A brilliant buildup to a self-destructive conclusion

Rating: 8/10 (30 June 2002)

I absolutely loved the first half of this movie: Stitch was perfectly characterized as reckless and feral and completely dangerous in the compass of his small, adorable form. Lilo, when first introduced, ran the risk of being nauseatingly cute, but it dissipated as her quirks rose to the surface. Even the sister was remarkably deep; in fact, one of the most outstanding qualities of this latest Disney installment is that the plot followed the development of three characters simultaneously and with an equally talented brush. I found myself interested in the outcome of all three characters, unlike so many other Disney films which follow one protagonist surrounded by a static collection of stereotypes.
But I knew the heights to which Disney brought the plot would fall as its innovation by necessity had to be hammered into a hackneyed moral lesson and a conclusion in which all loose ends must be tied up in the most just and comforting fashion possible. But the methods they used--! I was able to suspend my disbelief for half of the show, but the chain of events grew more and more logically outlandish until in the end I was forced to throw my hands in the air and feel as if I were almost watching a different movie where all internal integrity had been lost!
I enjoyed this movie greatly, and it's one of Disney's best. I knew the ending had to be shoehorned in, and as a result, I sat back and enjoyed it. But it was a flaw that derails it from its course to being a true classic.