Well-balanced Disney animated comedy!

Rating: 8/10 (31 July 2015)

Set in the modern times, Disney made more justifiable use of modern-day dialog; however, even so, the script was not overblown with mindless jokes and Hollywood-style clichés. It's a good, well-balanced and captivating film about a Hawaiian girl named Lilo who adopts a fugitive alien (whom she later names Stitch), on the run from the mad alien scientist who created him and is on orders to take him back to their planet for incarceration.
It's a fun story full of laughable moments and adventures, from Stitch constantly getting Lilo and her old sister Nani in trouble with their social worker to Stitch dodging his pursuing captors left and right. The subplot about Nani trying to keep Lilo from being taken away by social services and the theme about "no family gets left behind" are very heartfelt points to the story and provides redeeming qualities to our character leads and touches of drama to the overall plot. It gives "heart" to the movie, something that was sorely missing in the last few Disney entries. It was wonderful seeing how the characters including Lilo and Stitch develop throughout the course of the film.
I would, though, have liked to see our human characters become more alarmed after spotting Stitch and the other aliens, because it is not everyday you see space creatures roam around in your backyard.
The animation is great, capturing the beauty, care-freeness and freshness of Hawaii, and Alan Silvestri's music score is excellent; I especially enjoyed the Hawaiian-theme pieces that Silvestri interwoven into the score.
At 85 minutes, this is a well-paced film with a good balance of comedy, drama, adventures and surprises to keep you entertained and is what I think one of the best Disney animated films to come out of the 2000s.
Grade B+