'Lilo & Stitch' Live-Action Remake Faces Controversy
The 2025 live-action adaptation Lilo & Stitch is finally in theaters. While viewers seem to be enjoying the new film, there is some controversy in the way, specifically with the way Lilo & Stitch fans feel about the film's ending.
There's absolutely difficulty in making these types of Disney adaptations. After all, some fans want to see the story they remember perfectly represented, while others hope for new changes and alterations to make a more modern interpretation.
The ending of Lilo & Stitch aims for the latter, with a change that has fans in an uproar, and even the film's director, Dean Fleischer Camp, has been attempting to put out the fires on social media. Fortunately for Camp, some fans agree with his take, but it generally looks like a divisive conclusion for fans of the original film. Obvious spoilers ahead.
Throughout Lilo & Stitch , fans will notice several major changes, including the absence of fan-favorite character Captain Gantu and the decision to split Agent Cobra Bubbles into two different roles. For the film's ending, however, that's where fans are apparently drawing a line.
The end of the film has a major difference when compared with its animated counterpart. The original film ended with Lilo being fully cared for by her sister, Nani, and the support of her new family which includes David, Jumba, and Pleakley. This ties in with the film's meaning of 'Ohana,' which means 'family.' The phrase is also associated with the quote, 'Family means no one gets left behind.'
What some fans find controversial about the new film's ending, however, is that it doesn't exactly play out the same way. Apparently Nani leaves Lilo to be taken care of by David and his grandmother so that she can pursue her dream of going to college in the American mainland. While she still visits Lilo and Stitch using Jumba's portal gun, it's an ending that some fans felt was disrespectful to the meaning of 'Ohana.'
The film's director, however, insists that it merely expands the meaning of the word. Now he insists that Nani is able to keep her dreams from being left behind, something which some fans supported as you can see below:
For anybody questioning the ending of our film, this beautiful piece by @lsirikul nails it https://t.co/k8ZCz1YbTA
— Dean Fleischer Camp (@DFLEISCHERCAMP) May 26, 2025
Thank you for sharing your stories with me ❤️ It seems like the people with actual lived experiences like this are the ones with whom this ending resonates the most. https://t.co/RCjVTNhu3G
— Dean Fleischer Camp (@DFLEISCHERCAMP) May 26, 2025
Others, however, were less happy with this interpretation:
Lilo and Stitch 2025 summarized:
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.
Disney hates you and your family too. pic.twitter.com/lpWMfKerTE
— Fake Wizard (@RealLifeFakeWiz) May 23, 2025
How the fuck did the 'ohana means nothing' film outgross the 'ohana means family' film that were trying to adapt https://t.co/0Uu62mGVVA
— ethanbrah 🇵🇸#FreePalestine (@SadieBy81859) May 25, 2025
pic.twitter.com/ZtOkhQjhL7
— Comrade Sisko 🖖🏾✊🏿 (@Pinko69420) May 27, 2025
Obviously there are a variety of ways this ending could have been handled, whether by following the original film's conclusion more closely or merely allowing Nani to go to college in Hawaii. Either way, the film as a whole has been positively received, so it looks like Lilo & Stitch may succeed regardless of how people feel about the controversy of its ending.
Lilo & Stitch is now playing in theaters. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates as we have them.
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