Warning: Spoilers for Lilo & Stitch (2025) ahead

Disney's live-action adaptation of the beloved classic Lilo & Stitch leans on nostalgia in the form of shot-for-shot repeats of some of the original's funniest and most memorable scenes.

With so much of the animated movie simply translated to live-action, the updated cast plays a big role in helping the story feel fresh, and justify the existence of the remake in the first place. The Rotten Tomatoes scores for Lilo & Stitch prove how effective the strategy of blending the old and the new is for Disney, as the movie has debuted with some of the most positive reviews yet for a live-action remake. While most of the cast were replaced for the live-action, several key players from the original made appearances elsewhere in the movie.

Chris Sanders Returns As The Voice Of Stitch In The Live-Action Remake

Sanders Also Wrote And Directed The Original Animated Film

Perhaps most importantly, the distinctive voice of Stitch carried over from the animated classic to the live-action. Disney changed virtually nothing about Stitch's appearance (which was the correct call, based on audience reception thus far), and brought back Chris Sanders to voice the adorable alien once again. Aside from delivering one of the most unique and recognizable voices in all of Disney's extensive animated filmography, Sanders is animation royalty from a filmmaking perspective.

Chris Sanders is the original creator of the character Stitch, whom he first ideated in 1985, nearly two decades before he came to life via Disney Animation Studios.

The 63-year-old writer and director actually wrote and directed the original Lilo & Stitch, along with a slew of other celebrated animated movies from the last 20 years, including How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods, and most recently The Wild Robot. Sanders received Academy Award nominations for his work on each of the aforementioned four films. Sanders has voiced Stitch for nearly every piece of media he has appeared in, from straight-to-video sequels, the animated series, video games, and marketing materials, and he lent his voice once again for the live-action remake.

Tia Carrere Plays A New Character In Lilo & Stitch After Voicing Nani In The Original

Her Role Was A New Addition To The Familiar Story

Celebrated actress and Grammy Award-winning musical artist Tia Carrere voiced Lilo's big sister Nani in the original Lilo & Stitch, but she returned in a completely different capacity in the live-action remake. The role of Cobra Bubbles from the animated movie was essentially split into Courtney B. Vance's version of the character, who was exclusively a CIA agent, and the new character Mrs. Kekoa, who was the legitimate social worker in charge of Nani and Lilo's case. She brings heart and understanding to a character with a difficult job, and hers is a very welcome return for the remake.

Jason Scott Lee Has A Cameo In Lilo & Stitch's Live-Action Remake After Voicing David

He Has A Very Small Role In One Important Scene

Jason Scott Lee voiced David Kawena, a friend of both Nani and Lilo who has a crush on Nani, in the original Lilo & Stitch, but like Tia Carrere, he also returned in a different role for the remake. He made a brief cameo as the manager of the luau that Nani works at before Stitch destroys it. Lee is a seasoned actor and martial artist most known for his role as Mowgli in another Disney live-action remake, 1994's The Jungle Book. The role of David still exists in the remake, but the character is played by Kaipo Dudoit.

Amy Hill Also Has A Cameo In Lilo & Stitch

She Takes On A Much Larger Role In The Live-Action Movie

Amy Hasagawa had only a small role in the original Lilo & Stitch, as she played Mrs. Hasagawa, the bespectacled old woman who runs the flower shop that Nani was seeking employment at during her job hunt montage. She played a brand-new character in the live-action remake, Nani and Lilo's neighbor Tutu. In the movie, David is actually a neighbor of the Pelekai sisters, and Tutu is the grandmother that he lives with. As their long-time neighbor, she is almost like a grandmother to the girls as well.

Tutu is actually the person responsible for Lilo purchasing Stitch from the shelter instead of Nani, who allowed it in the original. Her role is important not only as a system for the two orphaned sisters, but with Nani and Lilo destined to be separated, Tutu offers to let Lilo live with her and David so that even if Nani is no longer her primary caretaker, she will live just next door. Amy Hill brings both warmth and humor to the new character, and she's perhaps the best original character in the remake.

Why No Other Animated Lilo & Stitch Cast Returned For The Live-Action Remake

A New Cast Helps The Live-Action Feel Fresh

While some of the key players returned for the live-action remake, there are plenty of characters from the original Lilo & Stitch who did not reappear in the new movie. The two most conspicuous differences were Agent Wendell Pleakley, the Earth expert from the United Galactic Federation, and Dr. Jumba Jookiba, the mad scientist and creator of Experiment 626. Pleakley was originally voiced by veteran actor Kevin McDonald, while Jumba was voiced by Disney's distinguished voice actor David Ogden Stiers, who was a staple of the 1990s and 2000s Disney animated movies.

Both actors were replaced in the original by Billy Magnussen (No Time to Die) and Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover trilogy), respectively. In the remake, Pleakley and Jumba disguise themselves with holograms of real human beings for the majority of the movie's action, so it makes sense that they would use two new, more recognizable faces in those roles. Cobra Bubbles' role was given to Courtney B. Vance as opposed to Ving Rhames, his original voice actor, because Rhames' schedule was occupied by Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, which releases alongside Lilo & Stitch on Memorial Day Weekend.

Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) replaced Zoe Caldwell as the voice of the Grand Councilwoman of the United Galactic Federation, which was the only other major role that was replaced aside from the Pelekai sisters for obvious reasons. The overhaul of the major roles is an important part of what makes any remake successful, but particularly one as distinct as Lilo & Stitch. The new actors and actresses play a key role in ensuring the new version feels fresh, while keeping some of the original cast involved helps pay homage to their roles, and cements the nostalgia for the audience.