my faith in disney is reaffirmed

Rating: 10/10 (20 September 2002)

let's face it, disney films were becoming a bit stale. while everybody was raving about the cgi masterpieces toy story and monsters inc, i was hoping for a return to classic disney animation. although atlantis: the lost empire was a valiant effort at trying something new, a musical number-less jules verne-ian adventure, it still lacked a certain sense of disney spirit. lilo and stitch has brought that back. although it still retains traditional disney ideals, it is irreverant and cheeky. lilo and stitch are not the classically endearing characters from the mould of ariel and belle, and we can breathe in relief from that. it is because of their lack of social graces that we love them more, they seem all the more real to us. what adult, looking back, cannot remember a period of their life when they felt just as isolated and unhappy as lilo, and needed a friend like stitch to bring them back from the brink again? the animation is beautiful, and the location of hawaii and the hawaiian people also bring a fresh perspective to this movie. the soundtrack of elvis presley songs make a surprisingly effective backdrop to the story. i cannot heap enough praise on this film, but shudder at what the inevitable video sequels might do to ruin this classic.