Disney’s newest live-action movie is almost here!
Stitch!
The live-action Lilo and Stitch is headed to theaters on May 23rd, 2025, and we are pretty excited! While we’re looking forward to the new movie, not everyone is, and it’s already received a share of criticism online. The movie’s director has now personally responded to some of the online chatter.
When Disney’s Lilo and Stitch live-action trailer was released, some fans were immediately disappointed with one character in particular. While there were many positive comments (which can be a rare occurrence when it comes to Disney live-action movies), the character design for Pleakley missed the mark for some fans.
©Disney
If you aren’t a huge fan of the original movie or even the series, you might not know that Pleakley has several different disguises, many of which feature wigs and dresses. Over on TikTok, the director of the film, Dean Fleischer Camp, responded to a comment from a fan who wrote, “How dare they ruin Pleakey’s disguise like that?”
©Disney
Camp replied to the comment in a video saying, “I have had people message me, ‘Why is Pleakley not wearing a dress?’ and I just want to say, I tried… I tried.” In the video, the director also released concept art showing the original design.
From @marceltheshellwithshoeson on TikTok
You can see the full video and the director’s full response below.
@marceltheshellwshoeson
Both Pleakley and another character, Jumba, are aliens who are searching for Stitch after her crash-lands on Earth in the movie. Throughout the film and TV show, these characters both use a mix of human clothes, wigs, and more to disguise themselves from the human world.
©Disney
Disney has released new images of the film, seemingly in response to the online discussion. It’s given us a clearer look at the two aliens before they take on their human disguises in the film.
From @ScottGustin on Twitter
Although there has been a negative online conversation surrounding this change, there has also been a more positive response than previous live-action films. According to Deadline, this was Disney’s second-most-watched live-action trailer with 158 million views in the first 24 hours.
©Disney
Deadline also shared that the movie “also posted the best first-day ticket presales for a PG title year to date, tracking to make $120 million over the four-day Memorial Day holiday weekend.” While the controversy still remains, this does indicate that the movie could be a commercial success, unlike previous live-action remakes.
©Disney
We are eager to see the film when it releases on May 23rd, 2025. As always, be sure to keep following DFB for more Disney news and updates.
See the Live Action Lilo and Stitch Trailer Here
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Disney, sto making live action movies out of animated classics please
Not where I thought this article was headed.
Definitely looking forward to this one! I think people tend to forget that what works in 2D doesn’t always work in 3D (see reaction to Sonic when it first started dropping). I’d rather have better characters overall than less-than-realistic forced characters simply to match a specific look (aka Gran Moff Tarkin in Rogue One – a movie i absolutely love).
We are so excited for the movie! And even though we are huge fans of the incredulous disguises in the animated movie (much like the fantastic but would-never-work disguises in Emperor’s new Groove), I can totally understand why they had to change it for live action. As long as they don’t seem to be TRYING to sour the fandom on Stitch, I’m sure we will find things to love.