Lilo & Stitch trailer looks amazing but we need to talk about Pleakley

Did we need a live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch? Arguably no, but it’s happening. While some scenes are already making us cry, there’s a Pleakley-shaped problem upsetting fans.

Anyone who was a kid in the early 2000s will remember “Ohana means family” and immediately have a tear in their eye. We’re about to get that feeling all over again in Disney‘s live-action version of the classic animated movie, landing on screens on May 23, 2025.

But aside from the titular characters, there was another diva in the original cast – Pleakley. In the original movie, he’s the former member of the Galactic Federation and became the reluctant partner of Jumba Jookiba on the mission to capture escaped criminal Experiment 626 (Stitch).

We saw Pleakley in numerous Lilo & Stitch spinoffs, and we’re about to see him again in the live-action. Yet this time, something’s changed, and fans aren’t happy about it.

What happened with Pleakley in the Lilo & Stitch trailer?

In short: something fans absolutely do not like. You might remember Pleakley’s more flamboyant personality, dressing up in drag and stunning lewks in order to get the job done. None of that is there this time, with Pleakley having a completely human disguise instead.

“Copping out by making Jumba and Pleakley wear digital human skins is so stupid. Like isn’t it a whole joke that they’re obviously aliens in cheap disguises,” one fan posted on X/Twitter.

A second agreed: “They gave Pleakley normal human disguises instead of their girly dress ups? CHOPP.”

“I just realized that they had Pleakley disguised as a human man when in the movie and the series he’d always have cute femme disguises. It’s official this remake sucks,” a third weighed in.

It’s true that Pleakley’s disguises were integral to his original character. You might remember the classic red lipstick, the many wigs and occasional hat, and his signature touch of gold hooped earrings.

Sure, we’re not seeing any of these things, with Pleakley instead resembling actor Billy Magnussen’s true form. But remember – this is a trailer. If a trailer does its job properly, we won’t see all of a new movie‘s secrets given away.

Translated, this means fans shouldn’t lose all hope. There’s still a chance Pleakley’s best looks will be caught on camera… we’ve just got to be patient. Family means nobody gets left behind, after all.

For more family-friendly goodness, check out everything we know so far about Shrek 5, Frozen 3, Toy Story 5, and the live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon.