Disney’s latest animated classic turned live-action movie Snow White was finally released as part of the 2025 movie schedule. And though box office headlines vary greatly, it did pull the highest numbers for the weekend. Despite early critiques and controversy, it seems like families did show up for the film, including Maia Kealoha, aka the young actress playing Lilo in the upcoming live-action remake of Lilo & Sitch coming to theaters in May.
Kealoha didn’t appear at the “scaled back” premiere of the beloved Disney Princess flick, but that didn’t stop her from showing her support for a fellow live-action remake during opening weekend. The young actress showed up at her local movie theater to see the film decked out in an adorable Snow White princess dress complete with tiara and matching royal blue gloves. Of course, her management team had to share the iconic look on her Instagram story. Take a look:
In addition to the charming costume, the Instagram story also included a snippet of one of the new songs in Snow White, “Waiting On A Wish,” sung by the Snow White actress, Rachel Zegler. While the story was cute, I wish it would have been a full post so fans could read about how much Kealoha loved the film. I’m sure she’d shower Zegler with praise just like almost everyone is doing in their reviews — including CinemaBlend’s own Sarah El-Mahmound, who gave the film 3.5 stars.
Still, it’s nice to see the young actress come out and support Zegler and the rest of the Snow White team, especially with her own film coming out in a few short months. I hope the West Side Story actress pays it forward in May and shows up to support Kealoha in the same way — how cute would that be!
Unlike Snow White, which has been plagued with backlash for just about every decision the Mouse House has made, the Lilo & Stitch adaptation seems to be fairing much better with the general public. At least, that seems to be the case after the trailer was released in early March. For the first time, fans got a glimpse at what the rest of the cast looked like, including scene-stealing Disney side characters Jumba and Pleakley, who look a bit different than their animated counterparts. Perhaps Disney learned its lesson after the wrath it faced for the uncanny CGI dwarves in Snow White that still seem to be an issue for audiences.
Opinions always change when it comes to Disney live-action remakes, so time will tell if Lilo & Stitch will follow in the footsteps of beloved remakes like Cinderella or find itself thrust into an unnecessary firestorm like recent films Snow White and The Little Mermaid. I certainly hope it’s the former, if only so that Kealoha’s welcome to the Disney family is much kinder than what Zegler and Halle Bailey endured.
CinemaBlend will keep you updated on everything Lilo & Stitch-related as we await news on when tickets will be available. In the meantime, you should considered heading to your local theater to check out Snow White — after all, without the animated original princess, there would be no Walt Disney Studios at all.
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