Not Disney's Greatest

Rating: Null/10 (9 June 2003)

Lilo and Stitch in no regard achieves the level of Disney classics like Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King in my mind, possibly because my nostalgia for childhood overshadows the flaws of those films for me. On the other hand, it does have a number of funny scenes and the same appealing animation. Furthermore, it marks a departure from the fairy-tale trend in earlier Disney movies to give science fiction a go (some of the ways in which it parodies this genre are pretty intelligent). Lilo is a good character, if somewhat inconsistent, and Stitch supports a large part of the film with his destructive antics. The movie as a whole, however, never really knows how to resolve the conflicts within itself. The transformation of Stitch to family member is contrived and marks an artificial conclusion to the film. Although David's pidgin and many local stereotypes set the atmosphere for the film, it fails to truly reconcile the oddity of the aliens with the Hawaiian setting; the aliens vacillate between being other-worldly and being human. Such inconsistencies prevent the viewer from feeling really satisfied with the film in its entirety, and while animation normally makes the willing suspension of disbelief easier, this one pushes it. However, both Lilo and Stitch are reasonably likeable characters, particularly for children (like my sister), and there are enough clever ideas to make the film worth seeing if you're in the mood. [6/10]