Not your typical Disney animation but still great

Rating: 10/10 (24 June 2019)

There are certain things one expects from classic Disney; beautiful princesses, handsome princes and characters who regularly break into song... one doesn't expect malevolent, genetically engineered alien creatures coming to Earth and befriending a girl who bites and punches her friends; that is what we get here though!
Lilo is an orphaned Hawaiian girl who lives with her sister, Nani; she is a real handful and social services are investigating to see if she should be taken into care. 'Experiment 262' is the alien creature that crashes to earth and is mistaken for a dog; it is taken to the pound and adopted by Lilo, who names him Stitch. At first he just sees her as something to put between himself and the two aliens sent to recover him but gradually they become friends and learns about 'ohana'; the Hawaiian family ideal. As the story progresses Stitch may cause trouble for Lilo and Nani but not through the deliberate malice he was designed for.
I must say this film was nothing like I expected... and it was all the better for that. I loved the fact that neither Lilo nor Stitch felt like typical Disney protagonists. Both characters get great introductions before being brought together. Their relationship develops well providing plenty of laughs. There are also many thrilling moments, but nothing too intense, as other aliens try to retrieve Stitch. The main pair after him are funny and even though one of them is the 'mad scientist' who created Stitch they don't come across as too unpleasant for younger viewers. While characters don't break out in song effective use is made of Lilo's love of Elvis's music. I really liked the modern Hawaiian setting; it made the human characters feel more real than those in most Disney cartoon. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of animation, whatever their age, who enjoy a good mix of humour and action.