“Assignment Understood”: Lilo & Stitch Live-Action First Footage Sparks Positive Responses For CGI’d Stitch

The live-action Lilo & Stitch movie has finally revealed Stitch’s appearance. Following a trend of Disney live-action remakes, the classic 2002 movie has earned a remake of its own, which will feature Chris Sanders reprising his role as Stitch. The rest of the cast will include Maia Kealoha, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, and more. The Lilo & Stitch remake is expected to be released in the summer of 2025. In anticipation of the release, Disney released a first-look at Stitch’s appearance as the D23 event continues.

While viewers did not expect much from the adaptation, there has been a generally positive reception to the character’s appearance. Check out some of the responses below:

Twitter user @KaiserNeko believed that an adaptation is unnecessary, but also that the Stitch appearance is lovable and huggable.

@arvalis is disappointed by Stitch’s design and believes that a slight change could make a large difference.

@mar_toons believes that Stitch was properly adapted and is not quite as disappointing as some might think.

@RiseFallNickBck is impressed by the adaptation and believes that the design could have been far worse.

@MikeMartyLOVEY1 is surprised by how good Stitch looks.

@supermangeek101 is pleased by Disney’s decision to bring the movie to theaters and thinks that the Stitch model is perfect.

@Blueknight_V2 loves the design but wishes that the colors were more vibrant.

@tonygoldmark believes that this is a great design that perfectly matches the original design, even if they dislike the idea of an adaptation.

@ComicGirlAshley enjoys the appearance and believes that he looks just like Stitch.

The Lilo & Stitch Movie Remains Controversial

The Stitch Design Has Changed Some Perspectives

Disney has certainly seen its share of financial success from its recent trend of live-action remakes of animated classics. After The Jungle Book saw nearly $1 billion at the box office, Disney began to pursue live-action remakes more often. Beauty and the Beast saw a $1.3 billion total. That remarkable take was only surpassed by 2019’s The Lion King, which earned $1.67 billion. While there have been less popular movies, including 2020’s pandemic release, Mulan, the strategy has provided dividends for Disney. Check out the chart below, which showcases the recent live-action theatrical remakes and their box office success:

With so much box office success, Disney is only expanding its live-action offerings. Lilo & Stitch will be the latest release to follow the trend. Despite proving to be a financial victory for Disney, the decision to remake so many animated movies has drawn criticism. Many of the Twitter users responding to Stitch’s appearance cite the lack of any reason to recreate the franchise in a live-action format, as it was perfectly rendered in the original animation. The photorealistic CGI often strips the characters of expressiveness and vibrance, which diminishes the overall effect.

Stitch’s appearance does seem to buck that trend, however, as the character remains expressive even in his CGI form. There have also been widespread complaints that the live-action Lilo & Stitch cast features many characters impacted by colorism, as their skin color appears to be lighter than their animated counterparts. Sydney Agudong, for instance, will play Nani and does not match the character’s animated appearance. The movie remains controversial, but Stitch’s appearance has at least been drawing praise.

Source: Various (see above)

Lilo & Stitch Remake

Lilo & Stitch is a live-action remake of the 2002 animated sci-fi adventure comedy directed by Dean Fleischer Camp. Based closely on the original, this remake follows a young girl who lives with her sister and has trouble fitting in at school. Her fortunes change when she meets a mysterious alien experiment named Stitch, who she claims is her pet dog, setting the stage for an intergalactic adventure in Hawaii.

Director

Dean Fleischer Camp

Studio(s)

Disney+

Writers

Chris Kekaniokalani Bright

Cast

Chris Sanders
, Maia Kealoha
, Sydney Agudong
, Zach Galifianakis
, Billy Magnussen
, Tia Carrere
, Courtney B. Vance

Where To Stream

Disney+

Expand