Great Movie that blurs line between good and evil

Rating: 10/10 (25 June 2002)

This is a great little movie, and lots of fun. There are some weighty issues, and some sad parts that might make your kids sad for a little while, but by the end, they are happy again, and have learned something.
Spoilers ahead:
What is so wonderful about this movie is not the story itself. After all, there are plenty of fish out of water and hiding from danger movies in history.
No, what is so good about this is that there is no pure good or pure evil. No stereotypical characters. We like so many of them, and by the end, dislike NO ONE! Why? Because, like most of the real world, people are more complex than good or evil.
Stitch is designed to be evil. And in the beginning, he pretty much is, but it doesn't mean he always will be.
Lilo is lovable, but she is NOT a good little girl. She is aggressive, disobedient, and somewhat of a brat. But there are reasons for this, and she needs to sort them out. Again, she is real.
Her sister, while trying her best, is also not perfect.
The social worker is a "villain" in that he wants to take Lilo away, but it is not out of evil, but out of genuine concern for Lilo, and rightfully so.
The leader of the Universe is not Evil, but trying to protect her country from a very destructive little monster (Stitch).
Stitches creator isn't evil, though again, a "villain", because he is just trying dismantle what he sees as more of a robot than a real being, and once he notices that Stitch is more like his "son", he has a change of heart.
The "expert" is likeable, and wants to protect all things, including Stitch, but wants to make sure Stitch is dealt with properly.
And even the Captain is just doing his job, not understanding that Stitch is a thinking, loving, creature.
And that's the point. most conflict in the world is do to unfortunate circumstances, mistakes, and misunderstandings. Conflict is about shades of grey. Most conflict isn't because one side is "good" and the other "evil." And this film does more to explain this to little kids and adults alike than anything Hollywood has produced for a long, long time.
Add to that the way the animation and characters are done, and you have a winner. It's nice to look at, funny, the animation is realistic in proportions (no Barbie women and Ken men, like most other disney flicks), and just compared to what else is out there, this takes the cake so far for the summer. Hopefully, Hollywood moves more in this direction, since most movies have become cliched, and this film has very little cliche in it.
So, that's why I gave it a 10. It is not perfect, but nothing is, and a 10 just means excellent, which this film was.