Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch

**Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch** is a 2005 animated film directed by Michael LaBash and Tony Leondis, and is the third instalment in the Lilo & Stitch franchise.

The film was released on August 30, 2005 as a direct-to-video.

## Plot

One morning, Stitch awakens from a nightmare about turning bad again and causing destruction to Earth, including hurting Lilo. After consoling Stitch by reminding him that him she knows he would never cause harm to her, Lilo tests his goodness level by having him do a few good deeds. Upon discovering that they are late for hula class, they use their hovercraft to get there.

While at the hula class, Kumu announces that Lilo and her classmates will be prepared to perform at the local May Day festival. Each student is required to create an original dance. Lilo is inspired when Kumu tells her about her mother being in the festival at her age and winning, giving her a picture of the event. After the hula class ends, Mertle insults Lilo by telling her that she will never be like her mother, causing her to start a fight with her. However, after taking pictures of the brawl, Stitch forgets to flush the evidence. Kumu thinks that Lilo is not ready for the competition because of the fight with Mertle, but Lilo says that she is ready and "triple promises" to be good.

While preparing for the competition, Lilo and Stitch have a hard time coming up with ideas and Nani wants them to enjoy their family fun night. While watching Them! on family fun night, Stitch's past comes back to haunt him and he goes berserk in the house. It turns out that after Stitch was created, Jumba did not get the chance to fully charge Stitch's molecules as the intergalactic police arrested him, disrupting the process. At first, this glitch causes Stitch to revert to his old destructive programming against his free will, but it will ultimately kill him if Jumba cannot create a fusion chamber before Stitch's energy runs out for good.

Meanwhile, Stitch's uncontrollable destructive behaviour drives a wedge between him and Lilo and threatens to ruin her chances for success at the hula competition. Lilo and Stitch try to be inspired for their hula, but Stitch keeps malfunctioning because of his molecules. Since Lilo is so concerned about winning the competition, she fails to notice Stitch's glitch, which is not his fault, and she believes his new behaviour is deliberate and begins to neglect him, much to his chagrin and eventual distress. In a subplot, Nani's boyfriend, David, believes Nani is losing interest in him. Pleakley comes to his aid and tries to give advice on romance.

Eventually, the two devise a hula based on the legend of Hiʻiaka. Lilo gets increasingly mad at Stitch as he ruins their practice sessions. To make matters worse, Jumba is having problems creating the fusion chamber because he doesn't have the proper alien technology to build one and must resort to using mere household objects. However, on the day of the competition, Stitch arrives just before Lilo is to perform, wishing her luck. The two reconcile as Jumba finally completes the fusion chamber.

However, Stitch has another abrupt fit. Lilo, confused, tries to ask Stitch if he's okay, but he accidentally scratches her face. Knowing that Stitch would never want to intentionally hurt her, Lilo finally realizes that something is wrong with him. Lilo tries to ask what's wrong, but Stitch, greatly horrified and remorseful that he hurt her, runs off to leave Earth, as he believes himself to be too dangerous. In the middle of her performance, Lilo runs off to help him.

As Stitch attempts to leave Earth, Lilo and the rest of the family desperately try to get him to return so they can re-charge him. While taking off, Stitch suffers his most violent and painful outburst, which causes him to lose control and crash the spaceship in the Hawaiian mountains. Lilo rides over to the crash site in their hovercraft, where she finds Stitch injured and close to death. She hurriedly gets him into Jumba's fusion chamber. However, it's too late and Lilo watches in tears as Stitch apologizes one last time and dies. When a disheartened Jumba takes Stitch out of the chamber, Lilo holds him close and tearfully apologizes for her treatment of him, having finally understood that while she kept saying that she needed him, he needed her more. She says that he is her ʻohana and, therefore, will always love him and breaks down in tears. Everyone grieves for a time as Lilo weeps, but Stitch eventually awakens, much to everyone's happiness. Pleakley is at a loss for words, to which Jumba explains what happened: Stitch was revived by Lilo's love. Later that night, the family (along with David) performs Lilo's hula dance on the empty stage, and Nani tells Lilo that their mother would be proud of her, and a star twinkles in the sky to justify.

## Cast and Characters

* Chris Sanders as Stitch/Experiment 626
* Dakota Fanning as Lilo Pelekai
* Tia Carrere as Nani Pelekai
* David Ogden Stiers as Dr. Jumba Jookiba
* Kevin McDonald as Wendy Pleakley
* Jason Scott Lee as David Kawena
* Liliana Mumy as Mertle Edmonds
* Kunewa Mook as Moses Puloki
* Emily Osment as Additional Voices
* Jennifer Hale as Additional Voices
* Paul C. Vogt as Gator Guard / Various Voices

## Music

See Also: Disney's Lilo & Stitch Island Favorites Featuring Songs from Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch

## Production

### Cast and Recording

This is the only film in the series without actress Daveigh Chase who voices Lilo in all other Lilo & Stitch films. According to Disney Animation Studios, Chase was so busy working on Lilo & Stitch: The Series that she suggested to have renowned child actress and good friend Dakota Fanning play her. Chris Sanders, the writer/director of the first film, did not participate fully. The film also became Disney's first and only direct-to-video animated film to be rated PG by the MPAA for some mild action.

### Animation

The animation was produced by Walt Disney Animation (Australia) Inc., Australis Productions and A. Film A/S, although those animation studios were never credited, except for Australis Productions.

## Release

### Home Media

Although originally slated for a theatrical release (like Return to Never Land), it was released to DVD and VHS on August 30, 2005. This is the last Lilo & Stitch film to have a VHS release; the fourth film, Leroy & Stitch, would later be only released on DVD.

The DVD extras include a short film called The Origin of Stitch which features a newly redesigned Stitch, a music video for the theme song "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" by Jump5, two games ("Jumba's Experiment Profiler" and "Where's Pleakley?", similar to Where's Wally?).

## Reception

### Critical Response

On critical response aggregation website, Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 40%, and an average score of 5.5 out of 10 based on 10 reviews.

Hi-Def Digest said, "The humour in the second movie is juvenile, and lacking in the wit that makes the first so distinctive. The characterizations are heavily simplified, to the point where some of the characters feel dumbed down. Also, a lame subplot involving one of Lilo's peers feels silly and has a poor resolution. Even worse is the false sentimentality of the climax, which feels like cheap heartstring-tugging". ReelFilm gave a 2.5 out of 5 star rating, saying "Lilo & Stitch 2 is cute enough, there are a few genuinely funny moments here, while the voice acting is surprisingly effective, although the film does eventually wear out its welcome".

In a 2019 list of direct-to-video sequels, prequels, and "mid-quels" to Disney animated films, Petrana Radulovic of Polygon ranked Lilo & Stitch 2 first out of twenty-six films on the list, appreciating its faithfulness to the original film's tone. She stated, "The other two Lilo & Stitch sequels were just fine, but they didn’t capture the essence of what made the original special, choosing instead to focus on aliens. Stitch Has a Glitch, however, manages to balance the alien story with the human one. Overall, the movie verges on being cheesy, but it is a satisfying, heart-warming type of goo, with very funny moments and gags." In a similar list in 2020, Lisa Wehrstedt of Insider ranked Lilo & Stitch 2 second out of twenty-five films on her list, behind The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. Werhstedt, who considered the film "heart-warming" and "sweet", wrote that the film "manages to keep the perfect mix of cute and wacky that made the first one so charming."