Brilliant!...Though not for everyone.

Rating: Null/10 (25 December 2002)

**WARNING: Possible Spoilers!!!***
Ah, Lilo & Stitch, the movie that answers the question `What would happen if George Lucas, Hayao Miyazaki, and Joe Dante all collaborated on a film. Lilo & Stitch takes on the old idea of `child befriends strange creature' and gives it a refreshing and quirky twist. Sort of like taking E.T. and replacing E.T. with one of the creatures from Gremlins. All in all, `L & S' does not remind me of a Disney film. It seems more like something that either Warner Brothers or Dreamworks would produce. I have seen quite a few negative reviews by the Disney `purists' out there complaining of its violence and lack of warmth. They miss the point! This is not supposed to be a typical syrupy musical puke-fest Disney typically has released in the last decade. Lilo and Stitch would really be recommended to fans of the nontraditional Buena vista releases such as `Nightmare before Christmas' and `Roger Rabbit' (both underappreciated films in my opinion) as well as the works of Miyazaki and the oldschool anime of Tezuka Osamu. (even the characters have Tezuka's familiar stumpy looking qualities) The story begins rather abruptly with no opening credits until about 10 minutes into the film. In a far off galaxy, a genetic scientist Jumba Jookiba is standing trial for illegally creating a genetic experiment which he calls `experiment 626'. 626 was designed to be an indestructible weapon of mass destruction (even though he's only 3 feet tall, looks like a blue koala, and sounds like the Andy Kaufman character Latka). Most surprising about Lilo & Stitch is that most of the time, you can't be sure that you are actually watching a Disney movie. The film is notably violent by Disney standards and most of the humor can be quite dark at times. Most noticeable is the absence of traditional Disney musical numbers and cute anthropomorphic animals. Stitch is a cute alien, but he is also hell-bent on destruction for about the first third of the movie. As far as Disney films go, Lilo & Stitch has to be one the most realistic I have ever seen. Lilo's character is the most realistic portrayal of a child in a Disney animated feature. She is not excruciatingly cute for cuteness sake and she actually behaves like a real child. She (nor any other character) is allegorical and is not completely good or bad. Each character has their flaws. Lilo can be a brat and she can be mean to others but she always tries to love her sister and Stitch. She always has the patience to put up with Stitch's destructive behavior. Interestingly enough, she also seems to be the moral center of the film. When her sister Nani has had enough of Stitch's unpredictable behavior, she threatens to throw him out. Lilo has to remind her that even though Stitch is less than admirable, he is still family and repeats the movie's catchphrase `family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten'. Stitch, even though from the beginning is a destructive little demon, he evolves throughout the film. He learns about having a family, something he has never had. He was genetically created with no greater purpose other than to be a one-alien wrecking crew. As he continues to destroy, he finds out that nobody likes him because of that, eventually even Lilo, the one who saved him from being captured by his creator. During the second-third of the film he goes through a massive inner conflict between his genetic programming to destroy and his discovery that he could serve a greater purpose and that he is actually loved (at least by one person). The Elvis soundtrack is a delicious change of pace instead of musical numbers and the songs of the king are often used for amusing montages. This is also one of the funniest Disney films I have ever seen. Lilo gets all of the best lines with her deadpan and childlike innocence in her delivery of her bizarre and sometimes disturbing humor. Meanwhile, Stitch gets all of best visual gags and physical humor. Some of the funniest moments are: Stitch frequently becoming frustrated and destroying everything he touches, the Elvis montage where Lilo teaches Stitch to become a model citizen like her hero Elvis Presley, some of Lilo and Nani's sisterly quarrels (they fight like real siblings), the exchange of dialogue in a scene where Stitch and Jumba toss back and forth a plasma cannon that is about to explode, and Stitch driving a gas truck into a volcano to use the explosion to propel him like a jet pack. The jokes and gags come fast and furious throughout the first 40 minutes and reaches an arc of melodrama in the middle followed by the funny and action-packed final third. Ultimately, Lilo & Stitch is a story about acceptance, redemption, and redefining the concept of family. This film takes the outdated 50's concept of the nuclear family, throws it out the window and replaces it with the more modern and realistic concept of `family is where the home is'.