When it comes toDisneyfilms, the popularity ofLilo & Stitchshows that not everything ends with the box office. Released in June 2002 and just narrowly coming in at number two at the box office,Lilo & Stitchwas a modest hit at its release. It might not have been the box office juggernaut that Disney Renaissance films likeThe Lion King,Aladdin, andBeauty and the Beastwere. Still, it did exceed the box office of the then-recent era Disney flops likeTreasure Planet,Atlantis: The Lost Empire, andThe Emperor’s New Groove. Now,Lilo & Stitchis one of Disney’s best-selling properties.
Lilo & Stitchis one of the few Walt Disney animated films that is not based on a fairy tale or pre-existing work, but instead on an original idea. However, just like Disney’s other unexpected hit that doesn’t fit the traditional Disney brand,The Nightmare Before Christmas,Lilo & Stitchalmost began life on the printed page and would have been drastically different. The Stitch that fans know now, and theLilo & Stitchfranchise that has been a constant moneymaker for Disney, almost didn’t exist.
Lilo & Stitch
The Original (Drastically Different) Plans for Stitch
Chris Sanders, the creator and voice of Stitch, came up with the idea for Stitch in 1985 after having just graduated from CalArts. The original plan didn’t feature Stitch as an alien but as a monster on Earth. While Stitch’s design is now one of the most iconic Disney characters, so perfect that the live-action remake makes nearly no changes to him, Sanders' original drawing saw Stitch as more monstrous and somewhat a mix between a bat and a tiger. Speaking withVulture, Sanders said:
“I wanted to do a children’s book about this little creature that lived in a forest. It was a bit of a monster with no real explanation as to where it came from. It was all about how he found a way to belong. But after doing a couple of drawings, I realized the idea was going to be very difficult to squeeze down to, say, 24 pages. So, I abandoned it.”
Disney’s ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Is So Much Better Than You Remember
The original ‘Lilo & Stitch’ stands as one of the best films in Disney’s animated library, a movie just as wonderful today as it was 23 years ago.
In 1987, Sanders was hired by Walt Disney Feature Animation and worked on films such asThe Rescuers Down Under,Beauty and the Beast, andThe Lion King,before being promoted to head of story onMulan. It was around this time that Thomas Schumacher, executive vice president of Disney Feature Animation, said they needed “Dumbo for a new generation,” referring to a more affordable Disney animated film compared to some of the company’s bigger-budget fairy tales. Schumacher approached Sanders, who remembered his original book idea.
Sanders' original plan kept much of the outline from his book plans. However, Stitch was later reimagined as an alien that crash-landed in a forest, interacting with woodland creatures and being an outcast. This would be reworked into a story where Stitch, an alien, lands in Hawaii and essentially interacts with humans. As Schumacher said, the animal world is already alien to viewers. However, Sanders revisited many of these concepts of a sci-fi character interacting with forest animalsin 2024’sThe Wild Robot, which was adapted from Peter Brown’s book series.
The Changes to ‘Lilo & Stitch’ in Pre-Production
Lilo & Stitchstill underwent many changes in development. Originally, it was going to focus on Stitch meeting a young boy, but Sanders recognized early on that Stitch, being such a male-coded character, needed to be countered by a female presence, a decision that has helpedLilo & Stitchremain a beloved property across all genders.
An early animated test had Stitch as an intergalactic gangster with Jumba as one of his crew before turning on him, after which the Intergalactic Council sent him to hunt Stitch. After testing this concept, Stitch became Jumba’s genetic experiment. This also led the filmmakers to scrap Ricardo Montalbán’s role as the initial villain and replacehim with Captain Gantu. Even then, Jumba was a more villainous character (something the 2025 remake decided to restore) and was toned down in reshoots to be less overtly evil, which can be noted in some tweaks to his character design.
‘Lilo & Stitch’ Fans Are Sleeping on These Classic Episodes, and You Need To Watch Them ASAP
The ‘Lilo & Stitch’ live-action adaptation may be doing well, but these TV episodes featuring the duo need more recognition.
The most drastic change toLilo & Stitchcame in the film’s final act, which initially saw Stitch, Nani, Jumba, and Pleakley hijacking a Boeing 747 jet. Following the events of September 11, the studio drastically reanimated the climax, nine months before the film’s release, with the 747 being transformed into a spacecraft. However, the ship’s interior and exterior design still bear a strong resemblance to an airplane. The studio also decided to move the scene from flying through Honolulu to the mountains of Kauaʻi, given that it was certainly too soon for audiences to see an aerial vehicle flying that close to buildings.
‘Lilo & Stitch’s Legacy
Lilo & Stitchopened in theaters on August 19, 2025. Led by a masterful marketing campaign that saw Stitch crash into other Disney properties,Lilo & Stitchbecame a surprise hit for Walt Disney Animation. Even thoughMinority Reportwon thenumber one spot at the box office that weekend,Lilo & Stitchsold more tickets at a lower cost, as it was primarily aimed at a younger audience.Lilo & Stitchwas not only a hit by Disney’s recent standards, but also performed better than some of the Renaissance-era films, such asThe Hunchback of Notre Dame,Hercules, andMulan. While $145 million domestic and $273 million worldwide might not have seemed like a lot at the time,Lilo & Stitchwas a property that paid off over time, growing an audience over the next 23 years.It is a good example of how Disney’s victories are sometimes not measured in weeks, but in years.
Since its release,Lilo & Stitchhas spawned a multimedia franchise, with three beloved direct-to-video sequels and several spin-off series that expanded the mythology to include Stitch’s fellow experiments (or cousins). Now it has spawned a live-action remake, one that has already grossed back its entire$100 million budget in just its opening weekend. Strangely, history almost repeated itself as Disney originally intended the live-actionLilo & Stitchto be sent straight to Disney+. It was never meant to be a theatrical release.
Had that original plan gone through, Disney would have lost millions of dollars on the live-action remake movie that is now looking to be one of the biggest box office hits of 2025.Between the original 2002 film and the 2025 live-action remake,Lilo & Stitchis now one of Disney’s most successful and beloved properties, standing side by side with Mickey and Friends, the Disney Princesses, Winnie-the-Pooh,Toy Story,Cars,Frozen,Star Wars, and Marvel. It’s hard to imagine whatLilo & Stitchmight have been, because the version audiences got in 2002 was perfect as it was.Lilo & Stitch(2002) is streaming onDisney+, while the live-action remake is in theaters now.
