Warning: This article contains spoilers for 2025’s Lilo & Stitch.Exclusive: The newLilo & Stitchbrought back a couple of stars from the beloved 2002 animated classic, one of whom is particularly in service of a main character’s expanded arc.Lilo & Stitchis primarily about a recently orphaned Hawaiian girl, Lilo (Maia Kealoha), who adopts a havoc-wreaking alien with whom she forms a life-changing bond. However, a hugely important character in the story who gets more attention inDisney’s live-action remakeis Lilo’s older sister Nani (Sydney Agudong), who has become her guardian after their parents’ deaths.
Chris Sanders returned toLilo & Stitchto continue to provide Stitch’s distinct voice, but the original voice actor of Nani also played a role. AsCobra Bubbles (Courtney B. Vance) is made only a CIA agentin the new movie, an original character is introduced as Lilo and Nani’s social worker, Mrs. Kekoa, played by Tia Carrere. Having originally voiced Nani,Carrere spoke about the “fulfilling” experience of returning toLilo & Stitchand praised the new actorsin an interview withScreen Rant. Check out her comments below:
Screen Rant:Tia for you, coming back in, seeing live action, Nani, stepping onto that set…
Carrere:Nani is fantastic. I love Sydney [Agudong] in this role, and Maia [Kealoha] is the perfect Lilo. The casting on this is beyond, and for me to be able to transition from being the young girl that everybody’s rooting for, to the woman that’s helping mentor the younger girl, it really dovetails with where I am in life and it’s really fulfilling getting to become that.
What This Means For Lilo & Stitch
The 2025 Movie Handles The Changes To Nani’s Story Beautifully
Nani is in a tough, overwhelming situation in the originalLilo & Stitch, and the remake delves into what becoming Lilo’s guardian really means for her, while providing new characters who offer her the support she did not have in the previous iteration. In addition to Tūtū (Amy Hill) joining the cast to ultimately become Lilo’s foster mother,having a kinder social worker played by the old Nani herself was a clever way to drive home the emotional stakes of Nani’s storyline.
While Mrs. Kekoa does represent the serious matter of Lilo being taken away from Nani, the movie wants to impart to audiences that she wants to work out a situation that is better for both sisters.Casting Carrere as this character leverages a metatextualitythat supports the notion that she really does care about Nani too. Carrere understands this construct, as she talks about going from one version of the character to supporting another talented performer playing the new version as Nani gets a different ending to her story.
Our Take On Tia Carrere’s Lilo & Stitch Return & Comments
She Helps Make It Possible To Change Nani & Lilo’s Story
It really is beautiful that the original Nani gets to return toLilo & Stitch, not just to express her support for Maia Kealoha and Sydney Agudong playing Lilo and Nani in the real world, but to be one of the vehicles for the new take on the story to land well. WhenLilo & Stitch’s ending sees Nani giving up custody of Lilo to go to college, this can still be a happy conclusion because of the new characters. Having a star who has previously invested time in understanding Nani’s character was a valuable addition to 2025’sLilo & Stitch.
