Lilo & Stitch (2025)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Cute & Fluffy

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

The new Disney "live action" remake Lilo & Stitch is one of the very few Disney "live action" remakes that might actually be in the equation someday when viewers try to decide which version they'd like to see. In almost every other case, the original animated version is better, and no decision is necessary. In this case, they are both nearly equally good. Also, unlike the others, this one isn't inordinately long, just 108 minutes as compared to the 85 minutes of the original. (By contrast, the Beauty and the Beast remake run a full 45 minutes longer than its predecessor.)

The story is largely the same as in Lilo & Stitch (2002), except that Lilo (played by the remarkable 9-year-old Hawaiian-born Maia Kealoha, in her first role) "adopts" her new pet without the permission of her older sister and guardian, Nani (Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, also Hawaiian-born, and also remarkable). Another change is that Stitch (voiced, as in the 2002 original, by screenwriter Chris Sanders) reacts badly to water and becomes dense, so he must avoid it. (This adds an extra layer to scene in which Stitch goes surfing, protected from the ocean only by the width of the surfboard. And, happily, the movie replays the great "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" song.)

The 3D animated Stitch is just as zany and wonderful as the 2D animated version, but with more texture. He teeters perfectly between being chaotic and hilarious. In one scene, Lilo tries to convince him not to smash wine glasses; he strains to resist smashing a tower of them, sweating and shaking. The punchline comes when we see all the broken glasses he destroyed on the way to this moment of restraint. He remains, above all, deeply lovable.

Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen are quite funny as the aliens sent to retrieve the troublemaking Stitch, particularly when their new human forms struggle to master basic leg coordination. Hannah Waddingham offers her authoritative voice to their boss, the Grand Councilwoman (seen in animated form only). Courtney B. Vance plays Cobra Bubbles, posing as a social worker, but really investigating the alien invasion. And Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani in the original, ironically plays the social worker who threatens to split up the sisters.

Best of all is the movie's ode to Hawaii, capturing the warmth of the sun, the feel of the air, and the textures of community life. (More attention was paid on this one to getting cultural representation right.) Overall, Lilo & Stitch may or may not be anything profound, but it is a touching story about what it means to be a family, even one that's "little and broken, but good." It's very funny and quite lovable and gets you in the feels when it's supposed to. And it has a bunch of Elvis songs! (Weirdly, although Lilo pulls out the Blue Hawaii album, there are no songs from it in the movie, not even "Can't Help Falling in Love.")