in front of a bunch of parents and family members only for Lilo to retaliate by pushing Mertle off the stage. They then have Mertle’s parents or whomever complaining to the hula teacher that Lilo’s a bad kid or whatever which I find to be so ridiculous that 1) Mertle pushed Lilo first and everyone’s conveniently ignoring that despite them doing IN FRONT OF THE AUDIENCE, and 2) Lilo is literally an orphan and there’s no way those parents don’t know that. How can those parents not have any sympathy for Lilo? Yes, she probably shouldn’t have pushed Mertle off the stage, but their kid did it first. Honestly, maybe that is more realistic that parents would behave like that for their own children, but the hula teacher should have given Lilo more grace instead of kicking her out of hula altogether.
Cobra Bubbles is not their social worker
Cobra Bubbles from Lilo & Stitch. Credit: Disney+
Nani and Lilo’s social worker is actually played but original voice actress of Nani from the animated film! I thought that was a cute addition to the movie, and I loved that they incorporated original cast into this film (like Stitch!). However, in the live-action, Cobra Bubbles is actually an active CIA agent who then goes undercover as the social services director. His role felt a little forced, as if they felt the need to keep the character, but just didn’t know how to? If was the actual director who also was ex-CIA like he was in the original film, I feel like that could have explained his involvement with the Pelekai family in the end just as well?
David and his grandmother are Nani and Lilo’s neighbors
They introduced a new character in this film, Tutu, who is David’s mom and a maternal figure to Nani and Lilo in the absence of their parents. I think she’s a nice addition who provides more emotional support for the girls and also adds humor, some of which I didn’t really care for, though (I’m looking at Alvin).
Nani wants to be a marine biologist and gets accepted to UCSD
The live-action version of Nani was created with aspirations which aren’t touched upon at all in the animated film. In the live-action, Nani gets accepted with a full-ride to UCSD for marine biology. The reason she chooses not to go is because she needs to stay on the island to care for Lilo, but the topic of her future come into discussion in both the beginning and ending of the film.
Nani doesn’t take Lilo to adopt a dog
Nani & Lilo adopting Stitch at the dog shelter. Credit: Disney+
In the live-action, Tutu is the one who lets Lilo go to a dog shelter, and it’s somewhere she actually visits quite often. When she meets Stitch for the first time, she wants to adopt him and Tutu allows her to. When Nani finds this out, she gets upset and wants to return Stitch back to the shelter the next day. I think this slightly changes the relationship between Nani and Stitch since she basically never wants him in the first place and makes that super clear from the beginning, whereas in the animation Nani still doesn’t want Lilo to choose Stitch, but she hesitantly goes along with it because she’s trying to make Lilo happy and she’s the one who let Lilo choose her own dog.
Jumba and Pleakley are mostly in human form during the movie
Jumba & Pleakley in human form. Credit: Disney
I’m pretty sure they did this because using human actors is more straightforward than having to use CGI for all the scenes. As a fan of Jumba and Pleakley hijinks I was really sad that they just weren’t quite as funny or quirky, and I’m not sure if that’s due in part to them being in human form? Overall, they had much less to do in the live-action, especially Pleakley :(
No mosquito obsession
Pleakley covered in mosquitos. Credit: Disney+
Pleakley in the live-action does mention the mosquitos when he talks about Earth, but there’s no scene between him and the mosquitos like there is in the animation which I personally find hilarious. The mosquitos also come full circle in the end when Cobra Bubbles reveals he’s the one who made the false claim about mosquitos to keep the aliens from destroying Earth long ago. There’s no payoff regarding the mosquitos in the live-action so it almost feels like they would have been better off cutting that bit out entirely, since it didn’t add much to the comic relief.
Stitch is less destructive
Stitch in the Lilo & Stitch live-action. Credit: Disney
Stitch has his chaotic moments and acts out, but he’s not quite as destructive in the live-action as he is in the animated movie, and I think that impacted his character development overall. In the animated film, he’s known to be a monster whose only goal in life is to destroy. And as he’s using Lilo for protection, he acts pretty viciously towards her and around her (hence the badness chart!). But that’s also why his protectiveness and goodness that comes out towards the end is so impactful, because it showed that he really did have the capacity for change and for love. In the live-action, a lot of Stitch’s destructiveness seems to primarily come from accidents or silliness rather than Stitch generally being a destroyer who can’t control himself sometimes.
