Mere months after blessing the world with the widely panned and problematic “Snow White” remake, the late capitalist corporate machine that is Disney churned out another cinematic masterpiece in the form of “Lilo & Stitch (2025),” released in theaters nationwide on May 23.
First and foremost, it should be noted that a grown man is criticizing a kids movie in this piece. This poses an issue since the film isn’t intended for people my age, with the exception of nostalgic adults who own ungodly amounts of Stitch swag. Its target audience is children and families and — judging by the film’s record-breaking opening weekend — they’re already falling in love with this remake the same way we did with the animated film growing up.
That being said, the slow, painful death of cinema is a direct result of generic rubbish like this being released. The movie is a heartless and unnecessary product manufactured with the sole purpose of making profit rather than being a serious film.
The film retreads many of the same plot beats from the animated film. It follows a Hawaiian girl named Lilo (Maia Kealoha) and her sister Nani (Sydney Agudong). Amid Nani’s custody issues regarding Lilo, they adopt a dog — actually an extraterrestrial lifeform — named Stitch (Chris Sanders). Together, they learn what family really is while Stitch’s creator Jumba (Zack Galifianakis) and his partner Pleakley (Billy Magnussen) hunt the alien down.
Despite borrowing its central storyline and themes from the animated film, the remake makes several changes. Some are welcome contributions, such as the character Tūtū (Amy Hill), a quick-witted woman who’s close to Lilo and Nani and helps them out whenever they’re in need.
Other alterations feel unnecessary and indicative of the filmmakers’ ignorance towards what made the animated film a beloved classic. Certain characters are rewritten into unlikeable shells of their former selves. Some who had major roles in the animated film serve as mere background extras here. Even worse, crucial aspects of the original are absent — such as the original villain Captain Gantu and “The Ugly Duckling” plotline.
Giving credit where it’s due, director Dean Fleischer Camp tried his hardest not to produce a carbon copy of the animated film. The issue is that by doing so, he crafted a lifeless abomination that doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same context as the original.
His direction is bland at best and jarring at worst. Coupled with muddy cinematography, his direction somehow makes the beautiful islands of Hawaii look as luscious as a Fallout map. A few scenes are shot with a camera so shaky that it makes the cinematography of the Bourne films look like Wes Anderson-level symmetry. It’s hard to blame Camp, given he’s the latest victim of the Oscar-nominee-to-studio-hack pipeline — like director Barry Jenkins is to the “Lion King” live-action remake — but “Lilo & Stitch (2025)” is awfully nauseating at times.
The editing also makes the film difficult to watch. The first act feels like it was edited in CapCut, with most shots lasting one to two seconds at most. The following acts don’t fare much better and result in an uninteresting cinematic rhythm.
One of the only high notes of the film is Stitch, who retains the same chaotic yet loveable energy he had in the animated film. While Sanders’ voice acting and a familiar aesthetic play a large part in achieving this, Camp deserves credit for attempting to further develop the character. Among several scenes lifted from the animated film, there are a few new ones — such as Stitch wreaking havoc at a wedding — that are equally as charming.
Everything else in the live-action version of “Lilo & Stitch (2025)” is rather forgettable. In the animated film, everyone and everything is unhinged — to the point that Stitch drives a tanker truck into a volcano. The remake strips all that away, leaving behind a mundane and unentertaining mess.
Beyond contributing to Stitch’s appeal to Disney adults across the globe, this remake serves as a painful reminder of what the studio has become — a company that once boomed with creativity is now stuck producing lackluster films out of whatever intellectual property they pluck at random from their sorcerer’s hat.
This is no “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride.” It’s a cinematic nightmare.
Jacob Bernardino is an Arts & Entertainment Intern for the spring 2025 quarter. He can be reached at bernarj2@uci.edu.
Edited by Corinna Chin and Jaheem Conley.