Lilo & Stitch (2025)

There are some movies/TV shows out there that are great for introducing kids to the concept of aliens. For a long time the main ones were either E.T. or Alf, along came Stitch. This new spin on the Lilo & Stitch story continues this tradition. The plot of the movie does run similar to the cartoon version, but with a few changes. Captain Gantu is entirely missing with the story focusing on Jumba and Pleakley chasing Stitch in human form most of the time. There are also more tear jerker parts then in the cartoon. Also there is an added social worker separate from Bubbles with much more of social worker repercussions in the film. Some of these situations can be potentially triggering for either kids or adults that have had to deal with social workers or the social system. I will say that I didn't like how they handled the ending, but it gave Nani a larger personal presence then the cartoon did.

When I first say the previews for the film I was concerned with how they had built Stitch. In the actual film it works, but he is less "cute" and more monster like. The only disconnect I really noticed was when Nani tried to pet stitch, her hand placement compared to the CGI was off a little bit with her hand being too far away from whatever they were using for the Stitch stand in on set. So in a way it looks like she is petting air. Lilo didn't seem to have this issues and the interactions between Lilo and Stitch looks realer. The play with portals is also amusing.  

The acting was good for the most part and the actors did pull you in. My only problem was Bubbles. In the cartoon it was a big muscular character and then they give us a small/average size actor. Part of the fun of Bubbles is that it's so funny that such a large guy would have the code name bubbles and the humor of that was lost with Courtney Vance. He also didn't bring enough of a tough guy personality to the character. The one character I really liked was the expanded character of Tutu played by Amy Hill. This was such a great character that I didn't mind the changes that included her.

Overall the movie was good for a live adaptation. 4 stars out of 5 or a A-.

Mommy Geek sent me to the theater because the previous weekend they had told us that they had a limited number of the popcorn buckets and that they would be putting them out between 1-2pm with the first showing of the film at 2pm. The theater (AMC) for this first day also made you see Lilo & Stitch in order to get the bucket and you had to show your ticket. I had wanted to see a different movie, but no luck. This bucket is a bucket/drink combo. The head is a drink cup and the body has a door on the back for the popcorn. It is also flocked. The price tag was slightly shocking at $59.99. I personally do not think that this bucket was worth the price, but I was there to pick it up for Mommy Geek and she was paying for it and not me. Of all of the popcorn buckets that have come out, I have only gotten 2 because of how high the prices are. At least they give you a drink cup and a bucket of popcorn separate from this so that you can keep him clean. 

Top and Bottom Pictures From: Taken by Julia Bilderback at AMC Arapahoe Rd.

Picture 2 From: https://www.firstshowing.net/2025/full-trailer-for-live-action-lilo-stitch-movie-starring-maia-kealoha/

Picture 3 From: https://deadline.com/2025/05/lilo-stitch-review-live-action-remake-1236390982/

Picture 4 From: https://www.cbr.com/lilo-and-stitch-live-action-review/