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Stitch need ALL the floaties!

Today is the 10th anniversary of the original release of Lilo & Stitch. Here is my tribute!

Easing up to the very edge of the small dock Stitch leaned forward to observe his own reflection in the calm water. The inlet behind their house was protected from the waves by rocky outcroppings which made for lousy surfing, but was just perfect for letting a new swimmer get the hang of things.

“Come on sweetie, I’m right here.” Nani stood barely two feet away, waist deep in the surf waiting for him to make his move. One near drowning experience too many had convinced her that molecularly dense aliens and surfing were a stupid combination without a life jacket and after a lot of whining and bribes had finally forced him into one he would consent to wear. He’d hated the very idea of it. Not only was the thing several shades of green that reminded him of key-lime pie, but he knew he looked utterly ridiculous in it. Nani and Lilo didn’t have to wear one so why did he have to be the even odder one out? Yeah sure if he fell off the board again he’d drown without it, but heck, Nani had saved him the last time and he’d only fallen to begin with because the board had hit a turtle. And what were the odds of that happening again?

Nani held her hands out in invitation, smiling warmly at his pouting.

“Jump! I’ll catch you!”

He nervously gripped his pool noodle, his claws piercing into the soft rubber. He’d never purposely gone in the water before. He’d only ever stayed safely on the surfboard, he and water only making contact when things went wrong.

“Stitch need more floaties.”

Nani smirked at him. Not only did he have the vest and ridiculously pink noodle he also had on water wings. He couldn’t be more buoyant right now if he tried.

“You’ve got plenty.”

“Stitch need more.”

“I’m RIGHT here. I won’t let anything happen.”

“Yeah Stitch come on! It’s fun!” A few feet behind Nani Lilo floated lazily on her own pool noodle. “I’m getting bored, just jump IN already!”

Pout returning Stitch looked back down at the water then back up at Nani and then over to Lilo. Was all this REALLY necessary? Couldn’t they all just go back inside and eat marshmallows in front of the tv? The vest was only a precaution, it wasn’t like recreational swimming was ever going to be his thing. Why hadn’t watching him cry through all his baths knocked some sense into his care-taker?

As the experiment considered his options he didn’t notice the large shape inching towards him from behind. With what could only be described as an evil grin, Jumba moved into position and deftly shoved his creation off of the dock and into the water. Stitch didn’t even have time to shriek.

By the time he was able to process what had just happened the vest had done its job, bringing him immediately back up to the surface to bob gently in the tide.

“JUMBA!!” Nani scolded as the scientist laughed. “That was cruel!!”

Jumba made a dismissive gesture with one huge hand. “Bah! You were wanting him in water, now is in water. …You’re welcome.”

“I wanted him to do it on his own!”

“That would have been taking forever.”

“There was no rush!”

Ordinarily Stitch would have loved watching Jumba being reprimanded by the much smaller Nani, but right now he was wet, miserable, and wanted all attention, ….and sympathy, on HIM. He began to whimper, having learned early on that nothing got Nani’s attention faster than pathetic noises. It was the mother in her and he had no qualms about exploiting it.

“Oooohhh sweetie… come here…” She once again opened her hands to him, but made no move to come closer. This not being the intended response Stitch heightened the whimpers into low wails.

“I want you to see that you’re safe in that vest, just swim to me and I’ll pick you up and we’ll be done. No more swimming.”

Stitch considered his options. She was only about four feet away. He could try to swim it. Or he could just burst into sobs until she took pity on him. At this point he honestly didn’t know which option would get him out of the water faster.

Lilo slid off her pool noodle and paddled over in a demonstrative manner.

“Like this Stitch! Just kick your feet and wave your arms around.”

With Nani still rooted in place and looking at him expectantly Stitch attempted to follow Lilo’s directions. However he hadn’t gotten the idea that the movements were supposed to be coordinated, so he uselessly flailed about, making no headway and somehow spinning himself around so Nani was now behind him.

Lilo frowned. “Okay, try again, but this time not in a way that’s gonna attract every shark near the island.”

“GABA?!?!” Stitch’s ears perked straight up and he frantically looked all around himself. The last thing he needed was being dragged under by a tiger shark.

Nani sighed in exasperation. “Lilo….”

“What? Flailing attracts sharks! Shark Week says so!”

“Shark Week did in fact say so.” Jumba added helpfully.

Nani glared at him. “If you’re not going to help, go away.”

“What would you have me do?”

“You could try being encouraging for a start.”

