Review - Lilo & Stitch (2002)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. After the recent D23 Expo, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the 2002 Disney animated classic Lilo & Stitch, featuring the voice talents of Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, Tia Carrere, Ving Rhames, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, Jason Scott Lee, Zoe Caldwell, and Kevin Michael Richardson. 

       The movie opens on the planet Turo, where the United Galactic Federation has taken evil scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba into custody, charging him for illegal experimentation, and we see his latest creation dubbed Experiment 626. Seeing how ill-behaved Experiment 626 is, the Grand Councilwoman, along with the rest of the council, sentences the creature to exile on an unpopulated asteroid. However, Experiment 626 escapes, steals a ship, and ends up traveling to the planet Earth, where he crash lands on the island of Kauai, which is one of the islands of Hawaii. The Grand Councilwoman sends Jumba, along with Earth expert Agent Pleakley, to retrieve Experiment 626.

       It's here where we meet Lilo Pelekai, a very eccentric girl who is a social outcast, an occasional burden to her older sister Nani, and is likely to be placed into foster care if her new social worker, Cobra Bubbles, is unsatisfied with Lilo and Nani's living situation. But, he does give the girls a chance to improve their situation. That night, Lilo sees what she thinks is a shooting star, but is actually the spaceship Experiment 626 jacked, crashing down on the island of Kauai, and 626 gets run over by a truck and taken to a dog shelter. The next morning, Nani takes Lilo to the shelter, and she picks 626 for her new pet, and names him Stitch. 

        As the movie progresses, Nani tries multiple new jobs, while Lilo looks to make Stitch into a model citizen, both per the instructions of Cobra. And, unfortunately, most of their efforts are undermined because of Pleakley and Jumba's efforts to nab Stich and take him back to the Galactic Federation. And, unfortunately, things don't go well across the board, but Nani's friend David cheers up Lilo and Nani with a bit of surfing. Unfortunately, Cobra feels that it's probably best for Lilo to be placed in foster care, and the sisters have one last night together, with Nani singing "Aloha Oe" to Lilo. 

      The next day, Jumba decides to go after Stitch directly, leaving the Pelekai house in ruins, and Cobra finally fed up and taking Lilo away, despite the protests of Nani. The Grand Councilwoman, also fed up with Jumba and Pleakley, sends Captain Gantu to collect Stitch, but he nabs Lilo instead. Stitch convinces Nani, Jumba, and Pleakley to help rescue Lilo from Gantu, leading to an air chase (that was edited due to 9/11), which ends on the beach, with the Grand Councilwoman finally capturing Stitch. Seeing the family he's found, as well as the adoption certificate that Lilo had, decides to relocate Stitch's exile to the planet Earth, with Lilo and Nani being placed under the protection of the Galactic Federation. Also, it's here we learn that Cobra Bubbles was a CIA agent present at Roswell back in the '70s, and he saved the planet by convincing a race of aliens that "mosquitoes were an endangered species." 

       Well, all goes well. The Pelekai house is rebuilt, and is bigger than before. Lilo and Stitch both get new hover cars. Jumba and Pleakley are officially part of the family. Stitch is participating in all kinds of activities with both Lilo and David. Happy endings all around. 

      Okay, so Lilo & Stich is a really fun movie. The Hawaiian setting, combined with the sci-fi aspect brought on by including aliens in the plot, is definitely a unique combination. The vocal talents of Daveigh Chase as Lilo, Tia Carrere as Nani, Jason Scott Lee as David, Ving Rhames as Cobra Bubbles, David Ogden Stiers as Jumba, Kevin McDonald as Pleakley, Chris Sanders (one of the directors of the film) as Stitch, Kevin Michael Richardson as Gantu, and Zoe Caldwell as the Grand Councilwoman were absolutely fantastic. Honestly, this was one of the best Disney animated movies of the post-Renaissance era of Disney. I especially loved the watercolor design of the island of Kauai, and I feel that the watercolor look fits the kind of story this movie is telling. I'm giving Lilo & Stitch a rating of 5/5. Log on to Disney+ and give it a watch. 

      Now, the popularity of the movie led to a full on franchise for Disney, including three direct-to-video movies (Stitch: The Movie, Lilo & Stitch 2: Stich Has a Glitch, and Leroy & Stitch) as well as an animated television series called Lilo & Stitch: The Series. All of these titles are available on Disney+, and I may get into them in the near future, especially with the upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch remake hitting theaters next summer. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.