Kids

Lilo & Stitch 2025: A More Serious Movie On Sisterhood

by Kevyn Gohu
May 23, 2025

For those who grew up with the 2002 version, Lilo & Stitch 2025 may feel a little different

As Disney tries to age with their audience, so have their plots. They’ve remade a lot of classics; some have been accepted and others have failed. For their latest remake of a classic, Lilo & Stitch, we see the same elements that made the original charming. At the same time, it has lost some of the charm that the animated version originally had. But is it worth watching? Here’s what we feel about Lilo & Stitch 2025:

A Little More Focused On The Sisterly Dynamic

Every older sister who’s watched this movie will easily feel every frustration Nani has had throughout the movie. With both parents gone, she’s had to support Lilo and has done everything she can to do so. She’s taken on different jobs and even given up on college to take care of Lilo, who — in her own way — also grieves for the loss of their mom and dad.

Unlike the original animation that focused more on Lilo and Stitch’s dynamics, Lilo & Stitch 2025 does the same, but it feels more like through Nani’s eyes. So, the scenes that made the original Lilo and Stitch funny and heartwarming disappear. The cat fight between Myrtle and Lilo, Lilo teaching Stitch how to dance, and also the heartbreaking moment where Stitch learns how to read the “I’m lost!” from one of Lilo’s picture books aren’t there.

However, they replace it with some other scenes. Stitch uses the disc as a ninja star knife, Lilo and Stitch play during Nani’s job hunt, and Stitch returns the car he stole. It’s an interesting readaptation, but the warmth isn’t so much there compared to the old one.

The Difference in Lilo and Nani’s dynamic

In the live-action, Nani seems more adult and distracted. It makes sense since she often has a social worker come over to the house. The role, however, has been split into two. Cobra Bubbles, who was both an agent and a social worker, now leans more into the agent role with the social worker role being given to a new character, Mrs. Kekoa, who is played by Tia Carrere — the original voice of Nani in the Lilo & Stitch 2002 film.

Unfortunately, the new writing changes the charm and warmth that the original Nani-Lilo dynamic had. In the live-action, the story makes Nani more overwhelmed and dismissive. She ends up being inattentive, which makes Lilo’s “acting out” fit the story. With Nani trying to keep them together, she rarely pays attention to Lilo, which is what Mrs. Kekoa points out by asking, “Do you even know what Lilo wants?” To which Nani (played by Sydney Agudong) responds with, “She’s six. She doesn’t know.”

However, let’s be honest: Nani’s reactions in the live-action are more realistic compared to the old one. The animated film has Nani focusing much more on Lilo and even has her making funny quips. The live-action film, on the other hand, emphasizes more on Nani trying to balance her role as both a sister and a parent.

Missing Character: Captain Gantu!

Unfortunately, our favorite serious but still funny shark-humanoid alien Captain Gantu isn’t in this movie. According to other entertainment websites, there were likely budget constraints. Whether it’s because of the voice actor or the process of CGI that was the issue, it unfortunately removes a key character, which made the stakes high in the movie.

Instead, that component is added to Dr. Jumba Jookiba’s character. Although there are still some misadventures, Jumba is a little more manipulative and borderline antisocial. He willingly leverages Stitch’s former destructive nature to persuade him, and also destroys Lilo’s house while looking down on humans. It’s not like in the old one, wherein Jumba destroys the house due to his clash with Stitch. The scene wherein Jumba also eventually sides with him isn’t there.

Without Gantu to make things dangerous, they instead add more to Dr. Jumba’s evil, mad scientist persona. Unlike the original series, wherein the experiments are different individuals, this one seems to use Stitch (Experiment 626) as the base. Jumba prepares to overwrite Stitch and transform him into Experiment 627 — a more psychopathic version of Stitch. For millennials, it’s a throwback to the original series, wherein Gantu even teams up with Experiment 627 to take over the world.

Lilo & Stitch 2025: Clearly For An Older Audience

For the millennial parents who were emotionally invested in the original Lilo & Stitch, watching the live-action may feel like it falls short. While Sydney Agudong and Maia Kealoha had good chemistry as the two sisters, the writing doesn’t feel the same. Some may even feel that this movie would have worked better as a spin-off film about Nani, considering Lilo and Stitch have often been the center.

However, if parents are planning to introduce their kids to the Lilo & Stitch franchise, then the live-action is a nice place to start. Catch the movie in theatres this coming May 23, 2025!