“I don’t do that, that’s what you are being here for.”

Seeing that the attention was off of him again Stitch just floated pathetically, wondering what he had done to deserve this. If Nani was trying to punish him for something there were much more straightforward means.

Having lost interest in watching Jumba and her sister bicker, Lilo paddled her way to Stitch’s side and spread out beside him, using her pool noodle to keep her upper body up. In this position Stitch could fully see her limbs.

“Like this, okay?” She slowly paddled past him. Squinting slightly in concentration Stitch analyzed her movements before attempting to copy them. This time he began to make headway.

“You’re doing it! Nani, he’s doing it!”

Her attention pulled from Jumba Nani whirled around to see Stitch slowly but surely heading in her direction. She gasped slightly in delighted surprise before quickly assuming her ‘catcher’s’ position, ready to scoop him up once he made it all the way. Seeing his own progress Stitch’s expression had perked up and he grinned, knowing this was all almost over. But Nani mistook his smile for pride and wanting him to really feel accomplished she began to inch slowly backwards, like a mother coaxing her infant to walk. Unfortunately Stitch wasn’t an infant, despite only being a few months old which by earth’s standards technically WOULD make him an infant, and he noticed what she was doing immediately.

“NAGA!! CHEATING!” He shrieked, smile gone.

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry!” Nani quickly moved back to where she’d originally been and allowed the little alien to clamber up into her arms once he was within reach. He climbed as high up on her as he could, anything to get him away from the water.

“YAY STITCH!” Lilo called as a small wave carried her toward shore.

Stitch clung to Nani’s shoulders as she climbed out of the water and onto the oddly purple rock face. A pile of towels were waiting and she snagged the biggest plushiest one to wrap him in.

“Now see? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” His response was to shoot her an incredulous look as she peeled off his jacket and water wings before fluffing his fur with the towel. Picking him back up again she frowned when as she pet him she noticed how gritty his fur was.

“You’re full of salt and sand…. You’re going to need a bath….”

“WHAT!??!” He jerked in surprised horror before trying to toss himself out of her arms.

“NO! NO! NONONONO!!!”

*note: Stitch being only a few months old is actually cannon. Chris Sanders states in the Director's Commentary that Stitch is only about 2 months old during the events of the original movie.

Description
Stitch need ALL the floaties!

Today is the 10th anniversary of the original release of Lilo & Stitch. Here is my tribute!

Easing up to the very edge of the small dock Stitch leaned forward to observe his own reflection in the calm water. The inlet behind their house was protected from the waves by rocky outcroppings which made for lousy surfing, but was just perfect for letting a new swimmer get the hang of things.

“Come on sweetie, I’m right here.” Nani stood barely two feet away, waist deep in the surf waiting for him to make his move. One near drowning experience too many had convinced her that molecularly dense aliens and surfing were a stupid combination without a life jacket and after a lot of whining and bribes had finally forced him into one he would consent to wear. He’d hated the very idea of it. Not only was the thing several shades of green that reminded him of key-lime pie, but he knew he looked utterly ridiculous in it. Nani and Lilo didn’t have to wear one so why did he have to be the even odder one out? Yeah sure if he fell off the board again he’d drown without it, but heck, Nani had saved him the last time and he’d only fallen to begin with because the board had hit a turtle. And what were the odds of that happening again?

Nani held her hands out in invitation, smiling warmly at his pouting.

“Jump! I’ll catch you!”

He nervously gripped his pool noodle, his claws piercing into the soft rubber. He’d never purposely gone in the water before. He’d only ever stayed safely on the surfboard, he and water only making contact when things went wrong.

“Stitch need more floaties.”

Nani smirked at him. Not only did he have the vest and ridiculously pink noodle he also had on water wings. He couldn’t be more buoyant right now if he tried.

“You’ve got plenty.”

“Stitch need more.”

“I’m RIGHT here. I won’t let anything happen.”

“Yeah Stitch come on! It’s fun!” A few feet behind Nani Lilo floated lazily on her own pool noodle. “I’m getting bored, just jump IN already!”

Pout returning Stitch looked back down at the water then back up at Nani and then over to Lilo. Was all this REALLY necessary? Couldn’t they all just go back inside and eat marshmallows in front of the tv? The vest was only a precaution, it wasn’t like recreational swimming was ever going to be his thing. Why hadn’t watching him cry through all his baths knocked some sense into his care-taker?

