Lilo & Stitch is about a family that's barely holding together. Lilo Pelekai is a strange, lonely little girl on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi. Her parents have died, and her older sister Nani is trying to raise her while losing job after job, with a social worker watching closely. Then Lilo adopts a "dog" from the shelter. He's actually Experiment 626, an illegal alien weapon built to destroy everything he touches, and he has crash-landed on Earth to escape the authorities.
Walt Disney Animation Studios released the film in 2002, written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. Its watercolour backgrounds, Elvis soundtrack and honest picture of grief and poverty made it stand out among Disney films of the time, and Stitch became one of the company's most merchandised characters. The original story grew into direct-to-video sequels, a 65-episode TV series, Japanese and Chinese spin-offs and a 2025 live-action remake. This guide sorts the cast into the Pelekai family and their island neighbours, the aliens, and the experiments, and covers who voiced or played each one.
- Studio
- Walt Disney Animation Studios
- Original film
- Lilo & Stitch (2002)
- Directors
- Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
- Setting
- Kauaʻi, Hawaii
- TV series
- Lilo & Stitch: The Series (2003–2006)
- Remake
- Live-action Lilo & Stitch (2025), directed by Dean Fleischer Camp
Main characters
The emotional story belongs to three people: Lilo, Nani and Stitch. Everyone else either threatens that household or slowly gets pulled into it. Cards are tagged by group, so you can filter to the family, the aliens or the experiments.
Lilo Pelekai
Main character · Nani's little sister
Lilo is a fierce, odd, very funny girl who feeds peanut-butter sandwiches to a fish, takes photos of tourists and fights other girls in her hula class. Since her parents' death she has struggled to make friends, and her anger often spills out sideways. She adopts Stitch because he seems as much of an outcast as she is, and she's the one who teaches him what ohana means. She's one of Disney's most believable children: messy, lonely and stubbornly loving.
- Voice
- Daveigh Chase (2002 film, series); Maia Kealoha (2025 remake)
Stitch
Experiment 626
Stitch is a small blue genetic experiment built to be unstoppable. He's bulletproof, fireproof and enormously strong, and he can think faster than a supercomputer. He can also hide an extra pair of arms, his antennae and back spines to pass as an Earth animal. The one thing he can't do is swim, because his body is too dense. His programming tells him to destroy, and at first he uses Lilo as a shield. The film's arc is about him finding something he wants more than chaos: a family. In later stories he helps Lilo catch and rehome his fellow experiments.
- Voice
- Chris Sanders (2002 film onward, including the 2025 remake)
Nani Pelekai
Lilo's older sister and guardian
Nani is barely an adult, and she's raising her sister alone while juggling waitressing work, bills and a social worker who's ready to take Lilo away. She loses her temper, apologises, and keeps trying. The film is as much her story as Lilo's. The remake gives her an extra thread about the future she gave up, and ends with a different answer to it.
- Voice
- Tia Carrere (2002 film, series); Sydney Agudong (2025 remake)
David Kawena
Surfer · Nani's friend and admirer
David is a gentle surfer and fire-dancer who is clearly in love with Nani and keeps turning up at the right moment with a surfboard or a job lead. He's no hero in the action sense, but his steadiness gives the sisters a break they badly need. The big surfing sequence that bonds the three of them is partly his idea.
- Voice
- Jason Scott Lee (2002); Kaipo Dudoit (2025 remake)
Cobra Bubbles
Social worker · Former CIA agent
Cobra Bubbles is a huge, calm man in a black suit and sunglasses who shows up to judge whether Nani can keep Lilo. He's intimidating rather than cruel, and he turns out to know far more about aliens than a social worker should. He once met the Grand Councilwoman during a past incident at Roswell. By the end he's one of the family's protectors.
- Voice
- Ving Rhames (2002); Courtney B. Vance (2025 remake)
Mertle Edmonds
Lilo's rival in hula class
Mertle is the ringleader of the girls who exclude Lilo, and she never misses a chance to call her weird. In the TV series she becomes a recurring rival, always with her small group of friends behind her. She's a believable portrait of how children enforce the social rules that leave someone like Lilo out.
- Voice
- Miranda Paige Walls
Mrs. Hasagawa
Elderly fruit-stand owner
Mrs. Hasagawa runs a small fruit stand and is endlessly patient with Lilo and her chaos. In the series she adopts several experiments and treats them as if they were her cats. Amy Hill, who voiced her, returns in the 2025 remake as a different neighbour, Tūtū.
- Voice
- Amy Hill
The aliens
The story starts in space. Jumba Jookiba is put on trial before the United Galactic Federation for illegal genetic experiments, and his creation, 626, escapes. The aliens who chase Stitch to Earth go from comic threats to, in most versions, honorary members of the family.
