HE'S SO CUTE!!!

Rating: Null/10 (10 July 2002)

Ok, for starters I'm probably biased as I'm typing this with Stitch in my lap. Now: *SPOILERS ahead for what is fast becoming my favorite movie ever (and note, I'm 21 and past faves have included L.A. Confidential and Gladiator)*
And where to start? This movie just was everything; it completely matched my own personal aesthetic in a way no movie I've seen before has: wild, crazy, adorable, laugh-out-loud funny (the most I've laughed at a Disney film ever), poignant, sci-fi, fish-out-of-water/misfit action (I completely empathize with Lilo), and above all CUTE (and FLUFFY!)! And it had the King no less and was beautifully animated; in fact, if it hadn't had the watercolors, I wouldn't have liked it so much, it would make it more akin to some of the earlier-90s flat-color too-serious sap-and-songfests.
Now Stitch is wicked, and that he goes through such an immense character transformation makes this movie stand out from the lot of them. Most earlier Disney animated movies have been drawn from fairy tales, with the heroes and heroines going through superficial change, mostly in social class. This little guy also happens to have alot more intelligence than most heroes do, which helps in him picking up modern lingo in no time flat. "Blue punch buggy!" and "Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! One potato, two potato..." could only happen in a movie like this, which happens to also be the only Disney movie that comes to mind set in the modern day, not some period piece.
In addition to those lines above, I've never laughed so hard or remembered so many, or just marveled at tiny little moments. The expression on Stitch's face as Lilo starts teaching him to hula (the one where he goes "Ooooh!..") is utterly priceless, not just for the sheer cuteness but if you just take a frame of it and add sound, think of the absurdity of a little blue alien the size of a little girl, in a hula outfit, listening to Elvis and swinging his hip and getting intrigued. It's mindblowing. There's a similar part when he's in his spacesuit and spouting alien gibberish whilst pointing 4 ray guns at a laconic toad. That they made the connection between Elvis and aliens only adds to the rollicking absurdity. Lines to remember: "I like fluffy..", "Not to mention cute and FLUFFY!", "It's okay, my dog found the chainsaw", "L-l-ost..I'm lost..", "No more caffeine for you", "She looks like she could use some lovin'", "H-hiii....""Wow!..." (when Lilo met Stitch), "I wanna buy him! Can I borrow 2 dollars?", "Pudge controls the weather", "Oh no, she's just ugly", "...and steal everybody's left shoe.", "He took the red one", "Talk! I know you can.""Okay, okay..".
Other things of note: they drew David as a hunka hunka burnin love, if you ask me (never a bad thing); the San Francisco rampage (complete with Stitch doing mock voices); the pouting/rolling in a ball bits; the spaceship's horn doing La Cucaracha; Stitch's reaction when Lilo tells him there are no big cities on the island, juxtaposed with Jumba's explanation of Stitch's purpose; Earth vs. the Spiders; the way the two plotlines, family and alien (and come to think of it, an alien was the perfect choice for a story like this, a literal alien), interwove; the (I think it was) Devil in a Blue Dress montage where Nani is job-hunting (excellent interweaving of music and action); also props to Wynnona for her rendition of Hunka Hunka Burnin Love over the end credits, I was set to dance out of the theater; the photos in the end credits were extremely heartwarming as well. Too many things to name, really, which is why it's perfect. I would have preferred a small throwaway line about Elvis and aliens, but it wasn't entirely needed.
This movie was made with alot of love and alot of joy. Every time I think about it I positively beam. Giant props to Chris Sanders! Wonderful idea, vision, execution, and above all voice! I can only try to mimic it and I'm very close to getting the "eh/ih" as "Yes" down. Ok, I'm obsessed, but my hamster voice was very close to Stitch already.
This is a treasure and I still haven't picked out all the details. I need to see this at least 2 more times, this tops Spiderman and definitely Ep2. This will be a hard one to replace as #1.