A great children's movie.

Rating: 7/10 (1 May 2013)

Lilo and Stitch was released in 2002, and is a very fun story about a girl and her pet alien. It has been many years since I have seen this film, and was actually pleasantly surprised when I watched it again. Of course, you have to admit that any movie about a blue, dog-like alien with a very funny voice is going to be enjoyable regardless of the rest of the movie.
This is an older animated film, still in the time period of casting little-known actors in all the roles. So as far as acting goes, there isn't too much to talk about. Daveigh Chase carries the lead role in the small, bratty, and somewhat spoiled Hawaiian girl that is Lilo. She has not done many other notable films other than playing Samantha Darko in 2001's Donnie Darko, and voicing the lead in the English version of 2001's Spirited Away. Director Chris Sanders performs the unique voice of the alien Stitch, which is one of the only noteworthy acting performances. Tia Carrere and Ving Rhames also provide supporting roles in Lilo's bossy older sister Nani, and the intimidating, ex-CIA, social worker Cobra Bubbles, respectively. In any animated film the actors are rather hard to judge how great their performances are, so unless the actors cast already have some fame, not too much can be discussed here.
In an animated picture there are three jobs that essentially make the entire film: the writer/director who creates the story, the animators who make it come to life and can be the main source of comedy, and the musical scorers who can set the tone for the entire movie. Chris Sanders and Dean Deblois co-wrote and co-directed Lilo and Stitch, and of the three previously mentioned areas, this is where Lilio and Stitch slacked the most. As a whole the story was good, but looking at individual parts of the story is where it fell apart. It just appeared that they tried to cram too many good ideas into 85 minutes, which to lengthen it is difficult since the target crowd is young children. I was also particularly not fond of the film's ending, I'm not a fan of musical montages in movies at all, but to close the film in that way left me with a sour taste. The animators of the film, however, did an excellent job. Granted, having aliens as the primary characters in a film does give them a much easier job to do, but nevertheless the animation was good and succeeded in making me laugh. Composer Alan Silvestri, best know for scoring his Oscar nominated Forrest Gump and the 2012 blockbuster The Avengers, gave a very pleasant score to this film incorporating both fun original compositions and a wide range of different songs from the legendary Elvis Presley. Mixing aliens with Elvis Presley was rather bold of him, but it resulted in a success and set a sun tone for the whole film.
Lilo and Stitch is a great kids movie. From the funny voices of Stitch to the hilarious action scenes between him and the other aliens, it was a great creation form all the filmmakers; because what dos a kid want to do more than laugh? This makes that very easily possible for a child. Lilo and Stitch was nominated for Best Animated Film in 2003, but lost out to Daviegh Chase's other starring film Spirited Away.
I give Lilo and Stitch a brought-back-memory 7.4/10.