Lilo and Stitch (2002)

Lilo and Stitch (2002)

8/10

Starring

Chris Sanders

Daveigh Chase

Tia Carrere

Ving Rhames

Directed by Chris Sanders

The movie is one of the most underrated gems of the mouse house. We did not have those regular protagonist, we had Lilo. A little girl, whose taste in music is beyond her years and her brave unique view of things sets this movie on a pedestal.

When Lilo and Stitch came out back then in 2002 it was different than what we were used to from the mouse house. The plot was edgier the characters were sharp and brave plus there was no princess/damsel needing rescuing, an island needing saving or some treasure adventure. This was a weird family which composed of two sisters, the older raising the younger and their family grew to include a very destructive and dangerous alien life form.

What I will never forget about this movie is the soundtrack, this movie blasted some good old Elvis songs all through it’s run. It has cool fantastic artwork and the whole sci-fi setting was different. This is one of the few good animations Disney did between the end of their renaissance with Tarzan (1999) and when they got back to their winning ways in 2008 with Bolt.

In Hawaii a young lady named Nani is struggling to care for her very energetic and independent little sister named Lilo since their parents passed. Elsewhere in the universe a scientist of a an alien race made a creature using some genetic mutilation which he named Experiment 626. The scientist was facing sanctions for his crimes. The creature was to be banished to an abandoned asteroid when he broke free stole a spacecraft and 626 crashed on earth. There he was caught by animal control when he disguised as a dog and placed in a shelter.

Nani felt the best way for Lilo to feel better was to get her a dog, and you can guess they went to shelter and Lilo went home with 626 an ugly looking thing which was way too strong. She named 626 Stitch. The aliens sent their people to earth to retrieve 626, but they were having difficulty doing so without being seen. 626, is aware of the ones sent to catch him, so he decides to hide it out with Lilo until he can come up with a way of escape. While a military alien was not having it and we had him on earth willing to do anything to catch 626.

In the end you will always have fun memory of this movie. Watching it now, I noticed that the movie took a while to get started and then ended a little too quickly, but still everything adds up to a great animation which deserves more recognition than it does now.