Jumba Jookiba
"Evil genius" · Stitch's creator
Jumba is a four-eyed scientist with a thick accent and real pride in his work. He's sent to Earth to recapture 626 in exchange for his freedom, and he's happy to blast half of Kauaʻi to do it. Over the film he becomes fond of his creation, and by the series he's living with the family. The 2025 remake keeps him as the villain for longer and makes him more menacing.
- Voice
- David Ogden Stiers (2002 film, series); Zach Galifianakis (2025 remake)
Wendy Pleakley
Agent and Earth "expert"
Pleakley is a one-eyed, nervous Federation agent assigned to keep Jumba in line because he once studied Earth. That mostly means he knows about mosquitoes. He's a fussy rule-follower who takes to wearing human disguises, often women's clothes, with great enthusiasm. In the series he lives with the Pelekais and acts like an anxious aunt.
- Voice
- Kevin McDonald (2002 film, series); Billy Magnussen (2025 remake)
The Grand Councilwoman
Leader of the United Galactic Federation
The Grand Councilwoman sentences 626 to exile in the opening scene and arrives on Kauaʻi for the climax. She's stern but fair. When Stitch argues that he belongs with Lilo, she finds a legal way to let him stay, with the Earth family as his keepers.
- Voice
- Zoe Caldwell (2002); Hannah Waddingham (2025 remake)
Captain Gantu
Federation captain · Recurring antagonist
Gantu is an enormous, whale-like military officer who openly despises 626. He's put on the case when Jumba and Pleakley fail, and he kidnaps Lilo in the finale. In the sequels he's fired and ends up working for Hämsterviel, capturing experiments with the help of Reuben. He doesn't appear in the 2025 remake.
- Voice
- Kevin Michael Richardson
Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel
Jumba's former partner · Main villain of the sequels
Hämsterviel is a small, furious rodent-like alien who funded Jumba's work and wants all 626 experiments for his own army. Introduced in Stitch! The Movie, he spends the TV series plotting from a prison cell and shouting orders at Gantu. He's more ridiculous than frightening, which suits the show's tone.
- Voice
- Jeff Bennett
The experiments
Jumba made 626 experiments before Stitch, each with a single purpose. Most are harmless, some are a nuisance, and a few are dangerous. In Stitch! The Movie they're scattered across Kauaʻi as dehydrated pods, and they activate when they get wet. Lilo & Stitch: The Series follows Lilo and Stitch as they catch them one by one, find each a "one true place" where its ability helps, and give it a name. These are the ones people ask about most.
Reuben (625)
Experiment 625 · Sandwich maker
Reuben has all of Stitch's powers and none of his drive. He's lazy, sarcastic and only interested in making sandwiches. He works alongside Gantu for most of the series, swapping insults with him, before finally choosing Lilo and Stitch's side.
- Voice
- Rob Paulsen
Angel (624)
Experiment 624 · Stitch's girlfriend
Angel is a pink experiment whose song reverts rehabilitated experiments to their original, destructive programming. Stitch is smitten the moment he sees her. She's a double agent at first, but she switches sides for him, and the two become one of the series' running romances.
Sparky (221)
Experiment 221 · Electricity
Sparky is a yellow, electrically charged experiment who causes blackouts across the island. He's eventually given a job powering an old lighthouse, which became the template for how the show rehomes experiments.
Leroy (629)
Experiment 629 · Stitch's evil twin
Leroy is a red copy of Stitch that Jumba is forced to build for Hämsterviel in the film Leroy & Stitch. Hämsterviel clones him into an army to take over the galaxy. Leroy has a built-in weakness, a song that shuts him down, and the finale uses it in a memorable way.
The 2025 live-action remake
Disney's live-action Lilo & Stitch, directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, opened in May 2025 and passed a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. Stitch is computer-animated and again voiced by Chris Sanders, and Jumba and Pleakley spend most of the film in human disguise. The human cast was largely drawn from Hawaii.
It's mostly faithful, with a few notable changes. Gantu is cut, so Jumba becomes the main threat. David is reworked, Tūtū is added as a neighbour who helps the girls, and Nani's own future plays a bigger part. Tia Carrere and Amy Hill both come back in new roles, a nod to the original that fans liked.
Voice and live-action cast
| Character | 2002 film (voice) | 2025 remake |
|---|---|---|
| Lilo Pelekai | Daveigh Chase | Maia Kealoha |
| Stitch | Chris Sanders | Chris Sanders (voice) |
| Nani Pelekai | Tia Carrere | Sydney Agudong |
| David Kawena | Jason Scott Lee | Kaipo Dudoit |
| Jumba Jookiba | David Ogden Stiers | Zach Galifianakis |
| Pleakley | Kevin McDonald | Billy Magnussen |
| Cobra Bubbles | Ving Rhames | Courtney B. Vance |
| Grand Councilwoman | Zoe Caldwell | Hannah Waddingham |
| Captain Gantu | Kevin Michael Richardson | Not in the film |
| Mrs. Hasagawa | Amy Hill | Not in the film |
| Tūtū | — | Amy Hill |
| Mrs. Kekoa (social worker) | — | Tia Carrere |
In the sequels and series, Rob Paulsen voices Reuben and Jeff Bennett voices Hämsterviel. For more on how Disney casts its animated films, see our voice actors guide.
