Disney's most satisfying animated offering to date.

Rating: Null/10 (28 April 2003)

**** out of ****
Shrek, that Dreamworks film about that green ogre, had a wicked sense of humor that must have made an impression on animator Chris Sanders, who peppers his latest film, Lilo and Stitch, with his own brand of quirky humor. But unlike Shrek, Sanders was also concerned with mixing in realistic human characters and strong, endearing emotions. The result paid off superbly, for everyone, as Lilo and Stitch happens to be one of the best animated films I've ever seen.
Experiment 626 is an abomination of nature, a creature whose only function in life is to destroy. But he escapes his captors by commandeering a spacecraft and crashlands on Earth, specificall Hawaii, where he's befriended by Nani and her younger sister, Lilo, who dubs this newfound pet, Stitch. With his creator, a mad scientist named Jumba, on the trail, Stitch tries to evade his would-be captors while trying to adopt to his new family, torn between his genetic purpose in life and this warm environment he's been introduced to.
With Disney slumming as of late, they've revived themselves the past year with this effort and the underrated Treasure Planet. Lilo and Stitch offers a little bit of something for everyone: an unbelievably cute "hero" in Stitch, believable and engaging human characters, a touching and well-delivered message, and some of the most beautiful traditional, hand-drawn animation I've seen.
For nearly an hour, much of Lilo and Stitch's humor is...different, to say the least. I should also mention I haven't laughed so hard during a movie in a long time as I did watching this film. Stitch, perhaps Disney's most memorable character to date, is a mischievous fellow, but such an adorable one, too, that he wins us over even if he's such a destructive little tyke. The same goes for Lilo, whose initial abrasive attitude is a little disconcerting, but much genuine effort is made to develop her and her older sister into flesh-and-blood characters and it works.
The film eventually won me over entirely with its heartfelt of message of the importance of family, which is delivered with surprisingly little sentimentality, a virtual first for the Mouse House company. And just when you think the movie might lose its edge, the last two minutes deliver a simultaneously hilarious and sweet montage of its characters as the seasons go by. A terrific end to a fabulous movie. So please, Mr. Sanders, don't spoil it with a lame sequel.