Lilo and Stitch - Even an Alien Needs a Family
Written: Jun 27 '02 (Updated Nov 23 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Wonderful story and animation. Cute characters.
Cons: Nothing
The Bottom Line: Lilo and Stitch is a funny, heartwarming movie from Disney. People of all ages can enjoy this movie.
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| dragonfire88's Full Review: Lilo & Stitch |
Ever since I was a child, I have loved cartoons and animated movies, especially Disney movies. Now that I am an adult, I still love them. I have many Disney movies on VHS, and I have started to add copies to my DVD collection as well. I have been waiting several months to see Lilo and Stitch, ever since I first saw a preview of the movie. I was able to see it just a few days ago, and I loved it.
The Galactic Federation is having a meeting. Dr. Jumba has been doing illegal genetic experiments. One of the experiments produced a creature that was designed to destroy everything in came into contact with. Dr. Jumba is arrested and the creature, known as Experiment 626, is exiled to an asteroid. Experiment 626 is very intelligent, and he escapes in a space ship, landing on one of the Hawaiian islands on Earth.
The Galactic Federation is very upset that Experiment 626 got away. The Commander is ready to gas the whole planet until she learns that Earth is a protected wildlife preserve for an endangered species, the mosquito. Since he created Experiment 626, Jumba is sent with Pleakley, an expert on Earth, to capture 626.
Lilo is a little girl living on an island of Hawaii. She has some problems getting along with others. Her friends don’t seem to understand her at all. One of them calls her a name, and Lilo reacts by hitting her in the face. Nani, her older sister is raising her. Their parents died in an accident. The sisters are having some problems, and a new social worker, Mr. Bubbles is now investigating. He gives Nani three days to turn things around. If that doesn’t happen, he will take Lilo away. Nani, knowing that her sister is lonely and wants a friend that won’t go away, decides to get a dog for Lilo.
Experiment 626 ended up in the dog pound after landing on the island. The other dogs are all afraid of him, and they are hiding. He does a few things to make himself look more like a dog. Lilo picks him out, and names him Stitch. Nani doesn’t seem too thrilled with Lilo’s selection, but they take Stitch home.
Jumba and Pleakley are on the island, trying to blend in as tourists while they watch Stitch and wait for the opportunity to grab him. Lilo seems happy with Stitch, and tries to get him to behave better. Nani continues to have a bad feeling about him. She is also worried about finding a new job, and keeping Lilo. Stitch does have some trouble fitting in because of his tendency to destroy things. Mr. Bubbles is still around, and he seems to show up at bad moments.
Does Stitch ever fit in? What does Mr. Bubbles decide to do about Lilo? Do Jumba and Pleakley ever catch up with Stitch? If you want to find out these things, watch the movie.
VOICE TALENT
Daveigh Chase - Lilo
Tia Carrere - Nani
Jason Scott Lee - David
Ving Rhames - Mr. Bubbles
Chris Sanders - Stitch
David Ogden Stires - Jumba
Kevin McDonald - Pleakley
Chris Sanders - Writer/director
Dean Deblois - Writer/director
Lilo and Stitch is rated PG for some mild sci-fi action. There are some scenes that include gun fire from ray guns during some chases. Also, Stitch looks a bit scary a few times. Those things could be disturbing and scary to young children. I think it would be ok for older children to see the movie. Lilo and Stitch is around 80 minutes long.
Lilo and Stitch is a great new movie from Disney. I loved it and can’t wait to get it on DVD. The movie is touching at times, and very funny. There are a few tear jerker moments here and there, but it isn’t a depressing movie. There are science fiction elements in the movie, including some space chases and usage of ray guns. In some scenes, especially near the beginning of the movie, Stitch looks a little scary at times. So there are a few scenes in the movie that could be upsetting or scary to young children. Parents should keep that in mind when deciding on viewing this movie. I think it is fine for older children to see. This is a movie children and adults can both enjoy.
I thought that the animation in Lilo and Stitch is wonderful. It reminded me the animation in older Disney movies. Bright, vibrant colors were used, and that really helped to make the settings and characters come to life. I have seen some complaints that the animation in this movie isn’t as good as other more recent movies, but I don’t agree with that. This is just a different type of animation than the computer animation of Shreck and Monster's Inc. I also think it is much better than what is seen on cartoons on television. Just because the movie was completely done with computer animation doesn’t mean it was poorly done.
I really liked the characters in Lilo and Stitch. Many of them seemed to be more normal sized. In past Disney movies, characters either seemed to be pencil thin or very over weight. The characters in Lilo and Stitch aren’t tiny or huge, but a normal, more realistic size. Some of the background characters were in all different sizes, but the main characters looked quite normal in size to me. Nani is in shape, but she does have an extra pound or two. She looks normal. Lilo is just a little bit chubby, like she hasn’t lost all of her baby fat yet. She wasn’t too large. She just had a few extra pounds. I thought she looked really cute. Lilo also took pictures of heavier people, who she described as beautiful. It was nice to see more realistically sized characters.
