FRED Watch Quickie Film Review: Lilo & Stitch (2002)
A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND.
I’m a Fulya Kantarmaci and welcome to FRED Watch, where we review everything from the mainstream to the obscure. Today’s film is Disney’s Lilo & Stitch…
Walt Disney Pictures / Walt Disney Feature Animation / Buena Vista Pictures
Hawaiian girl Lilo (Daveigh Chase) forms a friendship with a naughty alien known as Experiment 626 (Chris Sanders), whom she adopts from a dog shelter after he crash lands from outer space. Lilo attempts to teach the poorly behaved extra-terrestrial, who is given the name Stitch, to be “a model citizen.” But no matter what she tries, Stitch still seems to want to destroy whatever he touches—that’s what he was created for, after all. And so, Stitch is forced into situations where he needs to be on his best behaviour in order to survive being captured by his creator Dr. Jumba Jookiba (David Ogden Stiers) and the expert on Earth, Agent Wendall Pleakley (Kevin McDonald).
Ahh… Disney. You always make me feel like I’m seven again whenever I watch these beautiful films.
Lilo & Stitch begins with a very sci-fi opening: a grand council on a spaceship. A scientist, Jumba, is accused of illegal experimentation after creating the “monstrosity” that is Experiment 626. He denies it, of course, and after 626 displays his terrible behaviour to the whole council, he is exiled for eternity and Jumba is imprisoned. I have to admit, Stitch is the cutest alien I’ve ever seen! He is a very clever escape artist too.
Jumping ahead to Earth, the scene opens with lovely traditional Hawaiian music that makes you feel like you’re sitting on a beach on a tropical island drinking a cocktail out of a coconut. And the colours—oh, the colours! So bright yet not overpowering. I absolutely love the way the characters have been drawn, giving the film its own uniqueness.
The story about a lonely little girl who has trouble making friends and is in a broken family really pulls on your heartstrings. All she wants to do is have fun and be a part of a loving family. Her older sister Nani (Tia Carrere) is trying her absolute best to take care of Lilo, but she also has her own problems. Trying to find a job and keeping it has been a struggle for Nani, especially since she is the legal guardian of her younger sister after their parents passed away in a car accident. If that’s not bad enough, a man from social services is on her back telling her if she can’t uphold a job and look after Lilo properly, then she will have to say goodbye to her little sister forever.
I have loved this film ever since it was released back in 2002. It is beautiful, fun, and features music from The King himself, Elvis Presley.
It is definitely worth a watch no matter who you are. And remember, “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” 4 / 5
Starring: Chris Sanders, Daveigh Chase, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, Ving Rhames, Kevin Michael Richardson, Zoe Caldwell, Jason Scott Lee, Miranda Paige Walls, Amy Hill, Susan Hegarty.
Directors/Writers: Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois (Story: Chris Sanders) | Producer: Clark Spencer | Music: Alan Silvestri | Editor: Darren T. Holmes
Available: DVD
Let us know what you thought of this film in the comments!
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