A young and parentless girl adopts a 'dog' from the local pound, completely unaware that it's supposedly a dangerous scientific experiment that's taken refuge on Earth and is now hiding from... Read allA young and parentless girl adopts a 'dog' from the local pound, completely unaware that it's supposedly a dangerous scientific experiment that's taken refuge on Earth and is now hiding from its creator and those who see it as a menace.A young and parentless girl adopts a 'dog' from the local pound, completely unaware that it's supposedly a dangerous scientific experiment that's taken refuge on Earth and is now hiding from its creator and those who see it as a menace.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 12 wins & 28 nominations total
Daveigh Chase
- Lilo
- (voice)
Chris Sanders
- Stitch
- (voice)
- (as Christopher Michael Sanders)
Tia Carrere
- Nani
- (voice)
David Ogden Stiers
- Jumba
- (voice)
Kevin McDonald
- Pleakley
- (voice)
Ving Rhames
- Cobra Bubbles
- (voice)
Jason Scott Lee
- David Kawena
- (voice)
Susan Hegarty
- Rescue Lady
- (voice)
Amy Hill
- Mrs. Hasagawa
- (voice)
Emily Anderson
- Woman
- (voice)
Jack Angel
- Alien Guard
- (voice)
Bill Asing
- Man
- (voice)
Erica Beck
- Mertle's Friend
- (voice)
Bob Bergen
- Officer
- (voice)
- (as Robert Bergen)
Steve Blum
- Hammerhead Guard
- (voice)
- (as Steven Jay Blum)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHawaii-born cast members Jason Scott Lee and Tia Carrere helped the writers with dialog and accents.
- GoofsThroughout the final parts of the film, Jumba's head keeps switching from big to medium size to big again.
- Crazy creditsThe Disney logo features a green beam of light, and the logo gets beamed up.
- Alternate versionsIn international versions, the headline of the newspaper Jumba is reading ("Idiot Scientist Under Arrest") is printed in an alien language.
- ConnectionsEdited into Zenimation: Water (2020)
- SoundtracksCan't Help Falling In Love
Written by Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, and George David Weiss
Performed by A*Teens (as the A*Teens)
Produced by Mark Hammond
A*Teens appears courtesy of Stockholm Records
Featured review
Yes, it's a sad fact that Disney, the family favourite for close to a century, have fallen into decline. All the same, it annoys me no end when people go on about how 'The Lion King' of 1994 was the last truly great film that the company produced, because, in their period of decline and lack of success, the House of Mouse still surprised us all by churning out one cracking exception - the sassy and heartwarming 'Lilo and Stitch'.
In the Stitch of the title (and face it, he may have shared his title logo with Lilo but Stitch has always been the undisputed star of this empire) it really feels like Disney have found that very likable and very different kind of hero to break them out of their rut. To begin with at least, he has none of the noble or high moral qualities that Disney usually attributes to its lead characters. And the circumstances in which he comes about are, for a family film, startling - the result of an illegal extra-terrestrial experiment to produce a creature that is both destructive and indestructible. When Stitch finds himself seized by the Intergalactic Council to be punished for his inbuilt wickedness, he escapes - it wouldn't be much of a movie if he didn't - and flees to planet Earth, with the alien authorities in hot pursuit. Though the film's anarchic spirit owes a fair bit more to 80s creature films like 'Gremlins' and 'Critters', I suppose you could look at it as a inversion on the plot of 'ET', in which, this time round, the humans are harmless and it's his fellow aliens who pose greater threat to Stitch.
Finding himself stranded on Hawaii, our little anti-hero has no choice but to disguise himself as a dog and take refuge with Lilo. Lilo being a lonely young orphan living with her older sister Nani, and who may be taken away in a matter of days if Nani doesn't prove herself to be a more responsible guardian. The merging of these two very troubling story lines shows a lot of tenaciousness on Disney's part and in the end they produce a film that is fun and funky enough for the younger audiences, but also heartwrenching enough to touch even the most cynical of adults. It's also helped by a good line secondary characters, the most successful of which are Jumba and Cobra Bubbles, because, like Stitch, they're unconventional in the roles they fulfil. Jumba is an evil genius with a heart. Bubbles is a social worker who, fittingly since he's voiced by Ving Rhames, looks like he walked straight out of 'Pulp Fiction'.
