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''What wouldst thou know, my Queen?''
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Dr. Jumba Jookiba is the main antagonist of the 2025 live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch. He is the Kweltikwan mad scientist who created Stitch.
He is based on the character of the same name from the 2002 animated film.
Background[]
Unlike the original character, who was a mad scientist with a good heart despite his bad deeds, this version of Jumba is a ruthless villain through and through. He is a degraded, self-respecting scientist who was originally tasked with safely studying biological threats. But instead, he chose to create illegal genetic experiments by using the Galactic Federation's resources with the sole purpose of wreaking havoc and destruction. This mad pursuit brought about the creation of Experiment 626, a little blue alien designed to be a monster of mass destruction. He cares about redemption and amnesty even less than his original counterpart, and plans to eliminate the Grand Councilwoman and destroy the Galactic Federation after reclaiming his escaped creation in order for him to take over the universe.
Appearances[]
Lilo & Stitch[]
Through illegal dealings, Dr. Jumba Jookiba, as a scientist for the Galactic Federation, designed and created Experiment 626, a powerful, indestructible, foolproof, and super-intelligent creature, which he planned to use as the Federation's ultimate weapon, however, the creation of 626 caused him to be accused of his illegal experiment and brought before the Federation's leader, the Grand Councilwoman. During the trial, Jumba explained how 626 could aid the Federation in grand schemes, but after the jury was disgusted by the creature's behavior, the Grand Councilwoman ordered Jumba's lab destroyed and 626 exiled to a reclusive meteorite, despite Jumba's demands.
When 626 managed to escape and flee in a ship to the planet Earth, Jumba mocked the Federation's failure, offering to the Grand Councilwoman to recover 626, in exchange for the reconstruction of his lab and being absolved of his crimes, but his evil ways failed when the Councilwoman entrusted Pleakley, an expert agent on Earth, to accompany him and keep Jumba under control. Using his ship, Jumba, reluctantly with Pleakley, traveled to Earth to land in Hawaii and begin his hunt for 626, but at Pleakley's suggestion, he and his companion crossed paths with two hotel residents, whom they took on their forms to blend in with the humans, with Jumba taking the appearance of "Marcus", despite his distaste for humanity.
Following the trail of destruction of 626, who was renamed "Stitch" and adopted by a little girl named Lilo Pelekai, Jumba and Pleakley pursued him exhaustively, with the deranged scientist using a portal gun to attempt to capture him while becoming frustrated by Pleakley's interest in the planet. In his last failed attempt to capture Stitch, Jumba and Pleakley were contacted by the Grand Councilwoman, who broke the deal with Jumba for his failure and ordered Pleakley to arrest him, causing Jumba to become upset by her betrayal, so he made the decision to betray Pleakley, transporting him to the laundry room to trap Stitch through his own evil ways.
At a the Animal Shelter kennel, Jumba chased Stitch and tried to talk some sense into him and let him come with him, but with Lilo's help, Stitch was able to escape, trapping Jumba in a loop. Returning to his true form, Jumba exited the portal and headed to the Pelekai house to chase Lilo and Stitch around the house, using his Plasma Blaster to attack them and wreck the residence, heading to Lilo's room, where he destroyed Lilo's family mementos, causing the girl to confront him and Stitch, using the portal gun, launched himself at Jumba to protect his friend. Jumba was able to withstand Stitch's attacks and reveal to Lilo that Stitch initially joined her so he wouldn't be attacked for the illegality of murdering a human, so he used the revelation to render Stitch defenseless, who, for Lilo's sake, accompanied Jumba to his ship to return to his lab.
However, Jumba quickly trapped Stitch in a capsule to restrain him, telling him that he would experiment on him to make him a more powerful creature without any empathy, but his plan was interrupted when Lilo snuck into the ship to destabilize it, causing Stitch to escape from his capsule and attack Jumba. During the duel, Jumba was defeated by Lilo and Stitch, getting stuck in the ship's hatch, but he tried to beg the two friends to give him a second chance and take advantage of their "ʻohana" motto, however, Lilo activated Jumba's human camouflage to throw him into the ocean. Defeated, Jumba, protesting the waste of his brilliance, was abducted from the ocean and taken into permanent custody of the Galactic Federation for his crimes, with Stitch being allowed to remain on Earth under Pleakley's watch.