No Ugly Duckling story
Stitch coming across a duck. Credit: Disney+
This part of the animated film is excluded from the live-action. However, they do replace it with a scene in which Lilo shows Stitch a family album and she talks about her parents and Nani. She asks Stitch about his family and he realizes and acknowledges that he doesn’t have a family of his own. This ends up being a very sweet scene between Lilo and Stitch, and Stitch perks up at a hula dancer postcard so Lilo teaches him a hula dance for Aloha Oe. The ending of this dance comes back in the end in what I thought was a very lovely and tearjerking scene.
Little to no Elvis!
Stitch dressed as Elvis. Credit: Disney+
Lilo in the original animated film is pretty much obsessed with Elvis, and he plays quite a big role in informing Lilo’s character! Yes, the lip syncing record scene is still in the film, and they do play Elvis’s songs as part of the soundtrack, but he just wasn’t really involved in the movie as explicitly, and I thought that kind of took away from Lilo’s general quirkiness as a character.
Lilo and Stitch don’t have conflict
In the original animated film, Lilo and Stitch actually do have a few bouts of conflict. After the incident at the Luau when Stitch takes the Ugly Duckling book to leave, Lilo has a pretty tragic monologue about her broken family, and how he could be a part of it. As he leaves through the window she has a really depressing line about how she remembers everyone who leaves.
Then after the aliens attack Lilo’s house, Stitch reveals himself to her as an alien himself. She actually gets mad at him, pushes him a way, and blames him for the wreckage that he brought to her. It was actually so moving to see the conflict between them and the ultimate recovery. His effort to save her from abduction is what shows Lilo that he wasn’t going to leave her, and it strengthens their bond overall.
In the live-action no such conflict exists. Lilo doesn’t even really acknowledge that Stitch essentially used her and betrayed her trust the entire time. We do get a moment of hurt on her face when Jumba reveals Stitch’s initial motivations, but it’s never really acknowledged.
Jumba captures Stitch
Where Gantu came into the animated film and served as the overarching villain who captures Stitch, Jumba takes his place in the live-action, albeit in a somewhat weird rushed way? Jumba attacks Lilo and Stitch inside Lilo’s house in a scene similar to the animated film. He ultimately destroys the house then tells Stitch that if he truly cares about Lilo then he’ll leave her and go with Jumba because Stitch only causes her harm. Stitch suddenly gives up and goes with Jumba through a portal to get back to Jumba’s ship. It seemed like they couldn’t figure out a more seamless way to get Stitch captured since they didn’t have a Gantu to come in and catch them by surprise.
Nani convinces Cobra Bubbles to allow Pleakley to help them save Lilo
The live-action Cobra Bubbles is a CIA agent who is working to track down the aliens who have landed on Earth. He manages to get a hold of Pleakley after all the wreckage at Nani and Lilo’s house and wants to take him in, but Nani begs him to allow Pleakley to help them find Lilo. He relents and helps Nani so that they can track down where Lilo and Stitch are in order to save them. This differs from the animated film since both Lilo gets captured by Gantu and Nani actually asks Jumba and Pleakley to help her save Lilo. Their willingness help save Lilo is what I felt really redeemed Jumba especially in the end, but we lose this redemption arc in the live-action.
Lilo and Stitch dive into the water
This scene is a completely new scene and this part actually made me cry. Stitch, who we know can’t deal with water because he becomes overwhelmingly denser in the water, wants to jump with Lilo out of Jumba’s crashing ship. After the crash, Lilo is stuck underwater by a piece of the ship, and Stitch immediately dives in to release her. Lilo tries to swim to safety with Stitch, but because he’s too heavy he only drags her down. He forces her to let him go and uses a gesture that he learned from her that times with the “until we meet again” line from Aloha Oe. Stitch basically accepts that he’s going to drown knowing that David and Nani were able to save Lilo.
