Lilo & Stitch

The best part to be said about Lilo & Stitch is that it is serviceable. The worst part is, that it should have been so much more. Perhaps too much has changed since 2002 to expect quietude to be the heart of a mainstream film.

Some recent remakes can't help but feel like a lesser effort, and that's sadly the case with Lilo & Stitch. This funny, sweet film still feels like a pale imitation of its sun-soaked predecessor because that's literally what it is: a real-world take on the pastel-and-primary original.

The movie around him, however, is ghastly. All told, there's hardly a single smile in Lilo & Stitch '25 not generated through the stolen valor of the earlier screenplay, and hardly a poignant moment that's not more admirably raw in the G-rated version.