Lilo and Stitch ending was changed because of 9/11

Question

In the initial version, Stitch and Jumba hijack a commercial plane to try and save Lilo, crashing through the city of Honolulu. However due to 9/11, they changed the scene to avoid association with 9/11.

Answer 1

The idea that the ending of Lilo and Stitch was changed because of 9/11 is true. This has been confirmed by several other sources (Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/lilo-and-stitch-airplane-scene-before-and-after-9-11-disney-2017-9) and the information has been widely circulated for a number of years.

Comments

Good post. I like that you restated the claim and added a reliable source. You mentioned that the claim is supported by "several other sources." I think it would have strengthened your claim if you included those sources as well. I think that would be beneficial especially to readers who don't have access to Business Insider articles (readers have to pay to read the article). But good job with fact-checking so promptly!

Answer 2

This claim is true. The film originally had a different ending, but scenes were edited or fully deleted for its release in 2002. Originally, the spaceship was a 747, and instead of flying between Hawaiian mountains they navigated around buildings. Short segments of this original ending have been posted online, such as a side by side comparison by Vox. The original ending even featured several shots where the plane knocks against buildings, making the edited ending far more suitable for the time of release.

https://www.businessinsider.com/lilo-and-stitch-airplane-scene-before-and-after-9-11-disney-2017-9

https://collider.com/lilo-and-stitch-alternate-ending/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2uJvwiSZAQ