SDCC ’25: LILO & STITCH actors talk Live-Action Ohana

By Shaun Manning

Marking the digital release and billion-dollar success of Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch remake, three of the film’s stars met with press for roundtable interviews at San Diego Comic-Con. We spoke with Maia Kealoha (Lilo), Sydney Agudong (Nani), and Tia Carrera (Mrs. Kekoa, voice of Nani in the animated movie) about their experience on the film and the legacy of one of Disney’s most unusual animated features.

Kealoha arrived to the roundtable in an outfit based on the popular Netflix anime KPop Demon Hunters. “My hair is inspired by Zoey,” she said.

Asked about starring in the successful live-action remake of a beloved animated feature, Kealoha said, “It feels amazing that I get to play a character that’s really iconic in Hawaii, and I’m just so happy and blessed that I get to be here.”

Kealoha said that it was not difficult to imagine talking with an animated character like Stitch. “I didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so I would have to imagine someone playing with me,” she said. “So it was actually really easy to imagine that Stitch was there.”

The young actress said she did not watch the original animated Lilo & Stitch before her role but has since seen it. “I think it’s amazing,” Kealoha said. “Just as amazing as this movie.”

Kealoha has also amassed a good collection of Stitch toys. ” I have got 5,000 ones. My favorite one is a plushy but also a puppet. You put your hand inside and then it’s like a puppet. But it has a rubber band on its left hand, and then you can control it. So it’s like a puppet doll.”

Lilo & Stitch was Kealoha’s first movie, and she enjoyed the experience. “My favorite part about making this movie was creating Ohana on set and also seeing everyone on set every single day and preparing and just going over scenes and lines,” she said. “It’s all about Ohana and that Hawaii is a big part of me, too. I’m also happy that Hawaii gets to shine in this movie.”

And, as we know from both versions of the movie and Kealoha restated, “Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind.”

Agudong, who plays Nani in the live-action remake, spoke about working with Carrera, who originated the role. “The passing of the generations that comes with that is incredible and iconic in and of itself as a fan,” she said. “So that was really rad. And to be able to be guided by Tia and the other artists was also just a wonderful experience.”

Unlike Kealoha, Agudong had seen the original Lilo & Stitch before taking part in the new movie. “It was in my top three, if not my top, forever,” she said. Agudong said it was the first Disney movie she watched, “and I took to Lilo like that.” She recalled dressing as Lilo for a healthy baby contest and had been nervous about getting on stage at first. “As soon as I got on stage with Lilo, and they turned on the Hawaiian Rollercoaster song, I was like, Bye, Mom. And I just went on,” she said. “There’s something about this movie.”

Like the original, Agudong sees the live-action Lilo & Stitch as a story that resonates for its exploration of family. “One of our main themes in Hawaii as a culture is Ohana, is family, is Aloha, is spreading love,” she said. “And I think the fact that that’s one of the forefront of our values is amazing that Chris [Sanders] was smart enough to be able to use Hawaii that way.”

“I think it brings the theme of what we love about Disney back down to Earth,” she added. “I think it’s a very humble, real type of film. I love that we were able to bring this to a live-action reimagination in that way because I think we’re bringing in, as Nani, a real female archetype that’s normal. She’s represented as strong; she’s imperfect, she works through a lot of struggle. And there’s that caretaker position that isn’t really looked at nearly as much as it should be and that idea of sisterhood.”

Agudong and Kealoha at SDCC ’25

Agudong recalls the bond she felt with Kealoha on their first meeting, before they were even cast as Nani and Lilo. “The first time that we were in the audition room, we were about to do the pizza scene where I’m about to go and tell her that I have to go away. And we saw a hammock there, and they had set up the bedroom, the ukulele there,” she said. “I picked it up because I think I was just anxious and I needed something to play with. And then she instantly started singing, and I was like, Okay. We instantly started singing. I think we cracked a joke back and forth, and it was like, you’re cool people.”

Carrera, who originated the role of Nani, was very pleased to return to the franchise as Mrs. Kekoa. “I am over the moon that I’m invited back to the party 23 years later, and that it’s such a huge success because it tells me that the world appreciates the Aloha spirit that we’re bringing to the screen,” she said.

When approached for the original animated feature, though, Carrera said she wasn’t too sure about this Lilo & Stitch idea.

“When I had first met with Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, we just had dinner, just talking in general terms about the concept of the film because they said, Oh, we’re doing a movie in Hawaii. I’d be perfect for this part. When they told me the storyline, I was like, Okay, is this a Disney animated feature? Or is this an episode of Jerry Springer?” Carrera recalled. “It was a lot to comprehend, but to see it put together so deftly, so beautifully. It was beyond anything I could have imagined. When I saw the research they had done and painted the world so accurately to the plantation homes that we have in the islands, and then when they let me impart the pidgin English accent for Nani, a little bit like how you actually sound if you’re born and raised in Hawaii, you have this way of talking. I couldn’t be happier. It’s wonderful.”

Like Kealoha, Carrera also enjoys Lilo & Stitch toys. “I have a treasure trove of Stitch merchandise,” she said. “I have Glitter Stitch, I have Rock and Roll Stitch, I have Elvis Stitch.”

Looking back at her journey as an actress, Carrera said, “I have to pinch myself and go, you are the luckiest girl in the world. I was discovered in a grocery store at the age 17, shopping for groceries, got my first movie, and moved to Hollywood. Now I have friends and fans all over the world because of a body of work that continues on and has a legacy like this. I couldn’t be happier.”

Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage from SDCC ’25.