Lilo & Stitch

Plot synopsis:
Dr. Jumba Jookiba is arrested and put on trial by the Galactic Federation for "illegal genetic experimentation", as evidenced by his creation Experiment 626, a living creature which is capable of creating untold chaos. Jumba is imprisoned while Experiment 626 is supposed to be exiled on a desert asteroid. 626 manages to escape in a spaceship and activates the hyperdrive, causing its guidance systems to malfunction and randomly set a course for Earth. The Grand Councilwoman dispatches Jumba and Agent Pleakley, the Council's Earth expert, to the planet to have 626 captured discreetly. 626 lands on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi, only to be knocked unconscious by a passing truck and taken to an animal shelter.
On Kauaʻi, a young woman named Nani has been struggling to take care of her rambunctious younger sister, Lilo. A social worker named Cobra Bubbles expresses increasing concern that Nani has not been able to take adequate care of Lilo. Seeking a change, Nani decides that she will allow Lilo to adopt a dog and they go to the animal shelter, where Lilo immediately takes a keen interest in Experiment 626, who is impersonating a dog in order to escape. Nani is confused and disgusted by the "dog" and questions Lilo's decision. Lilo names 626 "Stitch" and shows him around the island. As Nani attempts to find a good job, Lilo tries educating Stitch about Elvis Presley, whom she calls a "model citizen". In spite of this, Stitch's antics, including foiling Jumba and Pleakley's attempts to capture him, ruin Nani's chances of finding work.
Nani's friend, David, invites Nani and Lilo to take a break and enjoy a day of surfing. While Nani, Lilo and Stitch ride on a huge wave, Jumba makes one final effort to capture Stitch from underwater, causing Nani to wipe out, and Stitch unintentionally pulls Lilo down with him. Although everyone gets safely to shore, Cobra witnesses this unfortunate event, telling Nani that although she means well, Lilo's best interests mean she has to be placed with a foster family. After seeing how much trouble he has caused, Stitch leaves. Meanwhile, the Councilwoman relieves Jumba and Pleakley of their assignment, freeing Jumba to pursue Stitch using less covert methods.
The next morning, David tells Nani of a job opportunity, which Nani rushes to pursue. Stitch, hiding in the nearby woods, encounters Jumba, who chases Stitch back to Lilo's house. The two fight, destroying the house. Cobra arrives to collect Lilo and take her away. As Nani and Cobra argue, Lilo runs away and encounters Stitch, who reveals his true form just moments before they are both captured by Captain Gantu, who has been given the task of recovering Stitch. Stitch manages to escape before the ship takes off and is confronted by Nani. Before he tries to explain everything, Jumba and Pleakley capture Stitch themselves. Nani demands they had better rescue Lilo, although Jumba insists they only came for Stitch. Though Nani breaks down over losing her sister, Stitch manages to tell Nani about ʻohana, a term for "family" he learned from Lilo, in order to convince Jumba to help rescue Lilo. As Jumba, Pleakley and Nani give chase in Jumba's spaceship, Stitch is able to drive a tanker truck full of fuel into a lava flow and use the exploding tank to launch himself into Gantu's cockpit, distracting Gantu enough to crash-land the ship and rescue Lilo.
Back on land, the Grand Councilwoman appears and is about to take Stitch into custody and retire Gantu, but when Stitch explains that he has found a family in Nani and Lilo, she discovers that he has become a civilized creature; Lilo also shows her the adoption paper, declaring she owns Stitch and that taking Stitch would be theft. The Councilwoman, before leaving, decrees that Stitch will be exiled on Earth and entrusted into the care of Lilo and Nani, and asks Cobra, who turns out to be a former CIA agent whom the Councilwoman met previously in 1973, to keep an eye on them. Together, they rebuild the house, and Jumba and Pleakley become members of Lilo and Stitch's family as well.

Tags: cute, entertaining, storytelling, sentimental

Review:
However, as the film progresses, all those characters (small child, big sister and alien) all become nicer and more caring "people." There also is a good "no one is left behind" family message.
He eventually crash lands on one of the islands of Hawaii (Kauai?)  where a little five-year old orphan girl named "Lilo" (Daviegh Chase) finds him in a dog pound (don't ask) and takes him home as her new pet dog, "Stitch" (Chris Sanders).
(Stitch's one weakness in the inability to swim, so for him to go surfing is a surprising concession to the little girl's whims.)   His original motive for being "nice" to Lilo was to avoid the agents sent to recapture him, but soon he realizes that Lilo and Nani mean more to him than just sanctuary.Disney makes a point in all their trailers and commercials to show Stitch as the Rodney Dangerfield of animated characters: he don't get any respect.
