Lilo & Stitch (Dir: Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders, 2002).
A heartwarming family drama/sci-fi hybrid from Walt Disney Animation Studios.
On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, misfit Lilo adopts an unwanted stray dog. Unfortunately, said dog, named Stitch by Lilo, is actually escaped extra-terrestrial genetic experiment #626, an invention of would be evil scientist Jumba. With Stitch causing havoc on the island, Jumba is dispatched to Earth with Terra-expert Pleakley to recapture the alien, but Lilo is not so eager to relinquish her pal.
Science fiction had played a key part in the Disney parks since the opening of Disneyland in 1955. It was also a staple of Walt Disney Pictures live action releases. Yet there had never been a sci-fi feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios before the 2001 release of Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise) and, the following year, Lilo & Stitch. Unlike Atlantis, which was a hi-tech, all action fantasy epic, Lilo & Stitch was a lowkey family drama with believable characters drawn from real life (+ some aliens!). Also unlike Atlantis, Lilo & Stitch would provide the studio with a much needed hit after the commercial failure of the ambitious and expensive former movie.
At the heart of Lilo & Stitch is a touchingly believe tale of sisterly bonding. This sense of realism is somewhat at odds with the sci fi scenes which bookend the movie. By contrast, although they are a lot of fun, these high tech scenes are less impressive than the beautiful watercolours and simple message of the Hawaii scenes. The sci-fi sequences are more action packed and flashily animated, but it is the Hawaiian scenes, that are the more affecting and most memorable segments of the movie.
Stitch is as enduring a character as any to come from Disney’s rich animation history; while Jumba and Pleakley provide ample comic relief as the fish out of water aliens. Yet what really makes the movie special is the realistic portrayal of Lilo and sister Nani. Credit to co-writers /directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders for creating a convincing relationship, familiar to anyone who has ever loved and loathed a sibling in equal measure.
On the Hawaiian island of Kauai, misfit Lilo adopts an unwanted stray dog. Unfortunately, said dog, named Stitch by Lilo, is actually escaped extra-terrestrial genetic experiment #626, an invention of would be evil scientist Jumba. With Stitch causing havoc on the island, Jumba is dispatched to Earth with Terra-expert Pleakley to recapture the alien, but Lilo is not so eager to relinquish her pal.
Science fiction had played a key part in the Disney parks since the opening of Disneyland in 1955. It was also a staple of Walt Disney Pictures live action releases. Yet there had never been a sci-fi feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios before the 2001 release of Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise) and, the following year, Lilo & Stitch. Unlike Atlantis, which was a hi-tech, all action fantasy epic, Lilo & Stitch was a lowkey family drama with believable characters drawn from real life (+ some aliens!). Also unlike Atlantis, Lilo & Stitch would provide the studio with a much needed hit after the commercial failure of the ambitious and expensive former movie.
At the heart of Lilo & Stitch is a touchingly believe tale of sisterly bonding. This sense of realism is somewhat at odds with the sci fi scenes which bookend the movie. By contrast, although they are a lot of fun, these high tech scenes are less impressive than the beautiful watercolours and simple message of the Hawaii scenes. The sci-fi sequences are more action packed and flashily animated, but it is the Hawaiian scenes, that are the more affecting and most memorable segments of the movie.
There is a faint melancholic undercurrent which run though Lilo & Stitch. The sensitive manner in which the movie deals with issues such as loss and the importance of family is refreshingly frank and free from false sentiment. This lends the movie a distinctly different flavour from any other Disney feature. Likewise its use of traditional Hawaiian folk music and a half dozen Elvis tracks feels fresh and slightly edgy in comparison to the studio's recent tradition of elaborate Broadway-style musicals such as Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise, 1991) and Pocahontas (Mike Gabriel & Eric Goldberg, 1995). It is also thankfully free from the glib, self-referential humour which had crept into recent Disney features such as Hercules (Ron Clements & Jon Musker, 1997) and The Emperor's New Groove (Mark Dindal, 2000).
Lilo & Stitch stands out in an era when the Disney studio was struggling in the face of competition from rival animation studios Pixar and DreamWorks. It feels both markedly original and traditionally Disney and foreshadows the studios more recent success with familial bonding tales such as Frozen (Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee, 2013) and Big Hero 6 (Don Hall & Chris Williams, 2014).
Lilo & Stitch stands out in an era when the Disney studio was struggling in the face of competition from rival animation studios Pixar and DreamWorks. It feels both markedly original and traditionally Disney and foreshadows the studios more recent success with familial bonding tales such as Frozen (Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee, 2013) and Big Hero 6 (Don Hall & Chris Williams, 2014).
As enjoyable for grownups as for kids and full of references to classic monster and sci-fi movies for geeks like me. Lilo and Stitch is the most unassuming and charming of Walt Disney Animation Studios output. It is also stands as one of their best feature films of the 21st Century.
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