The Live-Action Lilo & Stitch Has Issues That Extend Far Beyond Its Controversial Ending

This nonfiction contains spoilers for some Lilo & Stitch (2002) and Disney’s 2025 live-action adaptation.

Last weekend, the live-action adaptation of Disney’s overmuch beloved Lilo & Stitch deed theaters to a banger three-day box-office opening and an unexpected contention for the House of Mouse. Fans frustrated by the film’s ending, which has been altered from the archetypal version, took to societal media en masse to decry what they accidental are questionable choices made by the originative team. And they’re right! Here’s the occupation though: if the filmmakers had done it correctly, they could person made Nani’s determination to yet relinquish custody of Lilo – a large departure from the original, wherever she stays location with Lilo and Stich – deed successful the mode they intended. But the issues with the caller movie started from the precise beginning, and each 1 contributes to wherefore the ending has been specified a miss with the audience.

2002’s Lilo & Stitch is simply a communicative astir uncovering your family. Both Nani (Tia Carrere) and Lilo (Daveigh Chase) are off-kilter aft losing their parents successful a tragic accident, arsenic is Stitch (Chris Sanders), who was made successful a laboratory by the huffy idiosyncratic Jumba (David Ogden Stiers) and doesn’t cognize what household is. It is simply a profoundly meaningful communicative to each of america misfits without humor relatives whose families are made up of those that we take and take america successful return. The full constituent of the movie is uncovering that household aft the 1 you were fixed is abruptly gone oregon successful disrepair. Lilo, Nani and Stitch commencement the communicative unsocial successful their ain corners of the universe. The full intent of the movie is that they physique their breached small household and past they turn it with others who are likewise fractured and missing families of their own.

The live-action Lilo & Stitch starts with Lilo (Maia Kealoha) and Nani (Sydney Agudong) already portion of a community. David’s parent Tutu (Amy Hill) — a caller quality created for the live-action adaptation — spends overmuch of the movie caring for Lilo and supporting Nani. Hill’s show arsenic Tutu is wonderful, and the quality is some endearing and warm, but her precise beingness arsenic a supportive parent fig to the girls destroys the cardinal premise of the movie by establishing their transportation aboriginal on. She is truthful engrained successful their lives that it is Tutu who takes Lilo to follow Stitch (still voiced by Sanders) alternatively than Nani, furthering the rift betwixt the older sister and their caller companion successful a mode that does thing to service Stitch’s transportation to Lilo, found his quest for a family, oregon his eventual find that helium had recovered his ohana each along.

The disagreement betwixt Nani and Stitch is truthful wide successful the adaptation that the finale features the older sister actively choosing to permission the alien astatine the bottommost of the water contempt getting Lilo safely onto David’s surfboard. It’s lone aft they’re halfway to enactment that she has a situation of conscience and returns to rescue the carnal that was meant to beryllium a portion of their family. Additionally, having Tutu bargain Stitch for Lilo alternatively than Lilo buying the alien with her ain wealth (Nani’s money) pulls immoderate teeth from the finale with the Grand Councilwoman (Hannah Waddingham). In the animated film, the quality is alternatively pleasantly outsmarted by David and Lilo due to the fact that Lilo is the rightful proprietor of Stitch via an adoption certificate. Aliens are precise persnickety astir rules, you see.

Worse still, galore of the changes made successful the live-action adaptation are done to make much Stitch-related hijinks alternatively than prosecute with the affectional communicative that is meant to hap alongside the alien’s destructive ways. As a result, the tears that inactive travel (I americium weak, I americium not sorry) are the effect of inexpensive shots alternatively than earned emotions, leaving you feeling much manipulated than warm.

Even the depiction of Cobra Bubbles (Courtney B. Vance), who is broadly replaced with societal idiosyncratic Ms. Kekoa, played by Carrere truthful she tin proceed to beryllium progressive with the franchise (Hill is besides returning aft voicing Mrs. Hasagawa successful the archetypal film), removes immoderate meaningful transportation helium has to the family, contempt inactive being shown arsenic a subordinate of the ohana by the extremity of the film.

Meanwhile, the determination to marque Jumba (Zach Galifianakis) an actual, existent bluish villain alternatively of Stitch’s analyzable but reformed begetter fig continues to cheapen things further. By erasing the continued concern with the cross-dressing Pleakley (voiced by Kevin McDonald successful the 2002 movie and played by Billy Magnussen successful the remake), they person removed Stitch’s meaningful ties to his satellite and alternatively near him with the ammunition of Pleakley they went with for the adaptation who hardly has immoderate transportation with the household and lone begrudgingly helps them earlier being accepted into their ranks. (And yeah, I’m inactive annoyed they each but removed his cross-dressing. Cowards.)

All of which takes america to the arguable ending, successful which Nani decides to relinquish custody of Lilo to Tutu truthful that she whitethorn pursuit her dreams and spell to schoolhouse to go a marine biologist.

Here’s the happening astir this ending: it is not inherently bad! You tin spot the volition of giving Nani much autonomy than she had successful the archetypal film, wherever being blessed and spending clip with her messy caller household was capable and Lilo was her superior priority. The crushed the determination to extremity the movie this mode is so dang frustrating is due to the fact that the thought of ohana astatine the extremity of the movie isn’t earned successful immoderate capacity. So alternatively of it feeling similar Lilo was simply near with her household truthful Nani could pursuit her dreams, we get Lilo near with a glorified clump of strangers that person nary concern being truthful intimately integrated into her life.

There is nary justifiable crushed for Cobra Bubbles to beryllium checking successful connected Lilo astatine nighttime aft spending little than a time with the household helium hardly cared about; Pleakley is hardly integrated into their lives, with the caller movie not bothering to amusement him perpetually going retired of his mode to support Lilo successful the mode helium did successful the animated version; David is an afterthought successful the movie arsenic a whole, which is simply a rude happening to bash to 1 of the slightest problematic Disney emotion interests of each time! Tutu’s transportation is, astatine least, somewhat understandable, albeit inactive inexpensive successful the mode that the remainder of the movie is emotionally bankrupt.

The ending isn’t atrocious due to the fact that Nani dared to bash thing for herself. It’s atrocious due to the fact that the live-action Lilo & Stitch seems to person been created by a clump of radical who went retired of their mode to misunderstand wherefore the archetypal matters. The animated movie hasn’t stood the trial of clip due to the fact that we similar watching Stitch stroke worldly up; it stood the trial of clip due to the fact that it showed each of america without families that we wouldn’t conscionable find one, but that we deserved it, too. It continues to substance to radical due to the fact that it illustrates that adjacent astatine our worst and astir destructive we are inactive worthy of love. Stitch doesn’t merchantability toys due to the fact that he’s a chaos demon. He sells toys due to the fact that helium means thing to radical (and helium is ohio truthful cute and fluffy!). The thought of ohana hasn’t stood retired to mainlanders with small to nary knowing of Hawaiian civilization due to the fact that of inexpensive connections and manipulative monologues, it stood retired due to the fact that it elicited an earned affectional effect from children and adults alike.

This movie volition astir apt marque a cardinal dollars. They’ll apt churn retired a sequel arsenic soon arsenic humanly possible. And it’s each a existent pity, due to the fact that they person made it abundantly wide that they don’t recognize wherefore “this is my family. I recovered it, each connected my own. It’s little, and broken, but inactive good. Yes, inactive good” is truthful important nary substance however galore times they soullessly parrot it backmost astatine the audience.