It ain't perfect though. Considering that Stitch is one of Disney's most engaging heroes, it really blows that Gantu should have to be one of the stuido's flatter villains. He isn't drawn very well and he isn't developed as a character much further than being ruthless and bad-tempered. There is also one pretty big plot-hole that older viewers may be troubled by - if that lady at the pound really thought that Stitch was dead, why did she put him in with the dogs? And wasn't she alarmed by his six legs and his antennae?
It may be flawed, but in the end it's the merits that triumph. And it's a good example of just how dazzling 2D animation can be when given the right attention to detail. Once you get past the pretty pale opening scenes in outer space and enter the world that Lilo inhabits, visually this is beautiful stuff, employing the technique of watercolour backgrounds for the first time in decades. And the soundtrack too is one of the most memorable in Disney's canon. I believe this is the first time they've based its score around the pre-existing songs of a familiar artist - in this case the immortal Elvis Presley. Needless to say, it's great music.
(Sadly, we also had to tolerate the likes of Gareth Gates and A Teens doing sugary covers over the end credits, but at this stage you can always switch off or leave the cinema.)
Too bad that Disney are now really on the wane, or they could have tried doing these themed soundtracks more often with the Beatles and Pink Floyd...oh well, I can dream.
To sum up, Stitch is the best. Watch him.
Grade: A-
In the Stitch of the title (and face it, he may have shared his title logo with Lilo but Stitch has always been the undisputed star of this empire) it really feels like Disney have found that very likable and very different kind of hero to break them out of their rut. To begin with at least, he has none of the noble or high moral qualities that Disney usually attributes to its lead characters. And the circumstances in which he comes about are, for a family film, startling - the result of an illegal extra-terrestrial experiment to produce a creature that is both destructive and indestructible. When Stitch finds himself seized by the Intergalactic Council to be punished for his inbuilt wickedness, he escapes - it wouldn't be much of a movie if he didn't - and flees to planet Earth, with the alien authorities in hot pursuit. Though the film's anarchic spirit owes a fair bit more to 80s creature films like 'Gremlins' and 'Critters', I suppose you could look at it as a inversion on the plot of 'ET', in which, this time round, the humans are harmless and it's his fellow aliens who pose greater threat to Stitch.
Finding himself stranded on Hawaii, our little anti-hero has no choice but to disguise himself as a dog and take refuge with Lilo. Lilo being a lonely young orphan living with her older sister Nani, and who may be taken away in a matter of days if Nani doesn't prove herself to be a more responsible guardian. The merging of these two very troubling story lines shows a lot of tenaciousness on Disney's part and in the end they produce a film that is fun and funky enough for the younger audiences, but also heartwrenching enough to touch even the most cynical of adults. It's also helped by a good line secondary characters, the most successful of which are Jumba and Cobra Bubbles, because, like Stitch, they're unconventional in the roles they fulfil. Jumba is an evil genius with a heart. Bubbles is a social worker who, fittingly since he's voiced by Ving Rhames, looks like he walked straight out of 'Pulp Fiction'.
It ain't perfect though. Considering that Stitch is one of Disney's most engaging heroes, it really blows that Gantu should have to be one of the stuido's flatter villains. He isn't drawn very well and he isn't developed as a character much further than being ruthless and bad-tempered. There is also one pretty big plot-hole that older viewers may be troubled by - if that lady at the pound really thought that Stitch was dead, why did she put him in with the dogs? And wasn't she alarmed by his six legs and his antennae?
It may be flawed, but in the end it's the merits that triumph. And it's a good example of just how dazzling 2D animation can be when given the right attention to detail. Once you get past the pretty pale opening scenes in outer space and enter the world that Lilo inhabits, visually this is beautiful stuff, employing the technique of watercolour backgrounds for the first time in decades. And the soundtrack too is one of the most memorable in Disney's canon. I believe this is the first time they've based its score around the pre-existing songs of a familiar artist - in this case the immortal Elvis Presley. Needless to say, it's great music.
(Sadly, we also had to tolerate the likes of Gareth Gates and A Teens doing sugary covers over the end credits, but at this stage you can always switch off or leave the cinema.)
Too bad that Disney are now really on the wane, or they could have tried doing these themed soundtracks more often with the Beatles and Pink Floyd...oh well, I can dream.
To sum up, Stitch is the best. Watch him.
Grade: A-
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Lilo & Stitch: The IMAX Experience
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $80,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $145,794,338
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $35,260,212
- Jun 23, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $273,147,061
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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