Captain Gantu

**Captain Gantu** is one of the main villains in the Lilo & Stitch Franchise.

## Background

Gantu is the former captain of the Galactic Federation. He comes from the eighth planet of the Kreplok System. As a captain, he served as the second-in-command to the Grand Councilwoman. Unlike the Grand Councilwoman, however, Gantu was known for being the brute force of the Galactic security forces, holding no sympathy toward criminals or fugitives and preferring immediate arrest, as opposed to awaiting a chance to see if a criminal in question has some form of good within them.

After his failed attempt to arrest 626, as well as following his discharge from the Galactic Federation, Gantu left to work for a notorious galactic enemy known as Dr. Hämsterviel, who sought out to capture the other 624 of Dr. Jumba Jookiba's loose experiments in an attempt to take over the galaxy. Though his actions under Hämsterviel's control were completely villanous, Gantu noted several times that the job was mostly taken out of a desperate need for money, while another motivation could include revenge against Lilo and Stitch.

### Development

In earlier drafts of the film, Gantu's role in the climax of the film was taken by a character called Ramthar, who was a member of Stitch's gang of criminals. As the storyline changed, most of the gang was phased out and Ramthar played the role of a bounty hunter. Ramthar capturing Lilo still remained, even with the creation of Gantu in the intervening period.

### Personality

Gantu is a strict, no-nonsense soldier. He is not evil, however, but follows his orders in an admittedly ruthless manner and tends to take the rules too seriously. As the Grand Councilwoman stated, he has a problem with ethics. He is also fairly sadistic, as he seemed to enjoy seeing Stitch in shackles and wasn't hesitant to shoot or capture him every chance he got. However, he does not tolerate failure or being mocked as shown through his interactions with Stitch and Reuben. Considering his backstory given in Lilo & Stitch: The Series, it is possible his ostracism by his peer groups caused him to be the cold, lonely individual he is. Even after being fired from his position, he seemed eager to redeem himself and get his position back every chance he got. He is fairly arrogant of his abilities, often exclaiming how he was a former captain of the Galactic Armada, showing that he still takes pride in his previous occupation. He is also fairly hardworking but can be impulsive, which often works against him.

He tends to get annoyed easily and has a short fuse, willingly resorting to violence against those who insult him. This sometimes causes him to act without thinking or not listen to others. His loyalty to Hämsterviel is strictly that of an employer and worker, as Hämsterviel shows very little respect for Gantu, despite all the hard work he does. Even so, Gantu is always willing to leave Hämsterviel whenever an opportunity to earn cash presents itself. However, he still tolerates Hämsterviel's insults and tends to be meek toward those whose authority he is under, as shown by his relationship with the Grand Councilwoman and Hämsterviel. He is often called "Big Dummy" or "Blubber Butt," which he doesn't tolerate, as he hates being ridiculed and also being called "fat" or "stupid." Gantu is quite intelligent and shown to conduct decent plans for capturing experiments, but usually, due to interference from Lilo and Stitch, they end up backfiring. He also tends to endure the most pain and slapstick throughout the series, getting hurt very often. However, he sometimes does get a happy ending in episodes such as "Clip", "Amnesio", "Topper", "Phoon" and "Snooty".

Gantu can be rather selfish as shown in "Houdini" when he took credit for Reuben finding an experiment pod, only for it to backfire as the experiment was Fudgy, who smothered Hämsterviel in chocolate. Additionally, he can be lazy, such as in "Mrs. Hasagawa's Cats" when he opted for sleep instead of searching for the experiments and a little slow due to his serious nature and his inability to discern jokes and sarcasm as shown throughout the series and in Leroy & Stitch. However, he is not completely heartless, as seen in "Topper" when he gave an experiment pod to a little girl as a present and in "Mr. Stenchy" when he refused to give Hämsterviel Mr. Stenchy because he grew fond of him and was taken in by his cuteness. He also stated that he thought it was cute when Lilo named the experiments in "Clip". He even opened up to Reuben about his childhood in "Dupe".

