Disney’s 2002 animated film about the little Hawaiian girl who befriends an alien who looks like a blue koala was written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, who would go on to create another heartwarming animated film about a human and a fantastic creature, “How to Train Your Dragon.” Both have live-action adaptations this year, and the 2025 “Lilo & Stitch,” while not quite justifying yet another IP expansion, maintains the sincere and engaging performances, beautiful settings, chaotic comedy, exhilarating surfing scenes, and touching examples of “ohana,” which means family, including found family.
The original’s most ardent fans will also appreciate appearances from members of its cast, including Tia Carrere, (the original Nani, Lilo’s big sister), Jason Scott Lee (the original David, Nani’s friend), and Amy Hill (excellent as a kind neighbor named Tutu, following her role in the original as an absent-minded shop-owner). Sanders returns as well, once again voicing the rambunctious alien Lilo names Stitch. And like the 2002 version, this one has a soundtrack featuring classic songs by Elvis Presley.
On a planet far, far away, a multi-eyed scientist named Jumba (Zach Galifianakis) has created a creature he calls 626, designed to destroy. The planet’s leader (Hannah Waddingham, continuing the plummy accent of the original’s Zoe Caldwell) orders that the dangerous mutant be destroyed. When it escapes, headed for Earth, she sends Jumba and her planet’s “Earth expert,” scrawny, one-eyed Pleakley (sweetly earnest Billy Magnussen), to get him back. Once on Earth, they conveniently disguise themselves as humans who look like Galifianakis and Magnussen.
By that time, 626 has been captured by dog catchers and has broken out of his cage in the pound. He sees a poster promoting rescue adoption and makes himself look (a little) more dog-like by absorbing his second set of arms, the spikes on his spine, and his antennae.
Six-year-old Lilo (Maia Kealoha) is mourning the loss of her parents, bullied by girls in her hula dance class, and somehow never quite fits in. At the dog pound she falls instantly in love with 626 when he copies the dog in the poster and gives her a hug. She brings him home and names him Stitch.
This film wisely gives more attention to Nani than the 2002 version. She is played with verve and warmth by Sydney Elizebeth Agudong. Nani is more than a worried but devoted caretaker; she has her own dreams and conflicts. A welcome addition is Hill’s Tutu as the open-hearted grandmother of Nani’s firestick-twirling friend and possible romantic interest, David (Kaipo Dudoit). Courtney B. Vance plays Cobra Bubbles, an alien-investigating federal agent with a gold earring.
Audiences have speculated since 2002 about whether Lilo is on the autism spectrum because she seems to have trouble recognizing social cues and has some possibly obsessive odd beliefs (like a fish that controls the weather). Whether she is or not, one key element of both films is how caring for someone else helps Lilo feel less sharply the loss of her parents and gain perspective on the responsibility her teenage sister struggles with in trying to prove to a social worker (Carrere) that she can take care of Lilo. Stitch, too, moves from a chaos engine who identifies with a movie monster to someone who wants to love and be loved, to be part of ohana.
Children new to the story will enjoy some gross-out humor, slapstick naughtiness, and the reassuring theme that families of all kinds, including those we choose, can be devoted to the idea of ohana. Director Dean Fleischer Camp brings a light touch of the tender-hearted sensibility of his “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.” He is careful about preserving the most beloved details of the original but making it more inclusive. My first choice would be a new story with characters we haven’t seen before. My second choice would be re-imagining an earlier work well (too many miss that last part). But my third choice would be a nice, pleasantly sweet movie that pays tribute to the fans of the original with a few thoughtful expansions, and that is just what this is.
