Lilo & Stitch Early Reviews

About the Characters

From the May 13, 2002 from Dark Horizons
"Lilo & Stitch" - A Review by 'Animate-Ted' (Positive, Minor Spoilers) Thanks to Dark Horizons....and Animate-Ted!

I went to a screening of Lilo and Stitch a few weeks ago. There was no talking by anyone before hand... so we were left to our own thoughts and preconceptions, of which I had none. The review below is moderately spoiled... but nothing that will ruin the filmed experience. I encourage anyone to see this film... and go in a clean slate.

It opens to a very unique "Disneyfied" intergalactic environment... where every character is either cute or cool. There's no average looking aliens. We are immediately treated to the trial of Stitch, a seemingly adorable little blue fuzz ball just begging to be stuffed and sold by Hasbro. An exciting verdict, and ingenious escape and the movie is off and running. All this before the opening credits. And what a beautiful opening credit sequence. Set to a beautiful Hawaiian hula lesson, we are introduced to Lilo... and may I say... THANK YOU DISNEY FOR MAKING A REAL CHARACTER! This girl has issues. The film makers had no fears about showing the effects of parental loss on a 6 year old. She punches little girls, she bites, she yells horrible things at her desperately paranoid sister. And it's adorable. You are immediately affected by her pathos and heartbreak... and you understand why she is an unholy terror. This little girl needs a good hug, and someone to love her. Disney could have been really heavy handed with this... but it was subtle. Sweet, and delicate... relying instead on her eccentricities to allow the audience to understand her alienation. The genius film makers allow you to understand both Lilo and the girls who make fun of her. Lilo is a very odd girl. She feeds a fish sandwiches because she believes that he controls the weather, she imagines her handmade doll has a head full of bug eggs, and this little girl can lip sync Heartbreak Hotel like no body's business. I can't rave about this fully realized character any more... she is the best and most heartfelt character Disney has created in recent years.

Crash, Bam, Alakazam- Stitch crashes on the Island of Kauaii. Because the little guy's molecular structure is so dense, he can't swim- he'll sink... so in essence he's trapped. On his trail are the mad scientist who created him (bargained by a government pardon) and his little worm-like earth expert. Trying to recapture the little mutant, they try to remain unseen by humans. Stitch has one involuntary instinct... destroy cities. However... his instinct for survival is just as strong and he eludes his captors by sucking in his extra arms, antennae and spines, and poses as a puppy. A Weird blue puppy.

Lilo's older sister Nani (voiced by Tia Careera) tries to understand her sister's loneliness and thinks about getting her a puppy. Lilio of course being the eccentric that she is... finds the odd little alien the most appealing pup there. And against everyone's advice... agrees to adopt this one. Now from this point on... the film relies on many familiar plot devices: Fish out of water, the chase and elude, and the emotional changing of two people despite the world against them... however it does these things better than any film in recent history.

This film has so many good things going for it, that to list them all would be 3 pages worth of text. I'll sum it up like this...

CREATIVELY: This film is incredibly original, yet familiar and comforting. There are many clever jokes (that don't play to the lowest level). Gorgeous visuals (All of the backgrounds in Hawaii are hand painted in WATER COLORS!). Real Characters! This is the first time since Lion King that Disney Characters have had issues... one of my biggest gripes is that Disney has been turning out cookie cutter characters with no growth... well these people suffer... and engage you from the get go. Even the design is a departure for Disney... These girls got girth! They are not the anorexic waifs that Disney tells us are attractive... They are full figured, healthy Hawaiian girls with shape and tone. God Bless them! Whoever thought to combine Aliens, Surfing, Elvis Music and Animation must be on some good prescriptions... but guess what... IT WORKS! On every level where it could have been ridiculous and inane it achieves every blessed goal it attempted. And the Elvis soundtrack is Awesome... including the cover of Burning Love by Wynona (no, the other Wynona - she paid for the rights to the song!) over the great end credits. We left the theater beaming. I was with skeptic critic types, and hard nosed Disney haters... and we couldn't stop smiling. We all kept saying... "Finally... something worthy of the legacy!"

TECHNICALLY: This is a very satisfying film for all the tech heads that plan to pick it apart. I honestly couldn't notice any CG, though I assume they used it for the space chase. The amazing lip sync and animation is so honest, sincere, and accurate that you almost forget these characters are 2 dimensional. I was completely in awe of the blending of Elvis music and Hawaiian songs. There's no "Disney" music. It's all traditional Hawaiian standards that will open some of our youth to the Polynesian culture. And Let's hope it turns some people on to "the King". The comedy isn't forced or juvenile. It's great set up and pay-off. A few good one liners and hilarious awkward scenarios. I can't praise the script enough.

Over all, this movie will re-establish Disney as the leader and inventor of Film Animation. Once in a while another studio will come along with a hit... but Disney is the staple. They had a dark period there from Pocahontas till now... but They are back... and let's hope they stay there. I hope Treasure Planet maintains the momentum that Lilo will start. And if successful (or should I say "when") maybe Disney will take a note that a successful film can be an original idea, it doesn't need catchy new songs, it doesn't need big effects ... all it needs is a great story. Spend a little time Disney... get the script perfect before a pencil hits paper. And only give us one film per year... or one every other year. We'll wait... and when they arrive... we go in droves. Ever think that Lion Kings big return was due to the 2 years between that and Aladdin???

Ok... just enjoy it folks... it's one of those rare masterpieces that has something for everyone, and leaves you feeling great.

