Lilo & Stitch Stars Praise Authenticity of Film’s Hawaiian Representation (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Lilo & Stitch is a live-action remake of the beloved 2002 animated film about an alien crash-landing in Hawaii
• The movie was filmed on Oahu, employing local talent on and off the screen
• Hawaii-born talent Tia Carrere, Maia Kealoha and Sydney Agudong tell PEOPLE about the film’s authentic representation of the islands

Lilo & Stitch is back, now in live-action form. Whereas Disney’s 2002 animated hit came to life in 2D, the studio’s 2025 version immerses audiences in the beauty of Hawaii, Lilo’s homeland, filmed on location. 

For Oahu-born Tia Carrere, who voiced Nani in the original and returns as new character Mrs. Kekoa, authentically representing Hawaiian culture was crucial.

“It’s important because it’s the stuff that you feel when you’re there,” the actress, 58, tells PEOPLE. “And if it’s missing, you would have been like, ‘That doesn’t sound [or look] right.’ ”

Because authentic representation was also a goal for director Dean Fleischer Camp and Chris Sanders — co-creator of the 2002 original and returning as the mischievous blue alien’s voice — Carrere jumped back into the world of Lilo & Stitch with enthusiasm. 

“That’s why I was so excited when I first met with these guys,” she recalls of early talks about the remake. “We had dinner and I got to talk about, ‘Hey, can I do the part with pidgin English?’” Lilo, Nani and each of their neighbors should “sound like a local,” Carrere says. 

Filmed on the island of Oahu (although set on Kauai), the new Lilo & Stitch brought kamaʻāina, or native-born, talent in front of and behind the camera.

Maia Kealoha, the newcomer who plays Lilo, hails from the Big Island of Hawaii; Sydney Agudong, playing Lilo’s sister Nani, is from Kauai; Kaipo Dudoit, who plays their neighbor David, is from Oahu; Hawaii-raised Jason Scott Lee (who voiced David in the animated original) returns as a luau manager.

Also making the jump from animated original to live-action remake is much of the music, from Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu and The Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus to songs from Elvis Presley — and a new cover of “Burning Love” produced by Oahu-born Bruno Mars. Queen Liliʻuokalani’s famous folk song, “Aloha ʻOe,” is sung by Kealoha and Agudong as a duet in a poignant scene. 

Maia Kealoha and Sydney Agudong on May 17, 2025.

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

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“I’m all for organic authenticity,” Agudong, 24, tells PEOPLE. When it comes to stories set and filmed in Hawaii, “you don’t get to see that often.” 

Plus, throughout filming, she was a quick plane ride from her family on Kauai. “I [felt] like I was already home on Oahu,” Agudong says, “expanding that community and my friendships. Because it was already such in my heart and soul.”

She adds, “Hawaii is extremely talented. … To finally get a platform that showcases that, it was absolutely amazing to see. I really hope that it will spark more of that in the future.”

Kealoha, 8, chimes in: “Yeah! And I hope that I get more acting [jobs] in Hawaii again.” (The young actress stars in the upcoming Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista action-comedy The Wrecking Crew, filmed partially in Hawaii.) 

Kaipo Dudoit in “Lilo & Stitch”.

Zach Dougan/Disney

Carrere says she feels “grateful” for the opportunity to transport audiences to an authentic depiction of Hawaii. “I was so happy to be invited to the conversation,” says the Grammy winner. “I think local people [are] happy to be seen and represented on screen that way.”

Lilo & Stitch, also starring Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, Courtney B. Vance and Amy Hill, is in theaters now. 

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