The live-actionLilo & Stitchremake has finally arrived, and it continues a tragic Disney villain trend that has hurt six remakes. 2025’sLilo & Stitchhas been subject to lots of criticism online, with many fans of the original claiming that it has made a ton of unnecessary changes to the 2002 classic. Nani’s arc is completely different, the film has an alternate ending, and Jumba is the main villain. These are just some of the manychanges thatLilo & Stitchmade. However, one of the worst changes isn’t shocking, as it has happened in several other remakes.
Disney’s trend of making live-action remakes is an odd one, as they tend to make tons of money despite their divisive nature. Generally, critics aren’t big fans of the Disney live-action remakes, while fans of the source material also tend to not like them. Despite this,Disney’s live-action remakes are box office hitsthat spawn sequels and reignite their respective franchises.This could simply be due to theater-goers being nostalgic for the originalsand wanting to share their favorite Disney movies with their kids. However, changes like these make the remakes more upsetting than nostalgic.
Lilo & Stitch’s Live-Action Remake Left Out The Original Movie’s Main Villain
Captain Gantu Is Replaced By Jumba
One of the most shocking changes in the live-actionLilo & Stitchremake is that it completely left out Captain Gantu. Gantu is the main villain in the original film, with him being sent to apprehend Stitch after Jumba and Pleakley fail. Gantu is nowhere to be seen in the remake, with Jumba instead acting as the film’s main villain. Not only does this mean that one of the best characters isn’t featured at all, but it also means thatthe remake had to massacre Jumba, twisting his arc so he could serve as the main antagonist.
Thedirector ofLilo & Stitchhas already explained Gantu’s absence, with him stating that Gantu was difficult and expensive to pull off in live-action. However, this isn’t an excuse. It only highlights how pointless these live-action remakes are. If filmmakers are more constrained, Disney has to spend more money, and the project turns out worse, there is no need to make these live-action remakes. Gantu is far from the only victim of this, as tons of other Disney villains have been completely altered by their respective live-action remakes.
They’re Almost Always Worse
While making massive changes to the villains isn’t a staple ofevery Disney live-action remake, it has happened to plenty of the films.Maleficent,Aladdin,The Lion King,Mulan,Cruella, and nowLilo & Stitchhave all suffered from this.Maleficentpaints a more sympathetic picture of Disney’s ultimate villain, and while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the films don’t include her epic dragon form.Aladdinmakes Jafar a much weaker villain, with his genie form and other magical abilities being downplayed when compared to the animated version.
The Lion KingandMufasa: The Lion Kingmake Scar a much weaker villain. Not only is “Be Prepared” completely butchered in the 2019 remake, butthe prequel makes jealousy over Sarabi Scar’s main motivation.Mulancuts Shan Yu and instead replaces him with a boring warrior named Böri Khan and a forgettable witch named Xianniang. Finally,Cruellamakes the titular Cruella de Vil not a villain at all, with her being a sympathetic take on a puppy killer.
Disney’s Remakes Changing The Villains Is Often Unnecessary
Lilo & Stitch Is The Latest Victim
It can be argued thatMaleficentandCruella’s villain changes are ok, as the films are trying to offer a new take on the original films. For the rest of these, however, changing the villains is often unnecessary. The changes to Scar and Jafar come down to poor writing, whileMulancompletely overhauled the original story andLilo & Stitchcouldn’t make Gantu work in live-action. All of these are poor excuses for butchering the animated classics, andLilo & Stitchis just the latest victim of this.