From the February 26, 2002 from Ain't-It-Cool-News

A screening of Disney's summer feature was held last week, and AICN got the insight scoop: "This film has so many good things going for it, that to list them all would be 3 pages worth of text. I'll sum it up like this... CREATIVELY: This film is incredibly original, yet familiar and comforting. There are many clever jokes (that don't play to the lowest level). Gorgeous visuals (All of the backgrounds in Hawaii are hand painted in WATER COLORS!). Real Characters! This is the first time since Lion King that Disney Characters have had issues... these people suffer... and engage you from the get go. Even the design is a departure for Disney... On every level where it could have been ridiculous and inane it achieves every blessed goal it attempted. And the Elvis soundtrack is Awesome... including the cover of Burning Love by Wynona (no, the other Wynona - she paid for the rights to the song!) over the great end credits. We left the theater beaming. I was with skeptic critic types, and hard nosed Disney haters... and we couldn't stop smiling. We all kept saying... "Finally... something worthy of the legacy!" TECHNICALLY: This is a very satisfying film for all the tech heads that plan to pick it apart. I honestly couldn't notice any CG, though I assume they used it for the space chase. The amazing lip sync and animation is so honest, sincere, and accurate that you almost forget these characters are 2 dimensional. I was completely in awe of the blending of Elvis music and Hawaiian songs. There's no 'Disney' music. It's all traditional Hawaiian standards that will open some of our youth to the Polynesian culture. And Let's hope it turns some people on to the King. The comedy isn't forced or juvenile. It's great set up and pay-off. A few good one liners and hilarious awkward scenarios. I can't praise the script enough. Over all, this movie will re-establish Disney as the leader and inventor of Film Animation. Once in a while another studio will come along with a hit... but Disney is the staple." Can't wait to see this movie!
From the June 3, 2001 Ain't-It-Cool-News
The story opens with Lilo at the beach and swimming and then realizing she is late rushing to her hula class. She gets into trouble and her sister Nina races home to see what trouble she has been in. She finds the door locked and nailed in place by Lilo and we see Lilo lying on the floor next to her record player listening to Elvis songs as Nani tries to get in. (Disney has licensed 7 Elvis songs for the movie. Three of them are: Heartbreak Hotel; Hound Dog; Devil in Disguise). As Nina tries to get in the house the Social Worker Mr Bubbles the social worker arrives to see how Nina and Lilo are doing. What he finds in a great animated sequence does not install much trust in how Nina is looking after her sister.

The scene changes and we see Stitch imprisoned on a penal ship in outer space. He escapes the ship after a series of classic sequences and eventually crash lands on Earth. After crash landing on earth he wonders onto a busy road and gets run over by a semi trailer. As he is virtually indestructible be is unconscious but his weapons are destroyed. Now unconscious he is taken to an animal shelter by the owners of the truck. In a very funny sequence the other animals in the shelter are petrified of Stitch. The next morning Nina takes her sister to the hospital to get a pet. Lilo borrows money from her sister to buy a pet. Lilo wanders out the back of the shelter to find a pet and she can't find any animals in the cages as they are all hanging from the rafters afraid of Stitch. She finds Stitch who has transformed himself into a Blue Dog. He goes with Lilo to use her as a shield against Jumba and Politely who are hunting him.

Later we see a classic animated sequence when David Nina's boyfriend takes them all to the water and Nina, Lilo and Stitch go surfing.

There is great animation in this feature and (watercolors) used in the coloring of all the cels. There is a real heart to the story of the relationship that develops between Lilo and Stitch.

From the June 23, 2001 ShowBiz Data

Lilo & Stitch brings back old-fashioned, hand-drawn Disney animation and story telling, and the result is a pleasure, most critics agree. Indeed, several of their reviews could have been written for many previous Disney feature cartoons. "The mood is cozy and familial, and the relationships have authentic tartness as well as generic warmth," A.O. Scott writes in the New York Times. Some critics seem pleasantly surprised by how well the film has turned out, given some unappealing trailers and TV spots. Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News concludes her review with this "Memo to Disney" -- "You'd better start making some new commercials, and fast. Otherwise, no one will know what a smart, silly and irresistibly subversive movie you've got on your hands. And the children of America will continue to opt for well-marketed dreck like Scooby Doo instead." Joe Morgenstern in the Wall Street Journal writes that the movie appears to be "powered by ferocious joy" and, at the same time, "manages to incorporate traditional Disney values, such as the sanctity of the family, in a visually bold, subversively witty package that's as far from corporate as mainstream movies get." And Daphne Gordon in the Toronto Star also appears utterly charmed by the movie: "With its feel-good plot, superior art direction and memorable characters, Lilo & Stitch could well become one of those timeless Disney classics, one that sticks around for decades and never loses its appeal," she writes. But there is a minority report, as well, reflected in particular by Eleanor Ringel Gillespie's review in the Atlanta Journal Constitution: "The movie strives for the loosey-goosey, anything-goes, inspired chaos of the old Looney Tunes cartoons," she remarks. "All it manages is the chaos without the inspiration." The Orlando Sentinel disagrees: "story-wise, Lilo & Stitch has more than heart; it has a wonderful sense of the real. Characters interact in ways both charming and believable."

For any questions, comments or suggestions about this site or other Disney or Pixar
questions, please visit our forums to post a question.

Legal Info/Disclaimer All original material and information
Copyright 1996-2003 VonDrake.com

USING THIS SITE MEANS AGREEING WITH THE TERMS OF USE IN THE
DISCLAIMER.