Among the Disney "greats". Really.

Rating: 10/10 (26 March 2006)

Yup, I'll give it a ten. Lilo & Stitch is right up there with classics like Dumbo and Peter Pan. It's wonderful to see Disney when they get it right.
In this case, getting it right meant taking some risks. The animation and art work in L&S are big, bright, and different. Computer aided animation is used sparingly and effectively, particularly in a couple of dance scenes that to my eye made use of some motion capture techniques.
The bigger risk here, though, is with a storyline that's somewhat edgier than you'd usually find in a Disney family film. Edgy to the point of earning the movie an unusual PG rating. Lilo is not the most sympathetic of Disney heroines, and her family situation is presented with surprising frankness.
There are some lovely messages here, perhaps most prominently that the family you choose can be just as important as the family you're born with. Even with this degree of meaning, though, L&S wouldn't be worth the time it takes to watch if it weren't entertaining as well. Stitch is a very original character, and his creator Jumba is hilarious. The whole Elvis angle shouldn't work at all, but it actually manages to add some charm to the story.
Disney animators should look back at this film as clear evidence that traditional 2D animation is far from dead. Instead of trying to compete with Pixar by producing marginal material like Chicken Little, they should leave Pixar to its strength, and return to their own.