Walt Disney Animation Studios has shared new art for Lilo & Scratch, the all-new short that plays in theaters with Disney's Hexed on Wednesday, November 25. Disney Animation posted the image yesterday with a nod to Lilo's growing family. Check out the official post down below:
The poster shows Stitch with all 4 arms out, each one holding a glowing green plasma blaster, as he scowls down at Scratch, a small pink kitten with huge eyes sitting calmly in front of him. In the title, "Stitch" is crossed out in red and "Scratch" is scrawled underneath. The poster carries a PG rating and the line "See the all-new short film with Hexed November 25."
What Lilo & Scratch Is About
Disney first announced the short at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 26, a date fans call "626 Day" after Stitch's designation, Experiment 626. In Disney's description, Stitch "may have finally met his match" in Scratch, a mischievous and mysterious cat that Lilo introduces as the newest member of their 'ohana. Lilo runs off to do some errands and leaves Stitch in charge of the creature, which leaves a wake of destruction behind it.
Disney Animation teased the short with the same line on the day of the announcement:
The short is set shortly after the events of the 2002 film. It is the first project starring Stitch from Walt Disney Animation Studios since that original movie, and the studio's first theatrical short in 5 years.
Chris Sanders Is Back As Stitch
Chris Sanders, who created Stitch and co-wrote and co-directed the 2002 film with Dean DeBlois, voices Stitch again. Sanders first came up with the character in 1981. The original film follows Lilo Pelekai, an orphaned Hawaiian girl raised by her older sister, Nani, who adopts the lab-created alien Experiment 626 as her "dog" and renames him Stitch. Maia Kealoha voices Lilo, reprising the role she played in Disney's 2025 live-action Lilo & Stitch, where Sanders also voiced Stitch.
Sanders is staying with the franchise after the short. Disney has a live-action Lilo & Stitch 2 set for May 26, 2028, and announced in June that Sanders will direct it after joining as a writer. More on that is in Lilo & Stitch 2: Disney's Live-Action Sequel Taps Director Chris Sanders.
A Hand-Drawn Look Built With New Tools
Fawn Veerasunthorn and Malcon Pierce directed the short. Disney says it matches the look and style of the 2002 feature and combines hand-drawn and CG animation with watercolor backgrounds. Alex Kupershmidt, the supervising animator of Stitch on the original film, returned to animate on paper. Any computer-animated material was designed to look as close to 2D as possible, so a CG Stitch and a hand-drawn Scratch can share a scene without looking different. The backgrounds were painted both traditionally and digitally.
Haim Mazar and Grace Fisher composed the score, which is performed by a 70-piece symphony orchestra and a 9-piece Hawaiian ensemble. Mazar previously worked with Pierce on Versa.
Disney screened the first 2 minutes of the short at Annecy, then unveiled a new poster at D23 on August 15. The short's original announcement is covered in LILO & SCRATCH Animated Short To Play In Theaters Ahead Of HEXED.
The Feature It Plays With
Veerasunthorn also co-directs Hexed with Jason Hand, with Josie Trinidad as co-director. Hexed is Walt Disney Animation Studios' 65th animated feature. Hailee Steinfeld voices Billie, a teenage girl who discovers secret magical abilities that send her out of suburbia and into a witch world called Hexe, and Rashida Jones voices her cautious mother, Alice. The ticket launch and full cast are covered in Disney's Hexed Adds "A Little Bit Of Magic" As Tickets Go On Sale For Its Release Later This Month.
Who wins the fight for Lilo's attention in Lilo & Scratch, Stitch or the new cat?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.