Watch order and where to start
Everything after 2002 is optional. The original film is a complete story on its own. If you want more, the sequels and series are lighter and more episodic, aimed at a younger audience. Release order works fine:
- 2002 Lilo & Stitch, the original film.
- 2003 Stitch! The Movie (direct-to-video), which introduces Hämsterviel and the other experiments and launches the series.
- 2003–2006 Lilo & Stitch: The Series, two seasons of catching and rehoming experiments.
- 2005 Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, set before the series, about Stitch's programming breaking down and Lilo's hula competition.
- 2006 Leroy & Stitch, the finale of the series, with Leroy.
- 2008–2011 Stitch!, a Japanese anime with a new girl, Yuna, on an island off Okinawa.
- 2017 Stitch & Ai, a Chinese animated series set in the Huangshan mountains.
- 2025 Live-action Lilo & Stitch, a retelling of the 2002 film.
Themes: ohana, grief and being the weird one
The film's central idea is ohana, Hawaiian for family in the broad sense: the people who stay, even when you're difficult. Lilo, Nani and Stitch are each, in a way, the one who doesn't fit in. Lilo is the weird girl at school, Nani is the sister who isn't coping, and Stitch is a weapon with nowhere to go. The film never pretends their problems are small. Grief, money worries and the threat of foster care are treated honestly, and the comedy works because it sits next to real sadness. That's why it's often grouped with Disney's other stories about chosen family, like Encanto, and why it appears in our guide to the found-family trope.
The setting matters too. Kauaʻi isn't treated as a postcard: tourists are mild figures of fun, the girls live in an ordinary house, and hula and surfing are part of daily life. If you like Disney films that are rooted in a specific Pacific culture, Moana is the obvious next watch. For the wider Disney roster, see our Disney characters hub.
All Lilo & Stitch character names, A–Z
A–C
- Angel — Experiment 624, Stitch's girlfriend
- Captain Gantu — Federation officer, later Hämsterviel's henchman
- Cobra Bubbles — social worker
D–G
- David Kawena — surfer, Nani's friend
- Grand Councilwoman — Galactic Federation leader
H–K
- Hämsterviel — Jumba's ex-partner, sequel villain
- Jumba Jookiba — Stitch's creator
L–M
- Leroy — Experiment 629
- Lilo Pelekai — main character
- Mertle Edmonds — Lilo's rival
- Mrs. Hasagawa — fruit-stand owner
- Mrs. Kekoa — social worker (2025)
N–R
- Nani Pelekai — Lilo's sister
- Pleakley — Federation agent
- Reuben — Experiment 625
S–Z
- Sparky — Experiment 221
- Stitch — Experiment 626
- Tūtū — neighbour (2025)
- Yuna — lead of the anime Stitch!
Frequently asked questions
What experiment number is Stitch?
Stitch is Experiment 626, built by the alien scientist Jumba Jookiba. Lilo gives him the name Stitch when she adopts him from an animal shelter, believing he is an odd-looking dog.
Who is Stitch's girlfriend?
Angel, Experiment 624. She first appears in Lilo & Stitch: The Series. She's pink, with long antennae, and her singing can turn rehabilitated experiments back to their old destructive programming. Stitch falls for her immediately, and she eventually switches sides for him.
Who voices Stitch?
Chris Sanders, who co-wrote and co-directed the 2002 film and designed the character. He has voiced Stitch in most English-language projects since, including the 2025 live-action remake, where Stitch is computer-animated.
Who plays Lilo and Nani in the live-action Lilo & Stitch?
Maia Kealoha plays Lilo and Sydney Agudong plays Nani in the 2025 remake directed by Dean Fleischer Camp. Tia Carrere, the original voice of Nani, returns in a new role as a social worker, and Amy Hill, the original Mrs. Hasagawa, plays Tūtū, the girls' neighbour.
What does ohana mean?
Ohana is the Hawaiian word for family, in the wide sense that includes relatives, close friends and the people who choose to look after you. It's the central idea of the film: Lilo, Nani and Stitch are a broken, improvised family, and the story argues that makes them no less of one.
Is Gantu in the live-action Lilo & Stitch?
No. The 2025 remake drops Captain Gantu. Jumba takes over the villain role instead, and the story leans more heavily on Cobra Bubbles and the social-services threat to Lilo and Nani's family.
Who is the villain in Lilo & Stitch?
It depends on the entry. In the 2002 film the closest thing to a villain is Captain Gantu, the Galactic Federation officer sent to capture Stitch. In the sequels and TV series it's Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel, Jumba's former partner, who wants the experiments for himself. In the 2025 remake Jumba is the antagonist.