Disney is both parodying themselves and flexing on their properties as the mischievous alien pet munches on their IPs.
Disney is having a ball poking fun at themselves using Stitch from the new live-action Lilo & Stitch adaptation. First, they released a teaser that was a parody of their famous Lion King scene with Stitch being held up Simba-style. Now, the House of Mouse is taking the lovable alien creature and flexing on some of their acquired properties in the new poster. This time, Stitch chews on a Pixar ball with some disheveled items from Aladdin, Star Wars, Marvel Studios, The Avengers and even 20th Century Fox in a wink-wink reference. The caption reads, “There’s one in every family.” The new adaptation is set to hit theaters on May 23, 2025.
Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch stars Maia Kealoha as Lilo in reimagining the mouse-eared studio’s 2002 animated classic. Other players include Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Courtney B. Vance, Sydney Agudong, and Chris Sanders as the voice of Stitch. The plot focuses on a young, parentless girl who adopts a “dog” from the local pound, utterly unaware that it’s supposedly a dangerous scientific experiment that’s taken refuge on Earth and is now hiding from its creator and those who see it as a menace. Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch will be in theaters during the same Memorial Day window as Tom Cruise’s latest stunt spectacular, Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning.
Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On) directs Lilo & Stitch from a script by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, based on a previous draft by Mike Van Wess. Disney announced the studio’s live-action Lilo & Stitch in February 2018, but footage of Stitch bursting through the film’s logo debuted at 2024’s D23 conference. Lilo & Stitch joins the studio’s long list of live-action remakes after adaptations like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Dumbo, Mulan, and The Little Mermaid. Disney won’t stop there, of course. A live-action version of Moana is also currently in the works, with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui for Moana.
Their latest fare with Snow White didn’t make the splash that they were hoping. However, Lilo & Stitch director Dean Fleischer was also the mind behind Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, which received incredibly well with an aggregate of 98% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 90% from users.