Trivia[]
- Unlike the original character, Jumba uses a holographic device to disguise himself as a human instead of wearing human clothes and a moustache.
- The device in question can even change the wearer's mass to support the disguise, as Jumba in his human form easily fits into his and Pleakley's stolen golf cart. Such feature can be used against him in two occasions; first being Stitch sending him falling through two parallel portals with his portal gun while disguised until he turned the device off, then when Lilo and Stitch activates his disguise when he got stuck in the hole of his ship so he ended up plummeting to the ocean below.
- This version of Jumba partially replaces Captain Gantu's role as the main antagonist, who is absent in the remake.
- This version of Jumba was a Galactic Federation scientist who had been secretly creating genetic experiments with Federation resources without the Federation's permission or approval.
- Because of the change in his characterization into a full-blown villain, he never forms a bond with Lilo, Stitch and Nani, therefore he did not join the Ohana or even reformed.
- Also, he and Pleakley did not officially become friends, especially since he eventually betrayed and ditched Pleakley. Only Pleakley joins the Ohana. However, it is possible that he will redeem himself in the sequel and join the Ohana like on the original Lilo and Stitch.
- Jumba was only a little bit of an antagonist in the original.
- Jumba is the fourth villain in a live-action remake to not be a villain in the source material, after King Stefan, The Grand Duke and King Louie.
- Jumba speaks an American accent instead of a Russian accent.
- Though likely a coincidence in the filmmakers' part, Jumba's more villainous portrayal in the 2025 live-action film hearkens to scrapped ideas for his animated iteration where they intended him to have a more malicious and insane side.
- Although tamer in comparison, Jumba and Stitch's confrontation at the climax of the film has less slapstick moments similar to scrapped takes on the fight in the original film.
- Jumba's bounty hunter iteration in Chris Sanders' Lilo & Stitch pitch booklet is just as ruthless despite joining forces with the protagonists in the end, coming close to killing Stitch (who in said booklet being the infamous member of an intergalactic gang of three) by ambushing him at Kauai's volcano.
- On related note, Jumba callously revealed to Lilo that Stitch deliberately posed as her mischievous dog pet so the former would hesitate to hurt her (the act of killing a human is deemed illegal by Galactic Federation) can be compared to how Ramthar disparaged Stitch for losing his edge by assuming such disguise in aforementioned pitch booklet. The difference is whereas Stitch surrendered so Lilo won't hurt in the film proper, the pitch booklet showed him confirmed Ramthar's statement before joining the latter and his gang to try to conquer Kauai and beyond (note that in Chris Sanders' pitch booklet, Stitch is portrayed in more antagonistic light for being part of an intergalactic gang alongside Ramthar and that he redeems himself upon realizing his evil plan won't bode well to Lilo's well-being).
Gallery[]
.png "Lilo & Stitch 2025 (72).png (3.93 MB)")
.png "Lilo & Stitch 2025 (73).png (3.05 MB)")
_-_Jumba_and_Pleakley.jpg "Lilo & Stitch (2025) - Jumba and Pleakley.jpg (1.67 MB)")
_-_Jumba.jpg "Lilo & Stitch (2025) - Jumba.jpg (2.15 MB)")
.png "Lilo & Stitch 2025 (79).png (1.33 MB)")
.png "Lilo & Stitch 2025 (85).png (1.14 MB)")
_-_Photography_-_Pleakley_and_Jumba.jpg "Lilo & Stitch (2025) - Photography - Pleakley and Jumba.jpg (5.42 MB)")
_-_Photography_-_Pleakley_and_Jumba_2.jpg "Lilo & Stitch (2025) - Photography - Pleakley and Jumba 2.jpg (10 MB)")
See also[]
