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QUICK PLOT SUMMARY:
Animation - A young Hawaiian girl named Lilo befriends an extraterrestrial creature named Stitch in this latest animated adventure from Disney.
RATING: G
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Reviewer's Corner
Texture and color define an alluring beauty to Disney’s Lilo and Stitch
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With every animated feature released by Disney, they seem to come up with more creative and innovative ways to tell their stories. While live action films from the great Mouse House inevitably and quickly head the way of the forgotten video pile, the company has a way of creating some really fascinating animated works. The short film The Old Mill (1937) picked up an Academy Award over 60 years ago for its groundbreaking work on three-dimensional effects, something we take for granted today but never really experienced before that time. Beauty and the Beast (1991) was influential in bringing the world of CGI into animated storytelling, using computer graphics really for the first time as they could fully be utilized to create unique and fluid shots and allowing the camera more movement throughout the canvas of its film than ever before. Disney’s newest film Lilo and Stitch may not have made the next great leap in animated storytelling, but it does have elements in it not seen before in their movies. Its main characters are standard Disney design, but the backgrounds of this film are done in breathtaking watercolor, giving Lilo and Stitch a very distinct look. The use of real live-action film footage on televisions in a store window, or a real photograph of Elvis Presley are also very clever and innovative choices that directors Dean Deblois and Chris Sanders take in this film that not only looks spectacular, but is also a truly touching story that is intelligently written, very funny, and quite moving all at the same time.
Stitch (voiced by writer and director Chris Sanders) is a genetically engineered, virtually indestructible little alien creature that escapes on his way to imprisonment, stealing a ship and crash landing on the island of Hawaii. He is followed there by intergalactic security forces determined to bring him back into incarceration, made up of the comic twosome of Pleakley (The Kids in the Hall’s Kevin McDonald) and Jumba (David Ogden Stiers). Once on Earth, Stitch soon is mistaken for a dog and adopted by little Lilo (Daveigh Chase) and her sister and guardian Nani (Tia Carrere), all the while humorously thumbing his nose at his pursuers. Rounding out the cast is Nani’s love interest David (Jason Scott Lee) and family services officer Cobra Bubbles (Ving Rhames). Every actor in this film is cast perfectly, and they really have a lot of fun with their roles, especially the duo of Pleakley and Jumba. Kevin McDonald’s interpretation of Pleakley, the nervous scientist lackey to the overbearing Jumba is a real treat to watch, and the characters of Nani and Lilo are also a lot of fun together. Lilo is probably one of the more true to life children ever seen in a film like this, shining through with all the quirks that young gifted children have, often with a bizarre, hilariously comic twist in the writing (at one point, Lilo dunks effigies of kids as spoons into a pickle jar, next to a book of voodoo. They have to be punished, she says, quite matter of factly. At another point, she states in all earnestness how her fish that she feeds peanut butter sandwiches to can control the weather).
Stitch, a character that really could have been an uninteresting little monster, turns out to be quite fun to watch. His fascination with destroying things could have taken an uncomfortable tone, but instead is handled very cleverly (in one scene, he builds a surprisingly detailed model of San Francisco in Lilo’s room with the sole intention of wreaking havoc on it like some monster arisen from the sea). The rest of the alien characters have their moments, even if they are somewhat standard alien-looking creatures for the most part. But it’s the landscapes that really shine through here.
The decision to portray Hawaii as a series of watercolors was an inspired one to make. Perhaps this is the only way to truly evoke the spirit and natural beauty of the Hawaiian islands, as the watercolors really bring out a sense of dimension and timeless, untouchable beauty to the landscape that would have been quite colorful but lost on a normally brighter and more traditional canvas. The film is satisfyingly short on musical numbers, instead saving the pieces of music for moments when the magnificence of the place is really underscored by the beautiful, native music of a paradise with so much history and distinct culture. Lilo and Stitch is a very enjoyable trip, both for children and adults, filled with silly moments that kids will really take to alongside scenes of humor that adults will truly appreciate. While not a grand epic on that scale of something like The Lion King (1994), this is a smart, clever little film with a lot of heart that has a lot more to it than the grandeur of Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) or the comic fantasy of The Emperor’s New Groove (2000). It’s message of Ohana, of family, is an important one that isn’t weighed down with forced emotion. It works on the sails of its own magic, and it’s a wonderful thing to be a part of.
Reviewed by Jon David Loraditch
What do YOU think? -- June 23, 2002
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WHO SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE:
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- AS A DATE MOVIE
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- Good Bet - Aimed more at kids, but with plenty for adults to enjoy as well, Lilo and Stitch is a wonderfully innocent film that couples young and old should have a good time with.
- CHICK FLICK
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- Good Bet - Plenty here to enjoy, with refreshing, strong-willed female characters who support one another and make a family for themselves in the face of adversity.
- GUYS MOVIE
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- Probably Okay - A lot of guys may just see this as kids stuff, but there's a lot more going on if you look for it. The humor is really well done, as is the writing.
- CHILDREN
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- Great Bet - Kids of all ages will really enjoy this fun story and all of its unique characters.
- TEENAGERS
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- Good Bet - Teens should also get a kick out of this entertaining little movie.
- GENERATION X
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- Good Bet - Plenty of smart humor for Gen X-ers to enjoy, most of whom will really take to Kevin McDonald, familiar with his work from cult favorite sketch comedy show The Kids in the Hall.
- BABY BOOMERS
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- Probably Okay - It may seem a bit like a complete kids movie to some, but a great film for taking kids or grandkids to.
- MATURE AUDIENCES
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- Probably Okay - Older audiences may find some of the alien scenes strange, but most will still enjoy this story and it will be a fun day at the theater with grandkids.
- INTELLECTUALS
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- Maybe - Not really much here working on an intellectually-stimulating level, but plenty here to enjoy.
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WHAT PARENTS SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE THEIR CHILDREN SEE THIS MOVIE:
MOVIE DETAILS:
- VIOLENT ACTS
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- Very Little - Aliens shoot guns at one another; Lilo is taken captive alongside Stitch on board a spaceship; a little girl hits and jumps on another little girl.
- SEX/NUDITY
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- None -
- PROFANITY
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- None -
- TENSE SCENES
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- Very Little - Some sci-fi action and fighting scenes; aliens chase one another and shoot guns.
- IMMORAL/ILLEGAL BEHAVIORS
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- None -
- QUESTIONABLE CONTENT / UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS
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- None -
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- Children's Value Rating
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Great fun for kids of all ages!
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