Among the many 2000s Disney movies,the originalLilo & Stitchstands out as their biggest 2D animated success. The story was simple, featuring a chaotic alien, Stitch, who crash-lands on Earth and meets a lonely girl, Lilo. Together, they form a strong bond and teach each other the importance of family with plenty of antics along the way.
The 2025 remake ofLilo & Stitchmostly sticks to the main themes and moments of the original, but there are quite a few changes, as often happensin Disney remakes. Some changes make sense while others may throw fans for a loop. Here are the biggest ones to look out for.
6Jumba And Pleakley Turn Human
The Ensuing Incident
The remake opens with Stitch being on trial and then escaping, just like in the original. Instead of Pleakley proposing the retrieval of Stitch on Earth, Jumba makes a deal. The biggest difference from the get-go is the loss of Jumba’s Russian accent, which isn’t a huge change. The bigger revelation comes when Jumba and Pleakley land on Earth, as they have human cloning technology.
With DNA samples, they can mask their alien forms and become human. This is the change that makes the most sense financially, as it would be more challenging to animate Jumba and Pleakley in live-action compared to the original, wherein the two just wore costumes to blend in with humans. Also, Jumba and Pleakley have a portal gun, which might be a nod tothePortalseries, especially with a trap thrown later on.
5Lilo And Nani Have Neighbors
David Gets A Grandma
David’s home on the island is never really discussed in the original, but in the remake, he is a neighbor of Lilo and Nani. Also, he isn’t alone because there is a new character via his grandma, Tutu. She is played by Amy Hill, who had a voice in the original movie as Mrs. Hasagawa, who then returned in the Disney cartoon series.
It was a fun way to get one of the original cast members in the remake, and Tutu has a pretty prominent role. Tutu also emphasizes the idea of Ohana beyond blood, as anyone can be a family member. That was the message of the original movie, at least, which is slightly altered later on.
4There Are Two Social Workers
Also, Cobra Bubbles Is Still CIA
Tutu isn’t the only new character played by a legacy actress, though. Tia Carrere was the voice of Nani in the original movie, who was a native-born Hawaiian and lent some legitimacy to the cast. Carrere returns in the remake as Mrs. Kekoa, Nani’s social worker contact. Cobra Bubbles is still in the movie, though, but instead of a retired CIA agent who became a social worker, he iscurrently a spyin the CIA at the start of the remake.
Bubbles and other agents are investigating Stitch’s crash, so not only are Jumba and Pleakley hunting for Stitch, but so is the CIA. Bubbles goes undercover to become a social worker alongside Mrs. Kekoa, eventually to get closer to Stitch. Also, Bubbles doesn’t have ties withthe alien invasionof the Roswell incident like he did in the original, meaning that aliens are a new thing for him.
3The Big Confrontation
Jumba Is THE Villain
In the original movie, Jumba finally tracks Stitch down to Lilo’s home, and they have a chaotic battle that destroys it. During the conflict, Captain Gantu intercepts the chaos and kidnaps Lilo and Stitch, but Stitch escapes. Stitch then gets Jumba and Pleakley to help him get Lilo back, and Jumba has a big change of heart and decides to help.
It’s a big character moment for Jumba that then leads to him and Pleakley joining the family as much as Stitch does. In the remake, Captain Gantu is missing completely, and Jumba isthe sole villainwho destroys the house and then takes Stitch away in the spaceship. His plan is to turn Stitch into Experiment 627, but Lilo is the one who sneaks aboard and frees Stitch, ending in the ship crashing into the ocean.
2Stitch Drowns, Again
Nani Learns To Run Underwater
After the ship explodes, Lilo and Stitch are hurled into the ocean. Because of Stitch’s molecular design, when he gets wet, he sinks to the bottom of the ocean. It’s like how Luffy and otherDevil Fruit users inOne Pieceare affected by water. So, Lilo tries to save Stitch, but she can’t as her body isn’t capable yet.
David and Nani come to rescue Lilo and choose to leave Stitch behind, but Lilo begs for Nani to save him, inciting the idea of Ohana, and no one gets left behind. As she dives down, Nani also learns she isn’t strong enough to carry Stitch up to the surface. Instead, she runs along the ocean floor, and there is a real scare of Stitch being dead before they use jumper cables to wake him up. This is a completely new scene that reuses the surfing scare again, only this time Stitch needs saving.
1The Ending Message
Ohana Means Family, But Also Go To College
There were hints that Nani was a surfing champion in the original movie, but afterher parents died, she gave up her dreams to take care of Lilo. Nani in the remake still loves surfing and even competed, but there is a new dimension to her character: marine biology. She was going to go to college to study it, but had to give it up to take care of Lilo instead.
At the end of the remake, instead of the state making it okay for Nani to be Lilo’s guardian, Nani relinquishes her custody so that Tutu and David can watch after her. Lilo gives Nani her blessing to go back to college, which she does, but still visits Lilo via video calls and trips with the portal gun. Bubbles checks in from time to time as he seemingly gave up his CIA position. Nani going away definitely is a different message to end the movie on.
