First Look at Disney’s Live-Action Animation of Stitch Draws Mixed Reactions From Fans

Disney's first look at the upcoming live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch has left many fans excited for the film's release next summer, but the animation of Experiment 626 isn't sitting right with everyone.

The studio debuted a brief teaser for the highly anticipated project at this year's D23 Expo , uploading a clip of the release announcement on Instagram over the weekend that found the digitized little blue alien bursting through the background before iterating one of his classic, unintelligible soundbites.

"Experiment 626 has entered the chat!" Disney captioned the video on social media. "The live-action #LiloAndStitch is coming only to theaters in Summer 2025!"

Fans of the classic 2002 film had mixed reactions over the updated design, with one boldy typing, "THANK YOU FOR MAKING HIM LOOK RIGHT," and another noting, "WAIT HE LOOKS ADORABLE."

"pleasantly surprised he looks good!" a third wrote, while someone else said, "Hehe he’s so cute!!!! The live action I’ve been waiting for! 💙."

"Omg, looks better than I was expecting," another fan admitted, suggesting that Disney had "learned from Sonic"—referenceing the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog film that underwent an animation overhaul, pushing the release date back by a year, in response to fans' backlash over the initial design of the main character.

Others declared that Disney was "ruining the classics" with their recent string of "live action remakes that no one asked for," calling them "ALL...bad."

"NO ONE asked for this," another agreed. "Lilo and Stich [sic] is a masterpiece in its own medium, why change it?!"

For now, we'll just have to sit tight to see whether they successfully prove why it was worth changing, or if this one should have been left in the vault.

Next: A New Ceramic Stitch-Shaped Halloween Candy Bowl Just Hit Shelves for an Unbeatable Price, and It's Scarily Adorable