5 Best Lilo & Stitch Moments That Need To Be In The Live-Action Remake

Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch is coming soon, and there are a lot of iconic moments from the original movie that the new version has to recreate. The live-action redo of Lilo & Stitch is set to be released on May 23, 2025, and it’s being directed by Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’s Dean Fleischer Camp, so there’s a chance it could actually be great. The original version of Lilo & Stitch is so iconic that this remake has a lot to live up to — and a lot to get right.

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Disney’s live-action remakes tend to directly adapt the best moments from their animated predecessors, because it’s a good way to tap into the nostalgia that makes these movies so successful. The 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King opens with an almost shot-for-shot recreation of the original film’s iconic “Circle of Life” sequence, because there’s no way the filmmakers could’ve come up with a better opening. There are a few unforgettable moments from the original Lilo & Stitch that the remake needs to include to do justice to the story.

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5

Lilo Borrows $2 To Adopt Stitch

The live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch will surely include the scene in which Nani takes Lilo to an animal shelter and she adopts Stitch, because that’s the inciting incident of the whole story. But there’s one key detail of the scene that it can’t neglect. When the receptionist at the animal shelter asks for a $2 adoption fee, Lilo insists on paying it herself. But she doesn’t have $2, so she borrows it from Nani, and she can’t reach the receptionist, so she has Nani hand the money over for her.

It’s one of Lilo’s funniest moments in the movie, and it shows what a typical kid she is. She wants to be one of the grownups, but she’s ultimately pretty hopeless. She can barely see over the receptionist’s desk.

4

Lilo Plays “Suspicious Minds” Through Stitch’s Mouth

As Lilo bonds with her new pet Stitch, she quickly realizes that this blue-furred, six-armed creature is no typical dog. Every day, Lilo discovers a new strange ability that Stitch has as a result of being an alien experiment, not an Earth-bound canine. One of the weirdest powers Lilo discovers is Stitch’s ability to become a record player.

One morning, Lilo brings Stitch into Nani’s room with her record player. She puts Stitch’s claw on a spinning record like a needle and opens his mouth, which proceeds to play Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” like a speaker. This is one of the most delightfully absurd gags in the movie and it works beautifully. From Lilo’s amazement to Stitch’s blank stare to Nani’s look of utter bewilderment, everything about this scene lands, and it’ll be tough to replicate.

3

Cobra Bubbles’ Disastrous First Visit To The House

The biggest ticking-clock conflict in Lilo & Stitch is that social services suspect that Nani is unfit to be Lilo’s guardian and want to place her into foster care. This conflict is set up perfectly when social worker Cobra Bubbles, played by Courtney B. Vance in the remake, makes his first visit to the house. Everything that could possibly go wrong does go wrong.

Bubbles finds Lilo home alone, the house a complete mess, the front door nailed shut, and Nani stuck in the doggy door. Not only is it hilarious just how disastrous this visit is; it also sets up a contentious relationship with Bubbles that permeates throughout the rest of the film. Getting this scene right is the key to establishing the stakes of the story.

2

Stitch’s Elvis Performance On The Beach

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When Lilo is tasked with turning Stitch into an upstanding member of society, she models him after the image of the most upstanding member of society she can think of: her favorite singer, Elvis. She dresses Stitch in a bedazzled white suit like the kind Elvis would wear on stage, gives him a head of floppy black hair like Elvis had, and gives him a guitar. She debuts the new Elvis-style Stitch on the beach.

At first, Stitch’s beachside Elvis performance works like a treat as he attracts a crowd. However, the crowd quickly brings out Stitch’s violent side and the plan backfires. The live-action remake needs to recreate this scene purely for the hilarious image of Stitch dressed as Elvis.

1

“Ohana Means Family”

Lilo and Stitch are essentially Elliott and E.T. if they had a sadistic streak. Where Elliott and E.T. bond over being the purest, kindest souls in the universe, Lilo and Stitch bond over being social outcasts due to their violent tendencies. The message of the movie is that families come in all shapes and sizes, and even when that family includes an antisocial kid or a vicious alien creature, they need to stick together.

This is encapsulated beautifully in Lilo & Stitch’s most memorable quote: “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” This is the catchphrase that holds Lilo and Nani together, and Stitch’s recital of the line is the emotional culmination of the whole film. The Lilo & Stitch remake won’t work if it doesn’t recapture this touching moment.

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