- Lilo and Stitch fans are raging about the changes made to the story’s ending
- The live-action remake’s final scene is completely different from the animated classic
- Viewers are heading to Disney+ to watch the original movie and its sequels amid the controversy
Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo and Stitch might be breaking records at the global box office, but it’s also breaking long-time fans’ hearts over the unnecessary change to the story’s ending.
Following its release last Friday (May 23), one of 2025’s most anticipated new movies set a new record for the largest four-day Memorial Day weekend in the US. Indeed, according to an official press release from The Walt Disney Company, Lilo and Stitch‘s reimagining earned over $182 million stateside and $361 million worldwide across its opening weekend.
It’s not all good news for the rambunctious but lovable blue alien and his Hawaiian counterpart, though. Despite also earning a 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, some viewers have hit out at Disney for altering the film’s final scene – a creative decision that’s infuriated some who adored the 2002 animated original.
Full spoilers immediately follow for 2002 and 2025’s Lilo and Stitch.
In the original, the film ends with Stitch remaining on Earth with Lilo and her older sister Nani. That’s because, according to an adoption form that the pair signed at an animal shelter that was housing Lilo (he was presumed to be a dog at the time), Nani and Lilo legally own him.
However, the live-action remake upends that heart-warming ending. Instead of staying with Stitch and her younger sibling and rebuilding their family home, Nani heads off to the University of California to study marine biology. Meanwhile, Lilo and Stitch are taken in by David and Tutu, with the latter duo becoming the former pair’s guardians.
Why has this alteration enraged fans? Because, in some viewers’ eyes, Lilo and Stitch‘s most recognizable line of dialogue – “Ohana means family” – and, by proxy, the film’s primary theme, is completely ruined by the fact that Nani leaves her sister and Stitch behind to study on the other side of North America.
Indeed, numerous irked fans have taken to Reddit to express their frustration and exasperation over the unwelcome change. “I’m happy Nani got her ending,” Parmesan_Pirate119 wrote, “But it felt forced and untrue to the original spirit of the film.”
“This was not a Lilo & Stitch story, this was a Nani story,” an annoyed TownIdiot25 said. “And, as a Nani story, I don’t like how they completely changed the ending when it comes to the guardianship-of-Lilo situation.”
“In the end, they actually have Nani give Lilo up to the neighbors (…though nani gives lilo up to state first) and go to college instead, which feels completely wrong and out of character,” spider-man2401 added. The most frustrated reaction that I’ve seen, though, comes from noakai, who wrote: “Nani agreeing to give custody of Lilo to the state and then Lilo going to live with other people so Nani could go to California for college is so amazingly stupid I can’t believe they went with it.”
This quartet is a mere snapshot of fans vexed by the change, but there are some who have defended the remake’s final sequence. For example, MrChiquitaBananaRN said: “The ending will be the big divide – Ohana IS family, but Ohana is also found family (i.e. Stitch). So, Lilo telling Nani to ‘go to the marines’ and Nani actually doing it, while Lilo has her new support system there, I think it works.”
Regardless of what people think of Lilo and Stitch‘s modified ending, there’s one unmistakable positive impact that the remake has had: it’s caused an uptick in the number of people watching the original and its sequels on Disney+.
Indeed, in the UK, viewers have flocked to one of the world’s best streaming services to watch the 2002 animated movie and its sibling films. At the time of publication, Lilo and Stitch is the number one movie on Disney+ UK, with Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch placing at number two. Stitch! The Movie and Leroy and Stitch find themselves at numbers five and six, respectively.
It’s a similar story in the US, with Lilo and Stitch sitting atop of the most-streamed movies list and Stitch! The Movie ranked at number two. Leroy and Stitch is in fifth position, too.
Will these flicks have staying power on Disney+? Probably not. They’ve likely seen a surge in viewership off the back of the remake’s release and the controversy surrounding its ending. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to see how well these animated films are performing on Disney’s primary streamer. Maybe 2002’s Lilo and Stitch deserves a spot on our best Disney+ movies list!
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tom.power@futurenet.com (Tom Power)
