What to Watch This Weekend – Lilo & Stitch

Lilo & Stitch is a story about supporting family, even when they mess up. Lilo (Maia Kealoha) is… The post What to Watch This Weekend – Lilo & Stitch appeared first on LRMonline.

May 23, 2025 - 06:20

Lilo & Stitch is a story about supporting family, even when they mess up. Lilo (Maia Kealoha) is a bit of an outcast. At age six, she lives in Hawaii with her older sister Nani (Sydney Elizebeth Agudong) who also serves as her caregiver now that their parents have passed. Lilo has boundless energy and creativity making her both loveable and prone to mischief. Unfortunately, with all the turmoil and flux, Nani and Lilo’s lives are a mess. A mess that catches the attention of Mrs. Kekoa (Tia Carrere), a social worker who has growing concerns that Nani is unable to give Lilo a stable upbringing. One night, Lilo wishes upon a “star” for a friend. That star is actually a feisty alien named Stitch (Chris Sanders), crashlanding on Earth to escape his would-be captors. When Stitch and Lilo cross paths, she immediately adopts him as her “dog,” and two begin learning a lot from each other.

What works in Lilo & Stitch is the perfect mix of slapstick and sweetness. Director Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On) takes advantage of adapting the animated version to real life by going deep on the human characters. Lilo and Nani (along with the whole island) have complexity and loads of empathy. They are relatable, funny, and flawed. This focus keeps Lilo & Stitch highly engaging and heartfelt throughout. And Stitch is an absolute riot. At some point audiences will forget that he’s just a CGI creation, as the animators did a fantastic job bringing the character to life. As such, when Stitch creates mayhem the humor works because he blends into the proceedings seamlessly. All in all, Lilo & Stitch works great at combining comedy with emotion.

RELATED: Lilo & Stitch Rides The Wave Onto 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

Audiences who wonder why all these live-action remakes of classic Disney movies keep coming may not be swayed by Lilo & Stitch. While it justifies its existence rather well with some choice updates to characters, the film remains mostly a beat-for-beat rehashing. For knowledgeable fans of the original, nothing will be particularly surprising. Furthermore, setting Lilo & Stitch in the real world does change the stakes in a way. With animation, audiences tend to expect the characters never to be in real danger and accepting that everyone gets a happy ending. Here, when Stitch starts a fire or throws a projectile at a moving vehicle, it feels a little scarier. With “real people” in play, the peril feels a little more disconcerting. Finally, there are very few consequences and everything works out. This may feel a little cheap, but it is a Disney movie after all.

Lilo & Stitch is a great family film. It’ll have patrons of all ages laughing while also enjoying its great messages about family and supporting people where they are. It reminds us that we should all be a little less judgmental and perhaps a little sillier. Highly recommended.

Recommended if you enjoyed: The Little Mermaid, Aladdin

Lilo & Stitch is available exclusively in theaters beginning on May 23^rd, 2025

The post What to Watch This Weekend – Lilo & Stitch appeared first on LRMonline.