Disney's 'Lilo & Stitch' Live-Action Remake Sparks Uproar Over Controversial Ending Shift

Disney's upcoming live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch is stirring up controversy with fans. Many are expressing their dismay at significant modifications to the cherished movie's storyline, the biggest of which is a divisive rewrite of the ending that some say changes the film's emotional core.

For some, Lilo & Stitch is more than a run-of-the-mill animated movie. It's a cult classic known for its family, resilience, and unconditional love themes. The 2002 original movie found a sweet spot by telling how a mischievous alien and a lonely Hawaiian girl could form an unbreakable bond without any biological connection holding them together. Its familiar quote, "Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten," still reverberates through generations. But Disney's new live-action adaptation seems to defy that very spirit.

In the original animated version, Stitch emotionally appeals and manages to persuade the United Galactic Federation to allow him to stay on Earth with Lilo and her big sister, Nani. Their irregular family remains intact, and the movie closes on a note of reconciliation and healing.

But in the new live-action adaptation, the ending takes a different, off-putting turn for many. Instead of fortifying their bond, the movie ends with Nani (Sydney Agudong) leaving Hawaii to attend college to study marine biology in California. Lilo (Maia Kealoha) is left behind in the care of their neighbor Tutu (Amy Hill). The sisters part on good terms, and a magical portal is introduced so they can visit one another, but fans say this change dilutes the emotional heft of the original story.

Read More: Annie Knight Shuts Down Bonnie Blue Feud Rumors

This deviation from the original plot has been widely criticized on social media, with some readers describing it as an unnecessary and tone-deaf change-up." "You're telling me that the ending of the Lilo & Stitch live-action remake ends with Nani leaving Lilo with the neighbors so she can go to California to study marine biology when there's an institute for marine biology already in Hawaii?" one aggrieved user wrote on X (formerly Twitter). It's a sentiment that has been expressed across social media platforms, with others pointing out how the rewrite weakens Nani's act of sacrifice and neutralizes the central theme of the chosen family.

The blowback isn't confined to the film's conclusion. Fans have been displeased around here about characters being cut and fan favorites being reimagined. Captain Gantu (the film's main villain) has been excised most conspicuously. In his stead, Stitch's mad-scientist creator, Dr. Jumba (Zach Galifianakis), is depicted as a more malevolent figure, essentially going from being an eccentric mad scientist to a full-out villain. This decision has caused viewers to question the filmmakers' motives as character assassins.

According to widespread sentiment online, the Lilo & Stitch remake character assassinates Jumba and turns him into a full-on villain instead of Gantu. The changes even extended to comic relief characters. Pleakley (Billy Magnussen), Jumba's hapless sidekick, comes back in the live-action remake with key differences. Pleakley, who is known for his campy cross-dressing disguises in the animated film, has seen his flamboyance flattened. The more recent version does not need wigs and a dress as a disguise, and it transforms itself into human form.

The switch has left some fans dismayed. To many of those coming of age when the original film was released, Pleakley was an early mascot of gender fluidity and self-expression. The Lilo & Stitch live-action adaptation has traded emotional and cult-comedy value for a modern-day touch-up. But to many fans, the heart of the original was rewritten. And in the eyes of a passionate fan base, that change was a betrayal.