Lilo & Stitch: How Elvis Presley was crucial to the hit Disney movie

17 March 2025, 10:35

Lilo & Stitch are back, but how did Elvis Presley help them out the first time around?

Way back in 2002, Disney grabbed plenty of attention with the original Lilo & Stitch movie.

It had all the usual Disney attractions: pretty animation, cutesy kid characters, and a crazy little creature that was destined for merchandise.

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It also had a few things setting it apart from plenty of other Disney films before or since. Its quirky sci-fi angle was one thing, as was just how downright rude little Experiment 626 (aka Stitch) could be.

And it also had a little bit of help from the King of Rock and Roll.

As well as a couple of new songs written by the film's composer Alan Silverstri with Mark Kealiʻi Hoʻomalu, there were FIVE Elvis Presley songs, plus a couple of covers, too.

Lilo & Stitch 2002 original animated movie trailer

Wynonna Judd covered 'Burning Love' and A-Teens did 'Can't Help Falling Inn Love With You', while the soundtrack featured the original Elvis versions of 'Stuck on you', 'Suspicious Minds', 'Heartbreak Hotel', '(You're the) Devil in Disguise' and 'Hound Dog'.

The songs are evergreen classics that sounded just as good in 2002 as they did back when they were first released, of course.

And having The King's music also helped the guardians taking their kids to the cinema to get into the movie, too.

Lilo and Stitch - Leave Me Alone To Die

It wasn't just Elvis's music... Lilo's character was a big Presley fan who believed that he was a "model citizen" whose characteristics Stitch should practice.

The Presley estate were all on board with the hook-up. "First of all the movie, really is all about family," said Priscilla.

"I hope this will be a great message to bring family back together again because really, that's what it's all about. Elvis was very much a family man, regardless of what you hear; he loved family and he always came home."

Of course, Lilo & Stich was also set in Hawaii, an important place in the Elvis mythology. The King starred in not one, not two, but THREE movies set in Hawaii.

In 1961, Elvis led the musical romcom Blue Hawaii (which also featured a young Angela Lansbury), the following year he returned for Girls! Girls! Girls!, and he came back again for 1966's Paradise, Hawaiian Style

It was in 1961 that Elvis also played the USS Arizona benefit show in Hawaii, and just over a decade later in 1973, Elvis gave the stunning Aloha from Hawaii concert – the first in history by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world.

But still... why does Lilo love Elvis? Back in 2009, co-director Chis Sanders told Animated Views: "The idea that she likes Elvis' music came from the fact that we just wanted to make her very unique, initially.

"We also thought that, maybe, she found her mother's records. She never listens to CDs in the movie; she always has vinyl records and a little record player that she holds around. So, that was the starting point for us."

He added that he hand his family always idolised Elvis, and that he travelled to Graceland when they were promoting the film and learned just how much the King quietly did to help people, including raising money for the USS Arizona memorial in Hawaii.

Stuck On You (Elvis Presley) - Lilo & Stitch Movie Clip (HD)

His fellow director Dean De Blois explained that it was important to let the story dictate the song choice, and not the other way around.

"In most cases, if you listen to the songs closely, they almost have nothing to do with what's going on on screen, but there’s usually a line or a refrain or a title to the song that seems to complement what's happening," he said.

"'Suspicious Minds', 'Stuck on You', 'Devil in Disguise': they apply to Lilo and Stitch and their situation.

Lilo and Stitch - Elvis - Devil in Disguise

"If you actually listen to 'Devil in Disguise', for example, it’s a song about a woman who turned out to not be as wonderful as Elvis thought she was.

"That doesn't really have anything to do with our story, but the title refers to an overall theme that evokes the personality of Stitch."

He added that 'Heartbreak Hotel' was chosen to underline just how lonely Lilo felt in that scene and that the tracks were chosen for their "comic juxtaposition" to what was happening on screen.

Lilo & Stitch 2025 live action movie trailer

Elvis the person was a controversial and complicated figure and not every aspect of his life was Disney kids' movie levels of squeaky clean.

"From Lilo's point of view, because she’s so young and she has a very romanticised perception of the world, Elvis, to her is a hero," said De Blois.

"She doesn't look at any of the bad sides of Elvis' life. It's all the good side!"