Lilo and Stitch- Disney departs from its norm
Written: Jun 22 '02 (Updated Jun 22 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: For once Disney doesn't model the main characters after strippers.
Cons: Fluffy plot could possibly be confusing to younger audiences
The Bottom Line: This movie doesn't carry the weight of other Disney films, but still has a good moral to the story. Entertaining enough to make a trip to the theater worth it.
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| xxskagirlxx's Full Review: Lilo & Stitch |
I coerced my fiance into seeing Lilo and Stitch the day it came out. We both got off work at 9:30 and decided to see the Lilo and Stitch at 10:05, the last showing. I'll be more than happy to admit it- I wanted to see the movie because Stitch just looked so darned cute!
**This is the moment in which I would like to heartily congratulate Disney's marketing team for suckering me in, along with a million other people.**
We purchased our tickets and the usual movie junk food and made our way into the theater. The first thing that shocked me was the crowd. I understand that Lilo and Stitch is considered to be a "childrens" film, but the audience was packed with tiny beings that all seemed to be less than seven years old. Isn't 10:00 pm a little late for parents to be keeping their wee ones up? Whatever happened to children needing their sleep? I even heard the babbling of a couple tots that were too little to even know how to talk. Yikes! It appeared that my fiance and I (him being twenty-one, me being twenty) were the oldest audience members attending this movie without being there just for the sake of taking children. At that moment I felt strangely out-numbered and I also heard the faint tick of something. (Perhaps my biological clock? Oh. Nope-just my heart palpitating furiously from being roped in with so many tykes. I'm only having puppies, no matter what my mom says about someday wanting grandchildren.)
The plot summarized for your reading pleasure:
The movie opens with the evil alien scientist Jumba Jookiba (David Ogden Stiers) being sentenced to imprisonment. It seems that he used his powers to create a little alien (known as Experiment 626 [voice played by Chris Sanders, who also did the writing and co-directing]) that is deceptively cute and cuddly. Experiment 626's main purpose is to obliterate everything in it's path. All it knows is destruction. Jumba is sent off to an alien prison while little Experiment 626 is being prepared to be sent off to a deserted asteroid. However, things go awry as Experiment 626 outsmarts the security system and hi-jacks a police cruiser. He wildly races toward earth and crashes into Hawaii. He is then found by a couple truck drivers and turned into the animal shelter where he is presumed dead.
This is where Lilo (Daveigh Chase) comes into play. Her parents have recently died, leaving her older sister Nani (Tia Carrere) to take care of her. Unfortunately, Lilo is somewhat of a problem child and has a hard time interacting with her surroundings. One second she wants her friends to play with her and the next she's punching them in the face. Nani is trying to do her best but sometimes Lilo just has the upper-hand. Mr. Bubbles (Ving Rhames), the social worker, visits their house and sees the state of their living conditions. He threatens to take Lilo away if things don't straighten out. Hoping to calm Lilo down, Nani decides to let Lilo adopt a dog (the animal welfare advocate in me thinks that this is probably not a good idea in any situation, but this is only a movie after all).
Lilo and Nani visit the animal shelter, where Experiment 626 has popped back to life and is busy tormenting all the fellow animals. He's also looking for a way to escape. He spots a poster on the wall where a dog is being hugged by a little girl. Quickly he absorbs two of his arms and his antennas, leaving him to look like a little blue dog. Lilo walks back into the kennels, Experiment 626 spots her and quickly latches on.
Once adopted by Lilo, Experiment 626 is renamed "Stitch" and becomes Lilo's wild and crazy play-thing. However, back in space Jumba has been released from prison and sent to earth with an accomplice in order to bring Stitch back. Stitch knows that he's being hunted by the aliens, so he tries to stay as close to Lilo as possible. However, his destructive nature brings more trouble to Lilo and Nani, jeopardizing their living situation to the point that Mr. Bubbles sets a date for taking Lilo away. They can't get rid of Stitch because the aliens will get him. Also, Lilo now regards him as family. What are Lilo and Nani to do?
The animation:
This film has had some hype behind it regarding the animation style. This film contains no 3-D computer animation effects. Instead, the animators use a style of animation that draws from the earliest of Disney films (think 1950's-1960's). All of the animations are simply drawn. The different backgrounds have a lush watercolor style that compliments the tropical nature of the film. Some people have griped about the lack of show-stopping effects but I appreciated the simplicity. It's great that we possess the technology to make computer animations that look almost real, but I get tired of seeing animations that are incredibly complex. I'm more impressed with talent for drawing and color use, not talent with running a computer. Lilo and Stitch allows the viewer to appreciate the simplicity of animation by not weighing the movie down with heavy and complex animation effects.
Another blatantly noticeable aspect about Lilo and Stitch is the way that the characters are drawn. Remember Pocahontas? After viewing that movie I had an inkling that not only was Pocahontas a historical figure, but she also was a Las Vegas showgirl on the side. Disney has had a notorious problem with drawing their female characters to fit unreal proportions. Most female characters were given the customary long neck, razor sharp cheekbones, big boobs, tiny waist, and long legs. Disney also has a problem with "white-washing" other nationalities (Pocahontas had an awfully caucasian-looking face). One could argue that it is only an animation, but I don't agree. Remember how many children there were at this viewing of Lilo and Stitch? I honestly think that the way characters are represented can potentially leave a lasting impression on children.
Disney got it right with Lilo and Stitch. Nani, the older sister, had a very womanly figure. She had thighs. She had strong legs. She had an average-sized chest. And, most importantly, the animators gave her a belly. She wore cropped shirts and the belly was there! When Nani sat down, her belly folded over itself, just like what normal bellies do. They also gave her a very Hawaiian "look" by giving her a larger, flatter nose. She was a very beautiful, strong and healthy character.
The other characters (disregarding the aliens as I don't think that there is a usual "norm" for drawing aliens) were also drawn appropriately. All the children were little and round. Everyone looked very healthy and happy. It was a nice change and I hope that Disney considers using this animation style again.
The characters were also heavily influenced by the Hawaiian theme of the movie. Nani and Lilo used Hawaiian words interchangably with english and other aspects of the Hawaiian culture were present everywhere.
The Theme:
I'm not too sure if I found the actual theme of the movie to be completely believable. There was an ugly-duckling aspect to the movie. Nani, Lilo and Stitch feel as though they have no family and are outcasts. Together they bond and create their own family. I can buy that and I'm sure most little kids would agree. However, the ending of the movie almost creates a mockery out of the adoption system. It's great that there's a happy ending (don't act like I'm ruining anything for you because most Disney movies have happy endings) but the ending is incredibly unbelievable. I'm just not sure how young children who may be in broken homes will handle watching this movie.
My Recommendation:
That's why I would strongly suggest watching this movie with your child. Throughout the movie I could hear different kids ask their parents questions with "Where is Stitch's family" being the number one question. I think that the theme of the movie is definitely positive, but it does require some interaction from the parent's aspect. Children may have a hard time keeping fact from fiction.
And don't worry, Lilo and Stitch is entertaining enough from an adult's perspective that you will actually enjoy watching this movie with either your friends or your young one.
**Lilo and Stitch IS rated PG appropriately due to some violence and Sci-Fi themes. Children under six may have a hard time understanding this movie**
Recommended websites:
www.liloandstitch.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
xxskagirlxx
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Member: Stevie
Location: South Dakota
Reviews written: 152
Trusted by: 85 members
About Me:
I dress up my dogs and then force my husband to take them for walks.
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