It’s finally 2025. That means we have even more craziness to look out for, like Trump’s presidency, the Super Bowl, and of course, more movies. A lot of films have some potential, so let’s shed some light on five that could really bury the box office in money.
Number one on my list is Lilo and Stitch. This is yet another live-action retelling of a classic Disney movie. Releasing on May 23, the plot will basically be the same as the original 2002 film, with Lilo and Nani meeting an alien labeled 626 in which they decide to adopt and name Stitch.
The cast will consist of Maia Kealoha as Lilo Pelekai, Chris Sanders as Stitch, Sydney Agudong as Nani Pelekai, Jason Scott Lee as David Kawena, Billy Magnussen as Agent Pleakley, and Zach Galifianakis as Dr. Jumba Jookiba. Lilo and Stitch was one of my favorite Disney movies as a kid and I have fond memories of watching it with my sisters. I’m not really a huge fan of some of Disney’s live-action movies since they either look so dark to the point where you have to turn up the brightness to see them or a little cheap at times, but this one looks good and I’ll definitely be checking it out either in theaters or once it comes out on Disney+.
Number two on my list is Zootopia 2. As if the Disney+ series Zootopia+ wasn’t enough, Disney is now giving us Zootopia 2 on November 26. According to IMDB, the plot is that “Judy Hopps and her friend, the fox Nick Wilde, team up to crack a new case, the most perilous and intricate of their careers.”
It’s unknown what this means as we have no trailers yet, but we do know of some of the cast members. Jason Baterman and Ginnifer Goodwin will be returning to voice Nick and Judy, but we will also be getting some new voices like Ke Huy Quan as a character named Gary and Fortune Feimster as a character named Nibbles. I really enjoyed the first movie because it was a strong and accurate metaphor for discrimination in the real world and I believe this next movie will send the same message. And who knows? Maybe it’ll do it even better!
Number three on my list is The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. This may not be what you’re expecting since the show has really declined in quality ever since the first movie came out , but the news we have about this movie makes me really excited to see it. IMDB has no plot listed yet, but according to many sources, the plot is that Spongebob and his friends go to the depths of the sea to face off against the Flying Dutchman.
While the original cast will be returning, Mark Hamill will be the new voice of the Flying Dutchman, as opposed to Brian Doyle-Murray, the original voice actor. The thing that’s making me most excited is that Derek Drymon is the director. He was a storyboard artist and executive producer for seasons 1-3, the first movie, and his work is one of many crucial reasons as to why Spongebob was so awesome back then. It will be great seeing him make his heroic return and, hopefully, he can make this movie way better than the previous two. The film will be released on December 19, so until then, we can just chant “I’m ready, I’m ready!” for hours on end.
Number four on my list is The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. According to IMDB, the film’s plot is that “Porky Pig and Daffy Duck are Earth’s only hope when facing the threat of alien invasion.”
The film will be released on February 28 and will feature the voices of Eric Bauza as both Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, Candi Milo as Petunia Pig, Carlos Alazraqui as a character named Gary, Keith Ferguson as a character named Chewy, and Wayne Knight as a character who is supposed to be the mayor. Looney Tunes has always been one of my favorite cartoons and Daffy Duck and Porky Pig are two of my favorite characters, so it’ll be really cool seeing them get their own movie.
Number five on my list is How to Train Your Dragon. No, Dreamworks isn’t reanimating the film or anything. In fact, it’s going to be live-action, much like how Disney does their classic movies. The movie will release on June 13, and just like Lilo and Stitch, the plot will be the same, with Hiccup finding a dragon he names Toothless and trying to convince his village that dragons aren’t dangerous.
The film will feature Nico Parker as Astrid, Mason Thames as Hiccup, Bronwyn James as Ruffnut, Nick Frost as Gueulfor, and Julia Dennison as Fishlegs Ingerman. It will be Dreamworks’ first live action movie and I’m really excited to see how it will turn out. Maybe it’ll be better than some of the Disney ones…
And now, we wait. I’m pretty sure everyone was looking forward to 2025 just for these movies, so maybe counting down the days until they release will make the wait faster. In the end, it’ll all be worth it.
