Today, during Disney’s D23 Brazil event, the company showcased a bunch of first looks and new teasers for upcoming projects. And during the event, Disney shared the first still of Stitch from the upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch remake. And well… hmmm… I’m not sure, folks!
All the way back in 2018, Disney announced that it was working on a live-action adaption of the 2002 animated movie Lilo & Stitch. That film, which I love, tells the story of a blue, pudgy alien criminal who crashes in Hawaii and befriends a little girl as he pretends to be her puppy to avoid being captured by authorities. As with all of Disney’s popular animated movies these days, Lilo & Stitch is getting remade as a live-action film. And our first real look at the character has me nervous.
On November 8, the official Disney Twitter account posted an image of Stitch as he will appear in the May 2025 live-action adaptation of the animated movie. (We previously saw him in a short promo video.) My first complaint is simple: He’s not blue enough!
My second complaint is that Stitch doesn’t look pudgy and round enough. One of the best parts of Lilo & Stitch is how characters in the movie have this round and oblong appearance. It was very different from the usual house style seen in most Disney animated flicks back in the day, and as a kid, I adored that visual. Stitch was cute and very funny, too, which also helped me fall in love with the film.
This new Stitch is giving me live-action Sonic vibes, but before he was fixed and made less ugly and horrible looking. That’s not a good thing!
Now, let me just say that I’m not angry about Stitch’s new look. I’m not going to send threatening messages to people who worked on the film or start some online campaign to harass people or create videos complaining that Disney is “ruining” Stitch.
At the end of the day, this is a movie designed for kids. It ain’t for me. And if I really, really don’t like the new Stich, I can just watch the OG film and not worry about the remake. See, this is how adults handle this kind of stuff. You don’t need to get angry or toxic. Just point out that something is either not for you or objectively bad and move on.
Lilo & Stitch arrives in theaters on May 23, 2025. I hope he looks more blue in the actual movie.
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