Is “Lilo & Stitch” ‘A Travesty’ Or ‘Disney’s Best Live-Action Remake Yet’? Critics Can’t Seem To Agree

Disney’s live-action remakes have always been something of a mixed bag, but the reviews for the new adaptation of Lilo & Stitch are suggesting it could be one of the most polarising yet.

Based on the 2002 animated classic, this new take on Lilo & Stitch moves the action into the real world, with live-action actors portraying the human characters and realistic CGI animation used to help depict its various aliens.

Ahead of the film’s cinema release later this week, critics have begun sharing their thoughts on the remake, which range from reducing it to a “travesty” and a “monstrosity” to hailing it as being among Disney’s best live-action remakes to date.

Here’s a selection of the reviews so far to help get across just how divided critics are about the new Lilo & Stitch…

The Guardian (1/5)

“Disney’s latest unnecessary remake is a monstrosity monstrosity […] there’s hardly a single smile in Lilo & Stitch ’25 not generated through the stolen valor of the earlier screenplay, and hardly a poignant moment that’s not more admirably raw in the G-rated version.”

The Independent (1/5)

“Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch is a travesty. This pointless remake saps the original film of its humour, satire and queerness – and sands down the titular alien into a blander, more easily marketable CGI rascal.”

The Hollywood Reporter

“For adults, a little of the visual chaos will go a long way, with Stitch, cute as he is, not exactly E.T. in terms of appeal. But younger viewers should eat it all up.”

Empire (3/5)

“It’s not bad; it can’t be – it’s too similar to the 2002 film that is one of Disney’s all-time best. But it’s time to either give filmmakers the room to cut loose with these remakes and dare to do something very different, or stop doing them.”

Variety

“Lilo & Stitch isn’t an embarrassment. Few of these Disney remakes are, since they’re made with far too much care. But instead of deepening our love for the originals, they tend to chip away at it, undermining the magic on which Walt founded the company.”

Deadline

“The chaos of these moving pieces is partly what made the original so successful, a carnival of hilarious and poignant ping-ponging elements. But here, the scales are too often tipped into the realm of the treacly, and the entire affair feels a bit sluggish.”

The AV Club

“‘Ohana’ might still mean ‘family’, but this Lilo & Stitch deserves to be left behind – and forgotten.”

TheWrap

“Did you ever wonder what Lilo & Stitch would look like if it was live-action, a lot longer and not quite as good? If you did, you’re thinking like a Disney executive. The House of Mouse has been chewing away at its own foundations for nearly two decades now and it’s found something else to gnaw on.”

IndieWire

“[The original animated film] works so well because of its wily combination of packaging and messaging. But it also works significantly less well when that packaging changes, switched from bright and bubbly animation to a live-action setting that can’t help but constantly remind viewers of the supposed reality of the situation.”

The Telegraph (3/5)

“Whether through some (relatively subtle) plot adjustments or just by dint of flipping the story into the flesh-and-blood realm, Lilo & Stitch has been tamed into one of those naughty-pet family comedies that used to roll off studio production lines with thud-thudding regularity, until the form fell out of fashion somewhere around 1994.”

USA Today

“This [film] settles on being a fine retread instead of a rabble-rousing romp. Stitch, in his own peculiar way, sums it up perfectly: This Lilo & Stitch is ‘broken but still good’. Even if it’s ultimately an unnecessary new take on a chaotic masterpiece.”

Entertainment Weekly (B+)

“At its core, this new version of Lilo & Stitch is the same as its animated predecessor, but most crucially (and surprisingly), it’s also interested in telling a deeper story that shades in much of Lilo and Nani’s grief with colours that imbue the project with a glorious richness.”

Radio Times (4/5)

“The film has been made with great care, attention to detail and love for Hawaiian culture, with the story fleshed out nicely. Although the animated characters are appropriately out of this world, the film is grounded by its appealing and sensitively drawn relationships and enhanced by its eccentricity.”

ScreenRant

“Disney’s best live-action remake yet […] it’s clear from the film that Disney is finally beginning to understand that these live-action remakes need to be as warm and inviting as their animated counterparts.”

IGN (8/10)

“Where the weakest Disney remakes feel like they’re parroting the original without capturing any of their genuine emotion, Lilo & Stitch retains and often amplifies the most stirring aspects of the rightfully beloved animated film.”

Lilo & Stitch hits UK cinemas on Friday 23 May.