I did think Mr. Bubbles was rather funny. He was shown as a big, muscled man, and had the voice to match. He does not look like a social worker. Just the fact that he looked the way he did and his name was Mr. Bubbles was funny. I did think Stitch was adorable. He is different looking, but I still thought he was cute. And his voice was just perfect. Stitch did look a little scary a few times, but over all he is cute looking. At least I think he is. There are many other aliens that show up here and there in the movie. Each alien looks different from all the other aliens. I thought they were all very interesting looking. Pleakley and Jumba looked a little silly when they were trying to blend in on the island.
There is music throughout the movie, but there aren’t any of the big production numbers that have been in other Disney movies. The characters don’t sing. Instead, the music plays in the background while something is going on. A few Hawaiian songs play during Lilo and Stitch, which really helps to add to the atmosphere of the movie. Lilo is an Elvis fan, and she plays some of his songs at different times during the movie. I have always liked Elvis song, so I enjoyed them being in the movie. There were also two Elvis songs that were performed by other people.
Lilo and Stitch is a bit different from other Disney movies. Like I mentioned before, the characters are more normal and realistic in size. Lilo and Nani’s parents were killed in an accident, and Nani is raising Lilo. In other Disney movies, one of the parents has been gone, but never both parents like this. Lilo and Nani don’t have a typical family. Some characters in other Disney movies have had some problems, but none of them have been like Lilo and how she reacts to things. When she is upset with her friends, she decides they need to be punished, and she gets out a book on voodoo. Lilo wasn’t always happy. She had some mood swings, which is normal in a child her age.
Most Disney movies I have seen have had some sort of moral. Lilo and Stitch is no different. The importance of family is emphasized throughout the movie. The idea that no one is left behind is also important to the movie. Stitch learns about family during the movie. This movie illustrates that a family can have some problems and not be perfect but still be happy. Lilo, Nani, and Stitch are a family, and while not perfect, their family is still in good shape, and happy.
Lilo and Stitch is a short movie, so there isn’t a lot of time for character development. I thought the main characters were developed enough. I cared about the characters and what happened to them. Several of the characters grew and changed by the end of the movie.
CHARACTERS
Lilo - She is a little girl living in Hawaii with her older sister. Her parents were killed in an accident. Lilo is not a typical little girl. She feeds a fish peanut butter sandwiches and resorts to voodoo when she is upset with her friends. She has trouble getting along with other kids at times. She is far from perfect, and she doesn’t always do what she is told. She is a fan of Elvis.
Stitch - He is little blue alien that was created as the result of a genetic experiment. He was designed to destroy everything, and he can’t be harmed. He was sentenced to exile but he escaped in a police space ship - the red one. He ends up on Earth, and he retracts his extra set of arms and antenna so he looks more like a dog. He is still very destructive at first, but he learns about family with Lilo. He learns not to destroy everything around him.
Nani - Lilo’s older sister. She is now doing her best to raise Lilo since their parents died. She is trying to take care of her sister and keep a job. She gets annoyed with Lilo at times, but Nani really loves her and doesn’t want the social worker to take her away. She really wants to keep their little family together. She gets a dog to try to cheer Lilo up.
Mr. Bubbles - He is a social worker assigned to investigate Nani and Lilo. He does not look like a typical social worker, and the name Cobra is tattooed on the fingers of one of his hands. He seems to think that Nani isn’t doing a good job of raising Lilo, and he is prepared to take Lilo away.
David - He is a friend of Nani and Lilo. He wants to date Nani, but she isn’t interested in that right now. She is focused on taking care of Lilo and keeping their family together. David doesn’t try to push Nani into a relationship. He is just there as a friend for her. He also does some things to help her.
Jumba - Scientist that created Stitch in an illegal genetic experiment. He is a very strange looking alien. He likes to do experiments, and is very pleased with his creation even though it landed him in jail. He is later released and sent to Earth to capture Stitch and bring him back. Jumba doesn’t like the way he is supposed to do things to get Stitch. He wants to do things his own way.
Pleakley - He is an alien that is an expert on Earth. He is sent along with Jumba since he is an expert on Earth. Pleakley is supposed to keep Jumba in line. Pleakley does his best, but he doesn’t seem to have a lot of authority. He isn’t very forceful when telling Jumba some things. Pleakley seems to be interesting in some things on Earth once he arrives.
Lilo and Stitch is a delightful animated movie. I loved it. People who like animated movies should enjoy this one. Young children could be upset or scared by a few scenes. I don’t think anything in the movie would bother older children.
Other Animated/Children's Movies
The Emperor's New Groove ~ Sleeping Beauty ~ Monster's Inc ~ Finding Nemo ~ Treasure Planet ~ Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius ~ Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas ~ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ Brother Bear ~ Looney Tunes: Back in Action ~ The Cat in the Hat ~
Recommended:
Yes
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