At first, it's rather amusing, since Stitch is about the most obnoxious Disney character of all time, but after a while, you start feeling sorry for the little guy, and start hoping that he can find the love and acceptance he's longing for.I've often wondered why Disney's recent animated films cannot reach the level that Pixar's CGI creations do effortlessly ("Toy Story," "Monsters Inc.").
You find yourself caring for the orphaned Lilo, you find yourself hoping that Stitch can fin d a place in a family, and you hope that big sister Nani can find a way to keep social worker "Mr. Bubbles" (Ving Rhames) from taking Lilo away to a foster home.There are some really big themes being tackled in this film, such as unconditional love, the need to belong to a group or community, self sacrifice, and family unity.
"Lilo & Stitch" is unusual for a Disney animated movie in that it actually seems to take place in the real world (not to mention the present day), despite the latter half of the title being a genetic creation from another galaxy.
Devoid of almost everything that people come to expect when the name "Walt Disney Pictures" appears on screen - which is not to say we're in "Golgo 13" territory here - this, as did "The Emperor's New Groove," suggests that though the box office takings may go down, the House of Mouse may yet pull another "Beauty and the Beast" on us one day.The movie's a breath of fresh air not only in its setting - it's set on the Hawaiian island of Kauai - but also in its characters; Lilo is a little girl being brought up by her big sister Nani following their parents' death (offscreen), and the movie's not afraid to indicate that it's tough for both of them.
but even then the human element ups the involvement, with the added bonus of there being no real "bad guys" per se (yes, I said bonus - it's nice to see a Disney movie where there isn't a traditional black-hatted villain, just people doing their jobs).And if all else fails, take into consideration the fact that it's also often genuinely funny; the fact that it never condescends to its audience; the fact that you actually have real Hawaiians (the voices of Tia Carrere and Jason Scott Lee) as key Hawaiian characters; and the fact that the songs used here actually have a purpose (to add dimension to our heroes - Lilo is a major fan of Elvis and tries to reach Stitch through the King), something many live-action movies often forget.
All the same, it annoys me no end when people go on about how 'The Lion King' of 1994 was the last truly great film that the company produced, because, in their period of decline and lack of success, the House of Mouse still surprised us all by churning out one cracking exception - the sassy and heartwarming 'Lilo and Stitch'.In the Stitch of the title (and face it, he may have shared his title logo with Lilo but Stitch has always been the undisputed star of this empire) it really feels like Disney have found that very likable and very different kind of hero to break them out of their rut.
Though the film's anarchic spirit owes a fair bit more to 80s creature films like 'Gremlins' and 'Critters', I suppose you could look at it as a inversion on the plot of 'ET', in which, this time round, the humans are harmless and it's his fellow aliens who pose greater threat to Stitch.Finding himself stranded on Hawaii, our little anti-hero has no choice but to disguise himself as a dog and take refuge with Lilo.
Needless to say, it's great music.(Sadly, we also had to tolerate the likes of Gareth Gates and A Teens doing sugary covers over the end credits, but at this stage you can always switch off or leave the cinema.)Too bad that Disney are now really on the wane, or they could have tried doing these themed soundtracks more often with the Beatles and Pink Floyd...oh well, I can dream.To sum up, Stitch is the best.
Many will not feel the same way as I do but I thought "Lilo & Stitch" was one of Disney's most inventive and involving scripts with fleshed-out and well-written characters.We are set in Hawaii, a tropical background that gives the movie a great feel.
This is an original, funny, and extremely heartwarming film that I highly recommend to families."Lilo & Stitch" was wonderful characters that I instantly fell in love with.
First time, I commented how "The Emperor's New Groove" was my favorite Disney movie of the last ten years, and how "Lilo & Stitch" had left me wanting for more.How wrong I was then.I gave it another chance.
Sadly, Disney has gone back to churning the usual crap and the success of trash like 'High School Musical' can assure us that we cannot expect anything great from Disney for a while longer.'Lilo and Stitch' presents a very new style of animation with a new story.
The voice cast (that includes names like Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers Ving Rhames and even Chris Sanders who created the film) do a fine job giving life to their characters.'Lilo & Stitch' is sheer entertainment.
Needless to say, I wasn't the film buff I am now back then, and I entered Lilo & Stitch without any previous knowledge about what to expect.After all this time, I still don't know if it was the whole atmosphere of the brief vacation from the army or the fact it was an over the top animated masterpiece from the get go.
