Reporter credit: Ashley Spencer, The New York Times

the Stitch character has only grown in popularity with wide swaths of consumers. He is nationless, raceless and ageless. And while he’s canonically male, a Google search for “Stitch” suggests a popular question is “Is Stitch a boy or a girl?” The Disney Stitch Puppetronic, an 18-inch electronic puppet by Wow! Stuff that was named the 2025 Toy of the Year, echoes this idea in its official description, noting, “Stitch transcends age and gender.” 

“You could have asked me three years ago, ‘Who’s going to be the customer for this?’ ” Richard North, the Wow! Stuff CEO, said in an interview. “I would have said it was really clear: 7- to 12-year-olds. How wrong.”

Instead, North said, consumers 13 and older, including Gen-Z enthusiasts and middle-aged collectors, are responsible for at least 40% of all Stitch Puppetronic sales. With younger customers, he said, the gender breakdown is evenly split, while older fans tend to skew more female.

“It’s been the biggest, broadest, all-encompassing demographic for a toy, I think, that we’ve ever created,” North said.

New York Times may 2025