As the experiment considered his options he didn’t notice the large shape inching towards him from behind. With what could only be described as an evil grin, Jumba moved into position and deftly shoved his creation off of the dock and into the water. Stitch didn’t even have time to shriek.

By the time he was able to process what had just happened the vest had done its job, bringing him immediately back up to the surface to bob gently in the tide.

“JUMBA!!” Nani scolded as the scientist laughed. “That was cruel!!”

Jumba made a dismissive gesture with one huge hand. “Bah! You were wanting him in water, now is in water. …You’re welcome.”

“I wanted him to do it on his own!”

“That would have been taking forever.”

“There was no rush!”

Ordinarily Stitch would have loved watching Jumba being reprimanded by the much smaller Nani, but right now he was wet, miserable, and wanted all attention, ….and sympathy, on HIM. He began to whimper, having learned early on that nothing got Nani’s attention faster than pathetic noises. It was the mother in her and he had no qualms about exploiting it.

“Oooohhh sweetie… come here…” She once again opened her hands to him, but made no move to come closer. This not being the intended response Stitch heightened the whimpers into low wails.

“I want you to see that you’re safe in that vest, just swim to me and I’ll pick you up and we’ll be done. No more swimming.”

Stitch considered his options. She was only about four feet away. He could try to swim it. Or he could just burst into sobs until she took pity on him. At this point he honestly didn’t know which option would get him out of the water faster.

Lilo slid off her pool noodle and paddled over in a demonstrative manner.

“Like this Stitch! Just kick your feet and wave your arms around.”

With Nani still rooted in place and looking at him expectantly Stitch attempted to follow Lilo’s directions. However he hadn’t gotten the idea that the movements were supposed to be coordinated, so he uselessly flailed about, making no headway and somehow spinning himself around so Nani was now behind him.

Lilo frowned. “Okay, try again, but this time not in a way that’s gonna attract every shark near the island.”

“GABA?!?!” Stitch’s ears perked straight up and he frantically looked all around himself. The last thing he needed was being dragged under by a tiger shark.

Nani sighed in exasperation. “Lilo….”

“What? Flailing attracts sharks! Shark Week says so!”

“Shark Week did in fact say so.” Jumba added helpfully.

Nani glared at him. “If you’re not going to help, go away.”

“What would you have me do?”

“You could try being encouraging for a start.”

“I don’t do that, that’s what you are being here for.”

Seeing that the attention was off of him again Stitch just floated pathetically, wondering what he had done to deserve this. If Nani was trying to punish him for something there were much more straightforward means.

Having lost interest in watching Jumba and her sister bicker, Lilo paddled her way to Stitch’s side and spread out beside him, using her pool noodle to keep her upper body up. In this position Stitch could fully see her limbs.

“Like this, okay?” She slowly paddled past him. Squinting slightly in concentration Stitch analyzed her movements before attempting to copy them. This time he began to make headway.

“You’re doing it! Nani, he’s doing it!”

Her attention pulled from Jumba Nani whirled around to see Stitch slowly but surely heading in her direction. She gasped slightly in delighted surprise before quickly assuming her ‘catcher’s’ position, ready to scoop him up once he made it all the way. Seeing his own progress Stitch’s expression had perked up and he grinned, knowing this was all almost over. But Nani mistook his smile for pride and wanting him to really feel accomplished she began to inch slowly backwards, like a mother coaxing her infant to walk. Unfortunately Stitch wasn’t an infant, despite only being a few months old which by earth’s standards technically WOULD make him an infant, and he noticed what she was doing immediately.

“NAGA!! CHEATING!” He shrieked, smile gone.

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry!” Nani quickly moved back to where she’d originally been and allowed the little alien to clamber up into her arms once he was within reach. He climbed as high up on her as he could, anything to get him away from the water.

“YAY STITCH!” Lilo called as a small wave carried her toward shore.

Stitch clung to Nani’s shoulders as she climbed out of the water and onto the oddly purple rock face. A pile of towels were waiting and she snagged the biggest plushiest one to wrap him in.

“Now see? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” His response was to shoot her an incredulous look as she peeled off his jacket and water wings before fluffing his fur with the towel. Picking him back up again she frowned when as she pet him she noticed how gritty his fur was.

“You’re full of salt and sand…. You’re going to need a bath….”

“WHAT!??!” He jerked in surprised horror before trying to toss himself out of her arms.

“NO! NO! NONONONO!!!”

*note: Stitch being only a few months old is actually cannon. Chris Sanders states in the Director's Commentary that Stitch is only about 2 months old during the events of the original movie.