First Snow White, Now Lilo & Stitch: Disney Faces Boycott Over 'Controversial' Character Change

Disney is once again under fire for its latest live-action remake, just months after the Snow White debacle that faced massive public backlash.

The upcoming Lilo & Stitch film has sparked concern among fans following director Dean Fleischer Camp's announcement of a significant change to one of the movie's beloved characters. Set to hit theatres on 23 May, fans are already planning to boycott the remake.

A Beloved Disney Classic

The original animated film premiered over 20 years ago and was a commercial success. Produced on an $80 million budget, the film grossed over $245 million worldwide at the box office.

Viewers fell in love with the alien experiment, Stitch, who accidentally ends up on Earth after escaping his creator. He is adopted by Lilo, a local Hawaiian girl who believes he is a dog. Throughout the film, Stitch causes chaos for Lilo and her older sister as he avoids capture by two aliens, Jumba and Pleakley, who have been sent to retrieve him.

The Change That Sparked Outrage

One of the funniest aspects of the original film involves Jumba and Pleakley disguising themselves as humans to blend in. In the original, Pleakley opts for a dress and a female wig. However, in a video released on TikTok, Dean Fleischer Camp revealed that Pleakley will not be wearing women's clothing in the remake.

When responding to a fan's comment asking why Pleakley wasn't dressed as a woman, he replied, 'I tried.' Images of his original concepts for Pleakley then flashed on the screen, showing Pleakley in a dress and flowing red wig.

Fans flooded the comments in outrage, but their anger wasn't directed at Dean Fleischer Camp—it was directed at Disney.

One user received over 2,700 likes on their comment: 'Baby when he said he tried, he means Disney said no. Given the political climate—it's not shocking Disney wanted no part. Sad, but I won't blame the director. I'll blame Disney.'

Another user commented: 'Disney is such cowards if they don't include Pleakley in a wig and dress... no way a movie made for an audience 20+ years ago had a more accepting climate than current times, we're really regressing.'

Lilo & Stitch to Follow Snow White Flop

This latest controversy closely resembles Disney's recent disaster with its live-action remake of Snow White, which is estimated to have lost around $115 million.

While Disney has attempted to make progressive changes with its live-action films, its changes to Snow White had fans accusing the company of taking 'woke' decisions too far. Disney's reimagined version of the seven dwarfs as CGI 'magical creatures' in an attempt to evade outdated stereotypes had audiences outraged. Fans of the original film were frustrated at yet another change. Members of the dwarfism community viewed the decision as removing opportunities to cast actors with dwarfism.

However, Disney's most recent controversy with Lilo & Stitch has the opposite problem. Fans are accusing Disney of being regressive and 'afraid to include drag,' as one user put it in the comments section of the TikTok video.

The future doesn't look promising for Disney's live-action remakes as they continue to miss the mark. They have reportedly hit the brakes on the live-action version of Tangled. With many more live-action remakes said to be in the works, such as Moana, Hercules, and Bambi, it's clear that Disney needs to seriously rethink its approach when remaking these beloved films.