Lilo & Stitch

• Written and Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois (Directorial Debuts)
• June 16, 2002 (El Capitan Theatre) / June 21, 2002 (US)

Voice Cast

• Lilo Pelekai-Daveigh Chase
• Stitch (Also known as Experiment 626)-Chris Sanders
• Nani Pelekai-Tia Carrere
• David Kawena-Jason Scott Lee
• Dr. Jumba Jookiba-David Ogden Stiers
• Agent Pleakley-Kevin McDonald
• Cobra Bubbles-Ving Rhames
• Captain Gantu-Kevin Michael Richardson
• The Grand Councilwoman-Zoe Caldwell
• Mertle Edmonds-Miranda Paige Walls
• Moses Puloki-Kunewa Mook
• Mrs. Hasagawa-Amy Hill
• Rescue Lady-Susan Hegarty

An orphaned girl adopts a ‘dog’ from her local pound unaware that it’s an alien creature hiding on Earth from its maker and others who see it as a threat.

Born at the tail end of the era where every new character was ‘edgy’ or ‘extreme,’ Lilo & Stitch is a weirdly sweet story about family and finding a place where you belong. It’s a movie with a message but it doesn’t shove your face in that message.

Watching this I see a bit of inspiration from Critters. Not a big influence but there’s something there. Unwanted creatures set extermination. Stitch even looks a little like a cute critter that escapes and steals a ship to get to Earth. In other inspiration the space and alien designs take more from science-fiction of the 50s than they do Star Wars or anything closer to the time this film came out.

Lilo for her part is a more realistic child than most. She has an extremely vivid imagination but is not given to wisdom beyond her years. Her imagination takes her away from the pain and shortcomings of real life. She wants friends but doesn’t know how to make them. She’s a little weird. Not creepy or bad weird. She’s just into different things than those of her age.

Lilo is in the care of her older sister Nani after the death of their parents from movie causes. Lilo and Nani, as demonstrated in small moments, are two sides of the same coin but Lilo lacks maturity. Nani is struggling having basically given up just about everything for her sister but holds no real regret or animosity over it. Sure, the situation gets to her sometimes, but in the end she would do it again. That is love.

Stitch is a jerk really. He’s an experiment created for destructive purposes and his initial connection to Lilo is for selfish purposes to hide but together they bond and he comes to genuinely care for her and those around her. That is why Lilo & Stitch still resonates today-because the characters change. They start out differently than they begin. How they do so is understandable to us even if the situation itself is fantastic. There’s emotion and genuine feeling in this mixed with the humor that helps you connect with the story and the characters.

You can watch the characters progress as they go along. The first thing Stitch learns (and you can see it) is that his actions have consequences. In that moment he learns regret. That is a very important step in his character growth casually yet clearly communicated in the instance in which it occurs. This goes with Lilo’s growth coming from caring for Stitch she comes to terms with her own baggage.

The humor gets a bit on the dark side. Comedically dark in a Disney friendly way such as the line “My friends need to be punished.” That was hilarious! I like how it circles back to something mentioned in the opener that played out at about the midpoint via the character of Bubbles. It was a gentle play on the tough guy that’s really not tough as well as the character with the mysterious past. This is a well written film that develops the characters and narrative and avoids excessive fluff.

The use of Elvis music may not have been inspired but it was cute. Given much of his filmography or at least as it was perceived, you couldn’t have done better. It adds a nice character aspect to Lilo and fits with the general aesthetic. Burning Love closes out the film. It’s interesting to note that this is not the Elvis’s version but a version sung by someone else. Elvis didn’t like performing it for whatever reason and I guess part of the agreement that allowed them to use the music prevented them from using his version.

With great animation and a heartfelt story Lilo & Stitch is a classic. Born in the age of the edgy character, it rises above that to be a quality Disney film that’s different from the rest.