Once I was there, feeling for the ridiculous looking Stitch, I soon developed a gradual empathy to Lilo, the little girl who adopted Stitch after mistaking him for a dog, as I myself am an orphan, and I can see why she needed a dog to share her emotions.Now mix all this with the hilarious animation, numerous likable side characters, beautiful Hawaiian setting, refined Elvis Priestly soundtrack, and you got yourself a winner.
Like Shrek 1&2, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo and other 3-D CGI animation films, it keeps its plot simple and easy to follow, when all the while manages to pay gestures to older films and themes us grown ups can relate to; thus really living up to the cliché that insists a G rating is for everyone from 4 to 90 9or something like that).As you can tell, I first and foremost fell in love with this film for sentimental reasons, but at the end of the day, what made me watch it again and again over time was its original mix of Sci-fi and traditional animation, unbelievable funny scenes (try watching Stitch running over the toy model of San Francisco and tell me you didn't laugh) and simple morals of family and friendship.
A funny, heart-warming story of friendship, love, family ties To be frank I was not going to see this animated film considering it to be "little kids stuff".
As is often the case in animated features, part of the fun is to work out who the familiar voices belong to:  Lilo's older sister Nani is played by Tia Carrere and Jason Scott Lee plays Nani's friend who offers her a shoulder to cry on (and probably wants the friendship to develop into something more!)  Another character is the Ving Rhames-voiced social worker who oddly, is a big burly Man in Black type character.
Chaotic action towards the end of the film is a little bit of a let-down after the fun of the relationship between Lilo and Stitch and inevitably, the ending is a sentimental and happy one.Overall, Lilo and Stitch' is good fun and will win over audiences both old and young through the story's originality and the characters' charm..
That's the question Chris Sanders must have asked when he wrote the latest animated Disney movie Lilo and Stitch..
The film, directed by Sanders who also provides the destructive alien Stitch's voice, is a very touching animated comedy which turns Steven Speilberg's original ET movie on its head.
Opening at an intergalactic tribunal overJumba Jookiba, an alien scientist jailed for creating a living weapon of mass destruction, and developing into a high-speed star-trek type chase as theexperiment escapes to Earth, the movie segues into the introduction of a little Hawaiian girl named Lilo, who is clearly not a typical five or six year old.
Disney's animation division roars back with one of the funniest and most imaginative cartoon features in years.Starting in outer space, with a mad scientist on trial for creating a genetic monster (Stitch, a cross between a mutant koala and one of the Gremlins; but with a real mean attitude), the action shifts quickly to a Hawaiian island.There, the standard Disney family of two orphan sisters (what IS it with Disney's idea of the modern family?!) Nani and the much younger Lilo, are struggling; Nani to hold down a job and keep the feisty Lilo from the social services, Lilo against the world.When Stitch escapes from the space ship taking him into exile, he lands on the island, pursued by aliens intent on his recapture, only to be bought by Lilo, convinced he's a puppy!What follows is some of the most inspired madness in years.
This is a Disney movie, although the film has taken its competitor's taste for the irreverent and mixed it with its own Disney heart.Stitch is a monster created by the "mad scientist" Dr. Jumba (Disney animation regular David Ogden Stiers).
Meanwhile, Stitch gets adopted by a little girl named Lilo (Daveigh Chase), who after the death of her parents, is being raised by her older sister, Nani (Tia Careere).
Also, the animation is sub-par, especially when compared to the likes of the previous animated films Disney brought us.That being said, "Lilo and Stitch" is still a lot of fun for the whole family..
(It's even more surprising because the prologue before the main title, a meeting of the Alien High Council, suggests something generic and ordinary - but thereafter, every single moment is solid gold.) At least half of the humour, as it should, comes from the animation: the way Stitch is drawn, the way he moves, the strength of the characters' attitudes and, ultimately, the depth of their emotions.The animation is (after the disappointing "Atlantis") of the highest Disney standard; the art direction is fresh and lovely (the backgrounds are in watercolour, for the first time in decades); and the minimal computer animation is used tastefully and correctly - there is NOT ONE garish mismatch between, say, a CGI spaceship and a pencil-animated human.
There can be no doubt: this is a GREAT movie.One thing I will hear occasionally that will also make me want to scream is the critical kiss-of-death: "Lilo and Stitch" is "good for children".
Funny and sweet, Lilo & Stitch is a great watch for all ages, would recommend to anyone looking for a good family film.
