Lilo & Stitch (2025)
★★★ — Lilo & Stitch (2025)
Dean Fleischer Camp, best known for the eccentric stop-motion feature Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021), makes a significant gear-shift here into big-studio live-action territory with this remake of the beloved 2002 animated film, itself notable for being one of the few Disney features of its era set outside Europe or fantasy worlds entirely, grounding its story in contemporary Hawaii with an unusual emotional directness. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures alongside Rideback, the film carries a $100 million budget and stars newcomer Maia Kealoha as Lilo alongside Sydney Agudong, with Chris Sanders reprising his original voice role as Stitch. Released in 2025, it arrived as Disney's live-action remake programme showed no signs of slowing, and its billion-dollar global gross made it one of the studio's biggest performers of the cycle.
Let’s be honest, going into a live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, you brace for the worst. Another soulless cash-in, CGI Stitch looking uncanny, the heart replaced by spectacle. But surprisingly, this one isn’t half bad. It’s not the original but it’s a respectful, often sincere attempt to translate that odd, melancholy charm to a new format. For a Disney remake, that counts for a lot. The film keeps the core intact: two misfits, a little girl from Kauai and a chaotic alien experiment, finding family in each other. The Hawaiian setting is beautifully captured, with lush greens, golden beaches, and a real effort to include local culture and language. Tiana Stewart as Lilo is a standout. Natural, feisty, and genuinely moving in the quieter moments. Her bond with Stitch, while inevitably leaning more on CGI than the original’s hand-drawn expressiveness, still has warmth. The design of Stitch is a mixed bag (too glossy at times) but his physical comedy and chaotic energy survive the translation. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and it treads carefully where the original was bold. Some of the sharper edges (the raw grief, the critique of bureaucracy) are softened, and the third act leans a little too hard on generic action. But the spirit of ‘ohana (family, no one left behind) still lands. There are even a few new moments that work: a scene with Nani and social services feels more grounded, and the score weaves in Hawaiian music beautifully. It’s not essential. It doesn’t surpass or even match the original’s quiet magic. But as far as live-action remakes go this one actually cares. It’s pretty good, tbh. Not a triumph, not a disaster, just a solid, heartfelt effort that earns its place as a decent companion piece.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 2025 | Watched: 2025-08-09
Where to watch (UK)
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Dean Fleischer Camp: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)
More from the 2020s: Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025) · The Long Walk (2025) · Americana (2023)
More family: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Wonder (2017) · Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anastasia (1997)
More science fiction: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Fantastic Planet (1973) · Nightmare City (1980) · The Long Walk (2025)
