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Description

    Something I recently noticed is that all the films I’ve reviewed so far are lesser known works. It’s doubtful that most casual fans of animation are going to be familiar with something like Help! I’m a Fish or Bernard. Well today, I can happily say that this is not the case, for I’m going to be reviewing an animated film from the company we all know so well…Disney!

    Lilo and Stitch is Walt Disney Pictures’ 42nd animated feature film. Released in 2002, this hand drawn sci-fi-comedy-drama is about an illegally created alien experiment that escapes to Earth and makes friends with a quirky little Hawaiian girl named Lilo. Thinking he’s a dog, she adopts him as a pet, names him “Stitch”, and teaches him to be a “model citizen” while her much older sister faces the possibility of Lilo being taken away, due to her being seen as unfit to take after her. Meanwhile, Stitch’s creator, a mad scientist named Jumbaa, has followed him to Earth, and is determined to retrieve him.

    I found this film to be a decent family film, but at the same time I will admit that it did not leave that big of an impression compared to a lot of Disney animated films that came out before it. That doesn’t make it bad at all, though. In fact, for what it is, it’s pretty good. The characters are likeable, the story is well told, and, being a Disney film, it looks great as well. And yes, it’s much, much better than the last alien related movie I reviewed here.

                The story in this movie has two main parts to it: A science fiction side, involving Jumbaa and an agent from the Galactic Federation named Pleakley trying to retrieve Stitch, while Gantu, another much more threatening alien working for the Galactic Federation, also wants to capture Stitch. Then, there’s a story of suburban drama where Lilo and her sister Nani live together, their parents having recently died. Nani tries to convince a social worker that she’s fit for taking care of Lilo, which unfortunately isn’t working out well for her. While these two different plots do feel like they don’t mix well at times, they’re both told decently enough. The “suburban drama” part of the story is especially well told, and we really get a sense of how hard things are for Nani.

                Most of the characters in this film are all very solid and likeable in their own ways. The human characters feel very real in how they interact with each other. We see how Nani and Lilo’s relationship develops over time, and how they interact with other people. The relationship between Lilo and Stitch is also very well done. We see how Stitch progresses throughout the film as he goes from being a wild, aggressive creature to genuinely caring for Lilo. As for the other alien characters…They’re somewhat mixed. While Jumbaa does develop as a character, he isn’t really that interesting for someone who’s supposed to be a mad scientist. Gantu is an intimidating villain, even if he is technically trying to do the right thing, but he feels somewhat flat as a character. I couldn’t really think of anything truly memorable about him. Pleakley is probably my favorite out of the alien characters in this movie, being the most fleshed-out one besides Stitch. He’s extremely cautious in making sure Jumbaa does his job right without hurting anybody, and his personality leads to a lot of funny moments from him.

                This movie was made by Disney, and its animation is great as always. It’s fluid, expressive, and feels very natural, everything you’d expect from a Disney film. There’s also a decent amount of CG in this film, which actually fits in quite well with the rest of the art style. Another thing worth noting is that the backgrounds in this film take on a sort of watercolor look, which is very nice to look at. I do have one very small issue with the art style, however. This film has a minor, but rather odd habit of incorporating live-action elements into it. First off, Lilo looks up to Elvis Presley as a role model, and she has a picture of him…the thing is, this picture is an actual photograph of him. There’s also a brief scene where Stitch becomes interested in a television set’s showing the 1958 film “Earth vs. the Spider”. These brief elements do clash somewhat with the rest of the movie’s art style, and while they aren’t as prominent as the ones in Wall-E, they still feel like they’d be more fitting in a SpongeBob SquarePants episode than in a Disney movie.

In all, Lilo and Stitch is a fun, harmless Disney movie that the whole family can enjoy. While it’s not one of my all-time favorites from the company, I can still safely recommend this one.

MY RATING:

Description

    Something I recently noticed is that all the films I’ve reviewed so far are lesser known works. It’s doubtful that most casual fans of animation are going to be familiar with something like Help! I’m a Fish or Bernard. Well today, I can happily say that this is not the case, for I’m going to be reviewing an animated film from the company we all know so well…Disney!

    Lilo and Stitch is Walt Disney Pictures’ 42nd animated feature film. Released in 2002, this hand drawn sci-fi-comedy-drama is about an illegally created alien experiment that escapes to Earth and makes friends with a quirky little Hawaiian girl named Lilo. Thinking he’s a dog, she adopts him as a pet, names him “Stitch”, and teaches him to be a “model citizen” while her much older sister faces the possibility of Lilo being taken away, due to her being seen as unfit to take after her. Meanwhile, Stitch’s creator, a mad scientist named Jumbaa, has followed him to Earth, and is determined to retrieve him.

    I found this film to be a decent family film, but at the same time I will admit that it did not leave that big of an impression compared to a lot of Disney animated films that came out before it. That doesn’t make it bad at all, though. In fact, for what it is, it’s pretty good. The characters are likeable, the story is well told, and, being a Disney film, it looks great as well. And yes, it’s much, much better than the last alien related movie I reviewed here.

                The story in this movie has two main parts to it: A science fiction side, involving Jumbaa and an agent from the Galactic Federation named Pleakley trying to retrieve Stitch, while Gantu, another much more threatening alien working for the Galactic Federation, also wants to capture Stitch. Then, there’s a story of suburban drama where Lilo and her sister Nani live together, their parents having recently died. Nani tries to convince a social worker that she’s fit for taking care of Lilo, which unfortunately isn’t working out well for her. While these two different plots do feel like they don’t mix well at times, they’re both told decently enough. The “suburban drama” part of the story is especially well told, and we really get a sense of how hard things are for Nani.

                Most of the characters in this film are all very solid and likeable in their own ways. The human characters feel very real in how they interact with each other. We see how Nani and Lilo’s relationship develops over time, and how they interact with other people. The relationship between Lilo and Stitch is also very well done. We see how Stitch progresses throughout the film as he goes from being a wild, aggressive creature to genuinely caring for Lilo. As for the other alien characters…They’re somewhat mixed. While Jumbaa does develop as a character, he isn’t really that interesting for someone who’s supposed to be a mad scientist. Gantu is an intimidating villain, even if he is technically trying to do the right thing, but he feels somewhat flat as a character. I couldn’t really think of anything truly memorable about him. Pleakley is probably my favorite out of the alien characters in this movie, being the most fleshed-out one besides Stitch. He’s extremely cautious in making sure Jumbaa does his job right without hurting anybody, and his personality leads to a lot of funny moments from him.

                This movie was made by Disney, and its animation is great as always. It’s fluid, expressive, and feels very natural, everything you’d expect from a Disney film. There’s also a decent amount of CG in this film, which actually fits in quite well with the rest of the art style. Another thing worth noting is that the backgrounds in this film take on a sort of watercolor look, which is very nice to look at. I do have one very small issue with the art style, however. This film has a minor, but rather odd habit of incorporating live-action elements into it. First off, Lilo looks up to Elvis Presley as a role model, and she has a picture of him…the thing is, this picture is an actual photograph of him. There’s also a brief scene where Stitch becomes interested in a television set’s showing the 1958 film “Earth vs. the Spider”. These brief elements do clash somewhat with the rest of the movie’s art style, and while they aren’t as prominent as the ones in Wall-E, they still feel like they’d be more fitting in a SpongeBob SquarePants episode than in a Disney movie.

In all, Lilo and Stitch is a fun, harmless Disney movie that the whole family can enjoy. While it’s not one of my all-time favorites from the company, I can still safely recommend this one.

MY RATING: