Lilo & Stitch is the latest animated classic to get the live-action remake treatment, and Disney made seven major changes. By introducing Stitch, Disney created a global phenomenon that spawned sequels, TV series, anime, video games, endless merchandise, and, most recently, a live-action remake in 2025.
Following live-action updates to The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Snow White, Lilo & Stitch is finally gracing theaters with rave reviews. Original voice actor Chris Sanders reprises Stitch alongside recast faces such as Sydney Agudong's Nani, Courtney B. Vance's Cobra Bubbles, Hannah Waddingham's Grand Councilwoman, Zach Galifianakis' Jumba Jookiba, Billy Magnussen's Agent Pleakley, and some brand-new characters.
Meet Lilo & Stitch's 2 New Characters
Lilo & Stitch added two new faces for the 2025 remake, most notably Amy Hill's Tutu, the family's longtime neighbor, and David Kawene's grandmother. After the movie's climax, Tutu ends up taking Lilo into her care while Nani goes off to study, granting her a maternal role and welcoming her into the Ohana.
Another new character comes with Tia Carrere's Mrs. Kekoa, the social worker observing Nani and Lilo in place of Cobra Bubbles (whose role in the remake gets some major changes compared to the classic).
Lilo & Stitch's new characters join nine returning characters from the original movie for the 2025 remake that maintains the general essence and storyline, albeit with these seven major changes for the Disney remake.
Cobra Bubbles Gets a Big Twist
In the original Lilo & Stitch, Cobra Bubbles is the social worker watching over Nani and making the tough calls on whether Lilo should remain in her care. An ending twist revealed that Bubbles is a former CIA agent who once saved Earth, meaning the Galactic Federation's Grand Councilwoman was already familiar with him.
However, this time around, Bubbles (played by Courtney B. Vance) is an active CIA agent who pursues Stitch after investigating his crash landing on Earth. He does end up impersonating a social work director to get close to Lilo and her family but that was merely a disguise, unlike the original classic.
Goodbye Captain Gantu
Perhaps the biggest change brought to Lilo & Stitch comes with the removal of Captain Gantu, the original movie's alien main antagonist, who was sent to Earth by the Galactic Federation to capture Experiment 626.
Gantu ends up capturing Lilo and Stitch, only for the chaotic experiment to escape while the Hawaiian girl remains his prisoner. This kickstarted a rescue mission with Stitch, Nani, and a reformed Jumba and Pleakley chasing after Gantu in a ship-on-ship action spectacular before he was arrested by the Grand Councilwoman.
Jumba Is Very Different This Time
As Captain Gantu is out as Lilo & Stitch's main antagonist, those duties pass on to Experiment 626's alien creator, Jumba Jookiba (Zach Galifianakis).
While Jumba was originally portrayed as more of a mad scientist trying to recover his creation, he goes full-on villain in the Lilo & Stitch remake and causes plenty of destruction in his endeavors. And, ultimately, when he gets his hands on Stitch, he sets out to modify his adorable creation into Experiment 627.
Classically, Jumba and Pleakley remain in their alien form through Lilo & Stitch, hilariously disguising themselves in human clothes. This time, they simply use alien technology to transform into their voice actors, Zach Galifianakis and Billy Magnussen, presumably to save money on their giant CGI alien models.
A Less Spectacular Climax
As there is no Captain Gantu and, as such, no big mission to rescue Lilo, the Ohana's pursuit of his ship on Jumba's spacecraft is completely gone. This made for an action-packed finale in the original movie that is now nowhere to be seen, leading to a less spectacular (and more budget-friendly) climax.
Stitch also had a close call with death in the remake that was absent from the 2002 fan-favorite. Having escaped Jumba's ship, Stitch came close to drowning before Nani came to the rescue and he was ultimately revived thanks to a jumpstart from the troublesome family car, setting up the emotional ending.
Stitch's Fate Is a Little Different
Originally, it was a legal loophole that allowed Stitch to stay on Earth as aliens are sticklers for their rules, and, since Lilo paid $2 for Stitch at the animal shelter, to take him away would be stealing and thus illegal.
The Grand Councilwoman was clearly impressed by Stitch's emotional development, placing the family under the protection of the Galactic Federation and preventing Lilo and Nani from being separated.
Things play out rather differently after the 2025 remake's chaotic climax, with no such legal loophole involved as Agent Pleakley instead agrees to watch over Stitch on Earth, a dream come true for the expert on the human planet.
Nani Fulfills Her Dreams
Nani and Lilo get to live happily ever after in the animated movie as, being Stitch's protectors, they are placed under the Galactic Federation's care, preventing them from being separated by the government and social worker Cobra Bubbles.
Thanks to the introduction of longtime neighbor Tutu, the remake changes things as Lilo instead goes into her care while Nani moves away to go to college and fulfill her dream of studying marine biology.
This may appear tragic at first, as, despite a fairly happy ending, the sisters are still separated as Lilo is taken out of Nani's care. But the post-credit scene reveals they still get to spend time together, as Nani hops through a portal between her college dorm and Lilo's bedroom to cuddle her sister through the night.
Learn more about Nani's live-action actress in Lilo & Stitch, Sydney Agudong.
