Back in olden times, Disney would re-release its animated classics — in theaters, in new video and digital formats — every few years so that new generations of children could discover as parents who grew up on the films introduced their kids to a great memory from their youth.

Granted, they went about as far as they could go with that make-more-money-off-already-produced “intellectual property.”

But this nonsense of remaking “The Lion King,” et al with CGI and “real” settings is head-slappingly cynical, even by “We really need content for the ‘family’ audience in the second quarter” bottom-liners’ standards.

Pixar, Dreamworks, Illumination and Disney Animation have been market-testing their way into a “no new ideas” corner for years — sequels and prequels, each more exhausted than what preceded them.

With audiences slow to respond to the unfamiliar — the charming book adaptation “The Wild Robot” has taking forever to catch on and make money — the inclination is to play it safe — “Minions: The Next Generation,” “The Lion King as a Cub,” etc.

So here we are, remaking a sweet, funny, beautifully-animated action comedy, the high water mark of Disney’s long-closed Feature Animation Florida studio, a film that was a hit when it came out, that spawned a sequel, a TV series and theme park attractions.

May of next year “Lilo & Stitch” is reborn.