Disney's live-action Lilo & Stitch is coming to the big screen in just two weeks' time, and fans are struggling to come to terms with a major character design change.
Some 20 years on from the original animated movie, a fan-favourite character will lose a key trait: Pleakley will no longer wear drag. Another sign of Disney ditching diversity? The director's response to the controversy hasn't managed to convince fans otherwise.
For those who aren't au fait with the original 2002 animated movie, Pleakley is an alien who dons high heels, wigs and floral address to try to blend in on Earth. He was a comic highlight of the original movie, as well as a surprise champion of gender fluidity.
But in the new live-action CGI animation hybrid, the alien characters will no longer wear human clothes as disguises. Instead, they'll use holographic projections to make them look human. Some fans are understandably not happy, fearing the Pleakley will lose an important part of his character.
"I know ppl are going to throw tomatoes but stripping drag/transness from Pleakley really fucking sucks," one person wrote on X. "I imagine for a lot of millennials Pleakley was probably the healthiest portrayal of transness we got to see as kids in any show."
Such is the controversy that Dean Fleischer Camp, the director of the new Lilo & Stitch movie, has taken to TikTok to respond. He insists that he tried to make a cross-dressing Pleakley.
“I have had people message me, ‘Why is Pleakley not wearing a dress?'” he says. “And I just want to say, I tried… I tried.” To back that up, he shares what looks to be original concept art showing the character in an red wig and blue dress.
Fans aren't sure on how to interpreted the revelation. It could be that the director tried to make it work but didn't like the results. But some have a different reading.
"When he said he tried, he means Disney said no," one person comments on the video on TikTok. "Given the political climate, its not shocking Disney wanted no part. Sad, but I won’t blame the director. I'll blame Disney."
"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," another person wrote.
Others are saying they like the concept art that Dean showed to prove he had tried. "Pleakley’s concept art looks so good with the dress and wig!" one person wrote. "Jumba and the guard look like they're plucked straight from the animated movie and Pleakley looks even better," another person commented. "They should have remained aliens with silly disguises. I fear the CGI costs would have been worth it," is another comment.
We'll soon see if the new concept works. Lilo & Stitch premieres on 23 May 23, 2025, which is Memorial Day weekend in the US.
It's not the first Lilo and Stitch controversy. Fans of the original film were furious when Disney edited Lilo and Stitch scenes for streaming.
For more Disney controversies, see our favourite Disney character design conspiracy theories and the story of why Disney characters wear white gloves.