Nani saves Stitch from drowning
Using her underwater skills that were referred to earlier in the movie, Nani is the only one who can save Stitch, since he’s so dense in the water that no one can swim while holding him.
Tutu becomes Lilo’s guardian and Nani goes to college
The live-action set up Tutu as a character who is close to the Pelekais in both proximity and relationship. So in the end, social services still requires Nani to give up guardianship of Lilo, but because Tutu offers to become Lilo’s guardian, Nani can feel safe leaving for college.
I thought this was an interesting change that they made to the conclusion. I think this live-action version of the movie really focused in on the idea that Ohana doesn’t have be blood, and actually ties Stitch into the messaging quite seamlessly since he’s not blood-related to the Pelekais either. Him saying that he didn’t have a family earlier in the film only to realize that Nani and Lilo had become his family works quite well with the involvement of Tutu in fostering or caring for Lilo.
I also did really like in this scene, when Tutu reminded Nani that “no one gets left behind” also refers to herself. So pursuing her dreams doesn’t mean that she’s leaving Lilo behind because they still have Ohana watching over her.
Things I liked from the movie
Even though it might sound like I didn’t like the movie, I actually did enjoy some of the new scenes that they introduced and thought they were pretty impactful!
Lilo teaching Stitch the hula dance scene
Stitch learning to hula dance. Credit: Disney
This was a beautiful scene. It was quiet and loving and you could really feel like Stitch was touched by it. I think it nicely replaced the role that the Ugly Duckling story played in the animated original since we also got to have more of a glimpse of Lilo’s family as a way of highlighting the family Stitch doesn’t have. I did really love this scene, and I especially loved that it came back around at the end, which is the part that actually brought me to tears.
Lilo and Stitch chaos
This duo was still as adorable as ever. Their chaotic scenes were still funny and I found myself laughing along and really enjoying seeing the two of them together!
The music
100% loved it. They still had the same two iconic Lilo and Stitch songs as the original, but made updated versions of them, and I was all there for it. I will gladly add them to my Disney playlist because they always bring the good vibes!
An expansion of ‘ohana’
Some people might not like it, and honestly I didn’t at first either, but upon a second watch of the live-action, I actually think I like that they focused on a different aspect of ‘ohana’ than the animated original film. The animated movie does highlight found family as one of its major themes, but I like how the live-action extended this concept to even the other humans in Nani and Lilo’s life. It’s quite realistic that Nani and Lilo wouldn’t just be completely alone with no one but David who still cares about them after losing their parents. So actually having a character like Tutu who serves as an elder figure seems like something that would happen. And Tutu’s complete willingness to help the girls however she can showcases the idea that ‘ohana’ doesn’t only include blood-related family members. Of course, this is still true in the animated film because Stitch is obviously not related to Nani and Lilo either, but I think the realization that clicks for Nani that she can feel safe relying on her community was a very nice moment.
I did like this change and I’m glad that the live-action and the animation offer two slightly different angles while still maintaining the same focus.
My thoughts on the movie
Story
Lilo’s character is ultimately muted
Lilo punishing her friends in pickle juice. Credit: Disney+
One of the things that I think makes Lilo from the animated film such a special character is how truly strange she is. Lilo makes peanut butter sandwiches for Pudge, loves taking pictures of fat people at the beach, sewed her own Scrump doll and puts her through surgery, punishes her friends using practical voodoo, and so much more. All of these odd characteristics of hers makes her less a troubled girl and more of a misunderstood girl who truly marches to the beat of her own drum. This also makes her strange choice of a dog make so much sense - because that’s really who she is.
Lilo is also a super mature kid, actually. Losing her parents and the way she talks about her broken family, all of that shows how much Lilo actually understands about her situation. We like to think that kids don’t know what’s going on, but she brings that struggle front and center and talks about it nonchalantly, which really makes you feel for her. Especially when Stitch leaves and Lilo has her monologue about how she remembers everyone who leaves - that scene breaks me every time I watch the animated film. Even her acknowledgement about Nani losing her job at the Luau shows her understanding of the gravity of the situation - in the live-action Lilo seems to dismiss it all by saying Nani didn’t like that job, anyway, which I felt was kind of uncalled for? The depth to Lilo is so vast in the animation - somehow they made her so tragic but also so hilarious and I think that organic synergy is what makes her so special.
