Ohana means family, and family means Stitch will not get left behind or forgotten.
Though busy with developing the sequel to Wild Robot (2024) for DreamWorks Animation, Chris Sanders, one of the co-creators of the 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch, who also co-wrote, co-directed and voiced Stitch, has been tapped by Disney to pen the forthcoming Lilo & Stitch 2 film adaptation.
Sanders had previously reprised his role as the voice of Stitch in the live adaptation of Lilo & Stitch (2025), but is returning in a larger capacity this time to script the sequel, and this may, in fact, be the intervention that project requires to right the course.
Though commercially successful, having earned US$1 billion at the worldwide box office after eight weekends, becoming the first Hollywood release to do so this year, the live adaptation was unfortunately panned by many long-time fans who criticised various aspects of the characterisations in the film, as well as other minor details.
One common critique centred on Jumba Jookiba, the self-proclaimed evil genius and scientist who created Stitch, otherwise known as Experiment 626. Although he originally tries to recapture the escaped Stitch and claims to enjoy anarchy and chaos, he gradually softens throughout the animated film through his interactions with Lilo, Stitch, and other characters, developing the capacity for love and morality. This has been drastically changed in the live-action remake that does not give Jumba any change in his morality or even a shot at redemption, keeping him as the main villain from the beginning to the end of the film, therefore eliciting cries of outrage from fans who loved Jumba for the father and uncle figure he was to Stitch and Lilo, respectively.
Another widely noted flaw was the fact that Lilo’s relationship with her older sister, Nani, becomes the central focus of the film, with no payoff at the end. In the original animated film, though Cobra Bubbles, a spy masquerading as a social worker, threatens to take Lilo away, Nani fights tooth and nail to keep custody of her little sister and protect the small but loving family they have.
In the live adaptation, however, though Maia Kealoha (Lilo) and Sydney Elizebeth Agudong (Nani) offer a warm portrayal of the bond between siblings, Nani is ultimately still persuaded at the end of the film to give up guardianship of Lilo to the Hawaiian government, so that she can head to the University of California to study marine biology. Fans have decried this ending, saying that it corrupts the core message of the original movie, and most importantly, contradicts the movie’s catchphrase that is popular among fans: “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”
This focus on Lilo and Nani’s bond also detracts from a major part of the original animated film: Stitch’s character arc. In the original film, Stitch goes through growth and self-discovery, struggling with loneliness and identity, and ultimately proves to be more than just a fuzzy blue mascot, but a layered character learning to love. However, the chaos-loving alien was stripped down to mere comic relief in the live-action film, with his antics serving to make him more marketable, thereby removing any arc, growth or moment of clarity. For many longtime fans, this was an unforgivable betrayal of their expectations and the crux of the original movie, especially considering that the pivoted focus on Lilo and Nani’s relationship did not even deliver in its ending.
With the widespread criticism from fans for the first live adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, perhaps the move to recall Sanders to pen the screenplay for the sequel may be a strategic and welcome intervention for the following movie to be more faithful to the characterisations of the popular characters, and bring Stitch back to being the emotional core and the forefront of the franchise, in his rightful place.
Regardless, as development of the sequel begins with Sanders spearheading the script, it looks like Stitch’s creator may finally be here to take him home to his ohana.
Conversation with Ting Wei is like chatting with a weird AI bot programmed only with One Piece lore and theories, sitcom quotes and other miscellaneous pop culture references. When he’s not sleeping, he’s highly likely reading manga. In fact, the only thing he reads more than manga is the Bible, and it’s honestly pretty close.
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