This is one of the first times Disney willingly marketed a character that wasn't too presentable in quality, but after staring at his unique blue self for about a half hour, you begin to see the beauty in him, and by the end, he firmly clings to your heart.Lilo and Stitch is one of the brightest, cleanest, and cheerfully different Disney pictures I have seen, and one of the company's bravest of the decade next to Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
Unlike that picture, which resulted in a disappointing performance at the box office because of its different look and crisper, more adult-like style, Lilo and Stitch shot and scored with audiences and revenue, and dare I say, was one of their best films of the decade.The story begins with Dr. Jumba Jookiba (voiced by David Ogden Stiers), who is on trial for his latest illegal genetic experiment.
This proved to many that despite flashy tech-work and glossy colors, that it is the story that matters, and that Disney was still able to deliver a rich, compelling feature of depth and heart.Lilo and Stitch is simply a wonderful film.
Lilo and Stitch is just a great piece of animation and I'm really looking forward to its DVD release here in Germany.I haven't seen the film in English yet, but Nani's voice is a bit annoying in the German version..
Underated Disney films like The Great Mouse Detective, and Rescuers Down Under pull off this subtle timing of humor, but never so masterfully as Lilo & Stitch.
This is definitely a kids movie, there's no question about that, but it seems odd to me that this film has a great deal of silly childish humor and at the same time has some more adult concepts and themes.The characters are all pretty cool, but I thought the origin of Stitch was really odd, and definitely not what I was expecting.
Put that to boot with a charming story, well voiced characters, and a lead that you can't help but enjoy and you have a winner.Lilo & Stitch is about a space alien that was an experiment gone wrong, that ends up escaping and crashing to planet earth (Hawaii specifically).
Lilo and Stitch is definitely not a 'usual' Disney movie, but then again, neither was the fun 'Emperor's New Groove'.
The only characters we can see eye to eye are Lilo and Stitch themselves - we are one of them, one of the family.This is not the greatest Disney movie ever released, but its not the worst.
stitch is very cute and the dog collar is awesome Lilo is also a great character and I love the sisters relationship.
Could be a little boring for some younger kids (not a whole lot of flashiness) but Stitch is a great and entertaining character.This is one of the last hand animated movies we'll probably ever see.
If you only need to see one animated movie this year, despite what critics like Berardinelli seem to think, skip Spirit and see Lilo and Stitch.
They, along with their social worker Cobra Bubbles and friend David, constitute a rare sighting of proper human beings in Disney cartoons (see also, surprisingly, Lucky Piquel from "Bonkers"), the reward writer-directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois get for putting the emphasis on the emotions rather than on the chase element of the plot (Stitch/Experiment 626 was created by a scientist in violation of the laws of his planet; when Stitch escaped, his creator and an "E-arth" expert were sent to bring him back) or on the potential for slapstick - though it's there and it's certainly used, the focus is purely on heart.The realness of the movie means that "Lilo & Stitch" often feels like a live action movie that just happens to be drawn (at one point Stitch sees a 1950s SF movie on TV, and the movie in question is shown as a genuine film clip).
They, along with their social worker Cobra Bubbles and friend David, constitute a rare sighting of proper human beings in Disney cartoons (see also, surprisingly, Lucky Piquel from "Bonkers"), the reward writer-directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois get for putting the emphasis on the emotions rather than on the chase element of the plot (Stitch/Experiment 626 was created by a scientist in violation of the laws of his planet; when Stitch escaped, his creator and an "E-arth" expert were sent to bring him back) or on the potential for slapstick - though it's there and it's certainly used, the focus is purely on heart.The realness of the movie means that "Lilo & Stitch" often feels like a live action movie that just happens to be drawn (at one point Stitch sees a 1950s SF movie on TV, and the movie in question is shown as a genuine film clip).
Lilo and Stitch was a sign of a great decade for Disney animation, but instead of making great movies they decided to rip off little girls with Hannah Montana, The Jonas Brothers, and High School Musical.
This animated film is the typical movie with the same problems as in most of the films.This is the story of a little girl called Lilo who lives with Nani, her sister.
(Stitch steals Aladdin's girl: funniest thing I've seen from Disney in years)And also, it's rather moving (at times) for a Disney movie, so all in all, seems like good fun for all ages as long as you give it a chance...
Even though there are children in the movie, Nani(the older sister) seems to be the central character and the one that the viewer can relate to the most, not Lilo (the problem child) and Stitch.
It has a bit of computer to give it that nice, modern look, but for the most part, this is the classic hand-drawn stuff."Lilo & Stitch" is certainly one of Disney's better movies..