The live-action pretty much took her quirks away and made her a girl that just gets into trouble. You feel for the live-action Lilo because of the circumstances that she’s experiencing, and you know that it must be difficult for her, but it doesn’t show as much in her character in the live-action. They did keep the Pudge reference, though, which I’m glad for.
Giving Nani backstory took away from the character relationships
Nani and Lilo in a hammock. Credit: Disney
In the scenes between Lilo and Nani, you could really tell that Nani was struggling to be an adult and a guardian for Lilo. She often didn’t know what to say, especially when it came to the topic of social services and what that would mean for the two of them. This is very similar to the Nani in the original animated film, and I think they played this out well. The additional issue of Nani wanting to go to college away from Lilo I think added more to Nani as person, showing aspirations and dreams she has that conflict with her overall desire to be there for Lilo. However, I think this takes away a bit from Nani’s sacrifices and true efforts to keep Lilo with her, since it makes guardianship of Lilo become more of obligation rather than a true desire to protect her.
Nani in the animated film has dialogue with Cobra Bubbles over how she is the only one who truly understands Lilo and that no other family will know how to nurture her the way Nani does (calling back to Lilo’s unique personality). That dialogue plus everything else Nani does in the film really showcases the love she has for Lilo and makes you feel just how much she wants to take care of Lilo. In the live-action, Tutu becoming Lilo’s guardian and Lilo sending Nani off to college makes it seem a lot more like Lilo was a weight on Nani’s shoulders that she no longer needs to carry. It’s great for Nani as a person that she gets to just be Lilo’s sister again, but I felt like it took away from the Lilo and Nani bond that is so deeply felt in the animated film.
I will also say that, personally, even though yes I’m glad they gave Nani some more backstory, I think it was like more “tell” than “show” type of backstory. Telling me that Nani is super smart and wants to go to college in California doesn’t really make me feel much more for her than I did in the original film. And don’t get me wrong, I feel for her a lot, but I just felt like this additional backstory didn’t add that much dimension. Even without telling me exactly what her aspirations are, I still know that Nani is her own person who must have had to sacrifice her personal desires in order to grow up quickly to be the adult in Lilo’s life. I can determine that for myself as a viewer, so I can’t say that I necessarily felt more empathy for Nani than I already did with my own interpretation of her character. Sometimes it’s what’s not seen, the negative space, that has the bigger impact.
Jumba made me sad
Jumba from Lilo & Stitch live-action. Credit: Disney
I have always loved Jumba since the original film. Something about him is just so adorable from the way he looks to the way he acts. I see him very much the way I see Lilo in that he was never really a bad guy or a villain even though he was the antagonist for most of the film. He’s literally just a wacky scientist who created a destructive “monster” and has to get him back. Viewing him this way allows him to be goofy and still be lovable. And, in the end, he recognizes that Stitch has the capacity for love in him. This allows Jumba, too, to have a change of heart and redeem himself by helping Nani save Lilo. His character development arc is so endearing and we lost that in the live-action because he was positioned as the actual villain.
And I get it. Because they had to remove Gantu to make the live-action story work, someone had to become the villain that captures Stitch. Considering that, I understand where they took the story and why it made sense to have Jumba take on that role, but it still made me a little sad that Jumba was basically not very lovable at all in this film. (Him shooting Lilo’s parents’ bedroom in the home attack scene really made me upset at him!!)
I think the Jumba villain arc was set up just fine (even if I personally didn’t want it to be the case!), but the execution also just didn’t work for me. Jumba had no charisma, and it even took me two watches to remember what happens to him in the end because his character is kinda just forgettable.
Editing
I’m not usually one to notice, but I thought this movie had quite a lot of discontinuity issues. They’re minor, but it was noticeable enough to take me out of the story for a bit to catch it.
Graphics
Stitch is adorable as ever
Live-action Stitch. Credit: Disney
I think they made Stitch so cute, both in appearance and behavior. I love how expressive he was and you could actually feel what he was feeling just by observing him. I think they did a really great job at making Stitch come to life in the film. Dare I say he might actually even be cuter in the live-action than the original?? Maybe it’s something about seeing the texture of his fur that makes him look even more huggable!
