Disney’s live-action Lilo & Sтιтch includes practically all the characters from the 2002 animated movie, providing an idea of how the characters look in live-action vs. animation. The 2025 live-action remake arrives 23 years after the original Disney movie by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, who would go on to do How To Train Your Dragon. Due to its nature as a remake, the new film includes almost all the same characters audiences already know and love. However, the live-action Lilo & Sтιтch cast brings new actors aboard to play Lilo, Nani, Cobra, and others.

While Chris Sanders returns as the voice of Sтιтch, the live-action adaptation of Lilo & Sтιтch can’t avoid comparisons to the original animated movie. This includes everything from how it could change the story to how accurately it adapts the characters. A significant factor in any live-action remake is how the characters look in the reimaginings compared to their animated counterparts. Earlier Disney live-action remakes have made noticeable changes with The Lion King or Snow White. With Lilo & Sтιтch‘s alien characters, some changes may be expected. Luckily, the live-action Lilo & Sтιтch characters look pretty accurate to the animation.

Sтιтch/Experiment 626

The Blue Alien Looks Incredibly Accurate

Disney took the best approach to bringing Sтιтch to live-action by not really changing anything about his animated appearance. The blue alien still has a cute quality to his design that is instrumental to his original look. The blue fur and all-black eyes are present. The live-action movie even includes his four arms and antennas that are only visible in his natural alien form. If there is one change that has arguably been made, its with the lighter parts of his fur. Instead of just a lighter shade of blue, the live-action Sтιтch’s belly is closer to white.

Even though Sтιтch doesn’t typically wear clothes, the live-action movie does change his costumes in some minor ways. The orange jumpsuit that he’s in before being sent to Earth does not have the yellow triangles on it as it does in the animated movie. As for how accurate Sтιтch’s Elvis impersonation and costume are, that is one element that hasn’t been revealed in Lilo & Sтιтch‘s trailers.

Lilo Pelekai

She’s Played By Maia Kealoha

Lilo is a central character to the live-action Lilo & Sтιтch just as she was in the animated film. Maia Kealoha was seven years old during production on the film, making her barely older than Lilo is typically portrayed to be, which is 6 years old. Disney hired the young Hawaiian actress to bring authenticity to the role. While she doesn’t look exactly like the animated version of Lilo, Kealoha still makes for an incredibly accurate version of the character from her appearance to her comedic ability.

The live-action Lilo & Sтιтch even incorporates some of Lilo’s outfits from the animated movie, albeit with twists. Lilo’s usual red dress with white leaves is referenced in the live-action movie as Kealoha wears a red shirt with white flowers underneath overalls. The live-action setting allows for more outfit changes than the animated source material, so Kealoha will wear different clothes throughout the film.

Nani Pelekai

Played By Sydney Agudong

Lilo’s older sister Nani is another human character in Lilo & Sтιтch who looks a bit different in live-action. There were always going to be some changes made between Nani’s appearance between the two mediums. However, Sydney Agudong’s casting did spark controversy due to concerns of Lilo & Sтιтch casting a lighter-skinned actress as Nani. The Pelekai sisters have a darker skin tone in the animated movie. Agudong was born and raised in Hawaii, but is of Caucasian, Filipino, and Polynesian descent.

Beyond the controversy of Nani’s skin color, there are other ways she looks different in the live-action Lilo & Sтιтch. She wears gold hoop earrings and different outfits and commonly has her hair up in a bun. Nani never wears earrings or puts her hair up in the animated movie. There are also no signs of some of Nani’s more recognizable clothing, like the orange shirt with a pink heart. Sydney Agudong is also a bit older than Nani, as she’s 24 years old. Nani is 18 years old in the movie, though.

Dr. Jumba Jookiba

Played By Zach Galifianakis

Lilo & Sтιтch‘s live-action remake is making a notable change to Jumba’s design. The movie has yet to fully reveal his alien appearance, making it impossible to compare it to animation. However, it is known that Zach Galifianakis voices Jumba and will appear as a human disguise for the alien. While the animated movie had Jumba wear a bad disguise to try and pᴀss as a human, the live-action remake adds cloaking technology to the mad scientist so his idenтιтy can be better concealed while on Earth.

Agent Pleakley

Played By Billy Magnussen

Agent Pleakley’s live-action design in Lilo & Sтιтch has ben revealed. Played by Billy Magnussen, Pleakley’s appearance is very accurate to the animated film. His greenish skin, one eye, big head, three fingers on each hand, and single antenna are all present. Even his blue Galactic Federation uniform can be seen. Just as Sтιтch’s live-action appearance is almost identical to the animated form, Lilo & Sтιтch took a similar approach to adapting another CGI alien character in Pleakley.

David Kawena

Played By Kaipo Dudoit

Kaipo Dudoit’s version of David Kawena in the live-action Lilo & Sтιтch is seemingly quite accurate. Dudoit is native to Hawaii and looks convincing as David. He’s only been shown briefly during the film’s marketing, so proper looks at him are a bit limited. Some outfit differences are present, and there’s no clear sign of David’s necklace, but the actor is tall and strong, just as the character has been shown to be previously.

Cobra Bubbles

Played By Courtney B. Vance

Cobra Bubbles has some differences in his appearance in Lilo & Sтιтch‘s live-action movie compared to the animation. The movie swaps out Ving Rhames with Courtney B. Vance, giving the character a different voice. But as far as strictly appearance-based comparisons go, there are deviations in the remake compared to how Bubbles looks in the original movie. Bubbles is still a bald, Black man typically seen in a black and white suit.

For starters, Courtney B. Vance is not quite as tall, muscular, and physically imposing as Bubbles was in the animated movie. The live-action movie also adds new elements to the character design, such as a mustache, which is part of Vance’s typical look. The remake also replaces Bubbles’ sunglᴀsses with standard glᴀsses, which is also inherent to casting Vance. He is also wearing a wedding ring in live-action and does not appear to have “COBRA” tattooed on his knuckles. Vance’s version of Bubbles even only has one golden earring, in his right ear, as opposed to having one in both.

Grand Councilwoman

Voiced By Hannah Waddingham

Another alien in Lilo & Sтιтch, the Grand Councilwoman has a reasonably accurate appearance in live-action compared to animation. The shape of her head and color of her skin look accurate, as does the majority of her outfit. The only big noticeable change is the design of the gold antler-shaped accessory that sits on her shoulders. The animated movie has two rather slender and long horns that climb up above her head. The live-action remake makes them shorter and look more like coral or antlers with several sections.

Ice Cream Guy

The Fan Favorite Character Returns

Ice Cream Guy is a fan-favorite character in the animated 2002 movie, and so the live-action film had to find a way to include the guy whose ice cream is constantly falling out of his cone. Instead of Ice Cream Guy being a shirtless white man with a horrible sunburn, he’s now a Hawaiian native who does not have a noticeable burn, but his shirt could cover that fact. The biggest, and possibly controversial, change made here is that he may have traded in his love of ice cream for Hawaiian shaved ice in the live-action Lilo & Sтιтch.