Within the last 15 years, the Disney company has followed a trend of taking their beloved animated movies, and turning them into live-action movies. They’ve done this with Alice in Wonderland in 2010, Cinderella in 2015, Beauty and the Beast in 2017, and many, many more. With these new adaptations of the nostalgic stories, Disney has created high levels of controversy over many of the films due to changes in the story, and casting choices. The most recent of this trend, Snow White, hit theaters in late March and bombed at the box office, and with critics’ reviews, only earning a 1.7/10 on IMDb and 40% on Rotten Tomatoes. Many attributed this to poor audience reactions to the film’s stars’, Rachel Zeglar and Gal Gadot, on press tour, as well as their outspoken political opinions.
Now, Disney has adapted its 2002 fan-favorite film, Lilo And Stitch, into a live-action version. During the casting process, many celebrated Disney’s effort to cast Hawaiian actors, as it allowed for a more authentic feel and helped it stay more true to the source material. Many began to fall in love with the cast as they attended Disney premieres earlier in the year, and it became clear how well they were cast.
The movie was highly anticipated upon its Memorial Day Weekend release, which was proven in the numbers. The animated movie in 2002 made $273.1 million worldwide in the entirety of its box office run. However, the new version has already surpassed that, grossing $341.7 million in its opening weekend. This makes it the 5th highest-grossing film in 2025.
While the movie has been largely successful, many fans have left the theaters highly unhappy about changes that have been made to the story. In the original story, Nani tries everything to keep custody of her little sister, Lilo, after the death of their parents. As they adopt Stitch, an alien they mistake for a strange dog, their lives become more difficult, and Nani struggles to prove to the state that she can care for her sister. Even through the struggles, Nani and Lilo manage to stay together with the help of new friends and a newfound family. The new adaptation has the same core story but has changed the end. Instead of keeping custody, Nani decided to put Lilo into foster care, and she left Hawaii to study marine biology at the University Of San Diego. Lilo ends up being fostered by their neighbor, Tutu.
Some fans feel that this new ending betrays the original movie’s catchphrase of “Ohana means family, Family means no one gets left behind”. A Twitter user, Fake Wizard (@RealLifeFakeWiz), took to the platform to write, “Ohana means family unless you get to go to college to be a Marine Biologist, in which case, dump your family on the government and your neighbors”.
Other fans feel angered that Nani’s character was written to leave the island, a place with incredible marine life ecosystems, to go to San Diego. Some fans however like the change of plot, as they feel that the new plot allows both main characters to grow and be in a situation that will be the most healthy and beneficial to them.
With the film in theaters now, and an expected release in the coming months to the streaming platform, Disney+, fans can decide for themselves how they feel about the new adaptation and changes to the story.