Jumba and Pleakley were not it for me
Jumba and Pleakley are antagonists so maybe you don’t want them to be super cute, but something about the way they were animated didn’t jive well with me. Jumba is drawn in such an adorable way in the animation, but he did not look cute at all in the live-action. Pleakley’s skin also had a texture that I don’t know how to describe, but it made me feel queasy just looking at him (maybe it was a blessing in disguise for me that they took on a mostly human form for most of the movie).
One-Liners
This felt odd enough to me that I feel the need to call it out. I think this is part of the trap of creating a live-action remake in general. Everyone has a different idea what lines and what scenes most iconic to a film, so when they cut some out or unnecessarily keep some in, it’s bound to receive criticism (see: the online discourse about Gantu).
This happens with scenes and characters, but also memorable quotes and lines from said characters. And I guess because the animated Lilo & Stitch is filled with so many good lines, it’s a struggle to determine which ones need to be kept in and which ones the live-action can do without. Their choice for some one-liners I thought were strange and unnecessary, and I kind of just wish they removed them or set the scene up differently, or even changed them to become a new iconic line.
One such line was delivered by Lilo: “She likes your butt and fancy hair”
This line is funny because of the context and setup, not just because of the line itself. David asks Nani out on a date while Nani’s working, and he’s disappointed when she says she doesn’t have time. Lilo says this to reassure David that Nani does indeed find him attractive. In the live-action, David doesn’t even interact with Nani. He goes up to Lilo and asks her if Nani seems more tense recently, and Lilo uses this line in response, which doesn’t feel relevant or organic, so it’s a bit strange.
I bumped at a few others as well, which I can't remember at the moment, but I think live-actions tend to do this because they want to capture the humor of a moment that was created in the original even after they changed the context in which it occurred. If characters can be cut and storylines can be changed, not every line from the original makes sense to be carried into the remake, and I think that’s okay.
Overall
Lilo & Stitch live-action scene. Credit: Disney
Despite a lot of the maybe nit-picky critiques I have about the movie, I did still actually enjoy it overall. Of course, as a fan of the original film, I can’t help but compare the two; and I can’t help but think the animated original is still better.
Yes, the Lilo & Stitch live-action added some more modern/”real-life” takes on this story, but Lilo & Stitch to me has always felt like one of the more realistic stories to begin with (minus the aliens). The struggle of a teenage girl to grow up quickly to raise her younger sister after tragically losing both their parents, the threat of social services coming in to break up a family, the struggle to find where you belong when you feel like no one accepts you? Those feel as real as it gets for a family movie, and to tell this story in such a relatable way for both children and adults, I think the original animated film already hit the nail on the head. I personally don’t think that the live-action was necessarily more emotional than the original animated film - I actually cry way more watching the animated movie than I did watching the live-action.
On an emotional level, I don't really think the live-action enhanced the movie, but I think the humor was great and Lilo and Stitch are still an adorable duo. I think they did that well, and I think that’s in part what makes the movie so much fun to watch.
As with most live-actions, I think if you’re coming expecting the movie to be just like the animated original, you’ll find yourself disappointed. But if you come in with an open mind and really just go along for the ride, I think you’ll have an overall enjoyable time. I can say for a fact that the kids in the theater got a huge kick out of it, and all the fun cameos and callback to the original still give you a warm nostalgic feeling overall!
While I still gravitate towards the original animated film, if this live-action is the movie that introduces Lilo and Stitch to this generation of kids, I still think it’s a prettyyy good one.
More broadly, the question that always comes up about live-action remakes is what is the purpose of making these, and how true to the original do they have to be? I struggle with where I land on this myself because if there’s a new take on an original I think that would be fun to see, but I ultimately don’t think that a remake needs to be done if you’re just going to change some scenes, but completely redo most of them. It feels as if the remake itself is to blame for this constant argument because they’re defended by the idea that they have to change things to warrant a remake, but they also include scenes that are shot for shot recreations of the original. Perhaps this would be less of a debate if they were all in on one or the other. Where do you land on the live-action remake debate?
