Themes: Faltering Friendships, Orphans, Fish Out of Water
Main Cast: Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, Ving Rhames
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 85 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
A lonely little girl makes a very unusual friend -- a ukulele-playing alien who likes to toss around small automobiles -- in this antic animated comedy from Walt Disney Studios. Lilo (voice of Daveigh Chase) is a young Hawaiian girl being raised by her teenaged sister Nani (voice of Tia Carrere) after the unexpected death of their parents in an auto accident. While Nani tries to hold their household together, Lilo is a child with unusual interests and a distinctive sense of humor, which makes it hard for her to bond with her peers, as well as her big sister. Nani decides Lilo might be happier if she had a pet, so the sisters go to the animal shelter to adopt a dog; however, the critter which catches Lilo's fancy is a fuzzy blue creature she names Stitch (voice of Chris Sanders). Nani isn't so sure Stitch is really a dog, and it turns out she's right; Stitch is actually "Genetic Experiment 626," a mutation created by extraterrestrial mad scientist Dr. Jumba (voice of David Ogden Stiers) to be used a weapon. Stitch is an intelligent but gleefully destructive little creature with superhuman strength who has escaped to Earth and crash-landed in the Hawaiian islands, but Lilo sees him simply as a fellow misfit and attempts to teach him to behave like her favorite American icon, Elvis Presley. Meanwhile, Nani struggles to keep Lilo and Stitch on their best behavior as stern social worker Cobra Bubbles (voice of Ving Rhames) tries to determine if Nani is fit to raise a child, while Dr. Jumba and Pleakley (voice of Kevin McDonald) attempt to capture "Experiment 626" and bring him back home. Chris Sanders, who provides the voice of Stitch, also co-wrote and co-directed the film, which features numerous Elvis Presley tunes on the soundtrack, as well as a new recording of "Burning Love" by country star Wynonna. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
One of Disney's most quirky and imaginative animated features, Lilo & Stitch plays like an antidote to the calculated, by-the-numbers feel that permeates even the best of the studio's latter-era films. Refreshingly free of demographically determined elements, Lilo & Stitch is lively entertainment that manages to integrate themes of family, loss, and redemption without being overly didactic or sentimental. The movie also generates frequent laughter without leaning too heavily on the self-aware jokiness and throwaway pop-culture references favored by so many of its contemporary animated features. Instead, humor emerges from the unique characters of Stitch, an anarchic and destructive (yet cuddly) space alien, and Lilo, a mischievous young girl who finds her match in Stitch. There's room for a few rousing action sequences as well as some quiet, heartbreakingly sweet moments that equal the finest Disney has put onscreen. Not least of all, the animation is infused with a naturalistic, unobtrusive beauty, thanks in large part to the watercolor backgrounds (Disney's first since the 1940s) and Chris Sanders' distinct art style, with its rounded edges and vibrant colors. The fact that the hand-drawn Lilo & Stitch is considered an anomaly in the CG-dominated '00s is a little troubling, but it's also a potent reminder that there is still a place for superb traditional animation in a post-Toy Story world. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
Zoe Caldwell - Grand Councilwoman; Jason Scott Lee - David Kawena; Kevin Richardson - Captain Gantu; Susan Hegarty - Rescue Lady; Amy Hill - Mrs. Hasagawa; Alyson Stoner
Credit
Ric Sluiter - Art Director, Chris Sanders - Director, Dean DeBlois - Director, Darren Holmes - Editor, Alan Silvestri - Composer (Music Score), Paul Felix - Production Designer, Clark Spenser - Producer, Christopher Boyes - Sound/Sound Designer, Christopher Boyes - Supervisor/Manager, Chris Sanders - Screenwriter, Dean DeBlois - Screenwriter, Joseph F. Gilland - Visual Effects Supervisor, Eric Guaglione - Supervising Animator, Frank Eulner - Supervising Sound Editor, Elvis Presley - Featured Music