He is the type to hold grudges, as shown through his grudge against Stitch and always willing to battle him. He was even happily watching the moment when Stitch's cousins were about to pummel him in "Angel". He also seems to hold a grudge against Lilo but is less likely to deal her harm, implying he at least knows to control himself and not abuse someone weaker than him. He will also back out of a deal in exchange for a better one, as shown through his attempts at finding a good job to escape Hämsterviel's employment and also in "Sample", where he sold out Stitch and Sample so the alien hunters hunting Gantu wouldn't hurt him and that he would give Sample to Hämsterviel in return. Also, despite his claims of hating Earth, he is shown enjoying many of the recreational activities in Hawaii, such as hula dancing, kickboxing, a spa weekend, games and sports, owning a boat, watching TV, surfing and karaoke.

### Physical Appearance

Gantu is a giant, hulking alien resembling either a gray humanoid shark or whale, which is a recurring joke in the franchise since many characters often compare him to fish, crustaceans and sharks. He wears a black spacesuit consisting of a tank shirt with thick red brims on his sleeves and matching linings vertically on both sides of it, and trousers with their same vertical linings on his leggings. He also wears a gray belt with a light gray "V" on the front, a holster on the right and black wristbands.

### Powers and Abilities

Gantu lacks any notable abilities but his immense stature (he stands around 20 feet, though he is noticeably shorter in the series than in the original movie) means he has strength well above any human (or most alien species), albeit sufficiently less than Stitch and at one point, lost a wrestling match to an old lady named Suga Mama from The Proud Family. Aside from his lifting capacity and enormous girth, Gantu is a respected captain of the Galactic Federation (or at least he used to be), can dance the hula (as seen in the episode "Clip") and does have many skills. He is depicted in the movie being a very capable spaceship pilot, having marksman-like shooting skils and competent leadership abilities. In Lilo & Stitch: The Series, Gantu relies primarily on his plasma pistol for combat. Besides firing plasma bolts, Gantu's pistol can also launch nets for capturing experiments.

* **Superhuman strength**: Gantu strength is well above any human.

## Appearances

### Film

* Lilo & Stitch
* Stitch! The Movie
* Leroy & Stitch

### Television

* Lilo & Stitch: The Series
* Stitch!

## Disney Parks

### Walt Disney World Resort

Gantu appears in Stitch's Great Escape! in the Magic Kingdom. Gantu pilots in the park guests through the tutorial along with Pleakley. Soon enough, news of a Level 3 threat being teleported into the Galactic Federation Prisoner Teleport Center prompts Gantu, worrying for the safety of the guests, to send the guests to the high-security Level 3 teleportation chamber. He joins them in the room where they meet and interact with the Level 3 prisoner, who turns out to be Stitch.

In 2014, Gantu made his live, Walt Disney World debut as a walkaround character at the Unleash the Villains event.

### Disneyland Paris

Gantu makes an appearance in Stitch Live! at the Walt Disney Studios Park. Here, Gantu's space cruiser was stolen by Stitch (it was rather easy for the experiment, as Gantu left the keys inside). Stitch then asks the audience to assist him in escaping but Gantu arrives anyway and gives chase. The audience and the cast member guide Stitch through the ship to find his own. Once he does, he makes his escape, leaving Gantu frustrated.

He also made an appearance at Disneyland Paris for Stitch's Hawaiian Paradise.

### Tokyo Disneyland

In Midsummer Night's Panic, Gantu and Hämsterviel, with an army, plot to capture Stitch and travel to Earth. During the middle of summer get together, Gantu is ordered to make his move; however, Lilo challenges him to a music face-off. After Gantu's defeat, he ultimately gives up and decides to join Lilo and Stitch in their party. Soon enough, Hämsterviel arrives shocked by the situation. In spite of the confusion, Hämsterviel decides to join the party as well.

Gantu can be seen in the Tokyo parade Lilo and Stitch's Big Panic.