Lilo and Stitch 2002 Buena Vista Home Entertainment Official Website Buy It Now

So what do Elvis Presley, an alien life form, hula dancing and sunburned fat people all have in common?  They all find a home in the most recent animated motion picture by Walt Disney Pictures.  This is the 41st full-length, classic tale from the most popular animation studio in the world, and in my humble (ha!) opinion, is the best we've seen in a looong time! 

Stitch (AKA: Experiment 626) is a biologically "modified" alien gone wrong and run amok.  The product of a mad scientist's desire to create the most destructive being, Stitch is not your typical Disney character (which is mainly why I like him so much).  Stitch is angry, violent, abusive and all of the other nastiness that comes from feeling very lonely...the result of having no place to belong and having been bred for war.  But Stitch is not yet aware of the psychology behind his desire to destroy and is overjoyed to have escape galactic imprisonment and to be zooming (in a stolen spacecraft) towards an unsuspecting planet, just waiting to be ravaged.  Earth.

Lilo is a young and troubled Hawaiian girl, who lives with her overstressed, older sister Nani, after the deaths of her parents.  Too young to work out the trauma of this loss, Lilo's behavior has become...erratic.  She does not get along with any of the kids her age, enjoys taking pictures of obese people and has an unhealthy fascination with Elvis (this movie features more of the King's material than any of the movies he himself starred in!).  She is in need of someone, anyone, to be a companion and a receptacle for her unrequited love.  Enter one alien life form.

Stitch crashes on the island of Hawaii, and the galactic police are only a few steps behind him.  A strange creature on a strange island, Stitch is forced to adapt the only way he knows how...to blend in.  Disguised as a dog, he is adopted by Lilo and Nani to focus Lilo's attentions and give her something to care for.  It is then that the hijinks, and Disney magic, begin.

Under threat of child protective services, not to mention the stalking galactic bounty hunters, Lilo's life is precariously balancing on the edge of disaster, and her troublesome new "dog" with a penchant for mischief is certainly not helping matters.  Only by accepting each other and looking into themselves can this "family" survive.

Making some bold decisions and moving back to the basics, Disney has finally recaptured the magic that spans all generations and lets parents laugh and cry alongside their children instead of just throwing the ragged Barney tape in the VCR and running for their bedrooms before the inane "I love you" song begins to play.  I am 28 and have been a Disney fanatic for at least 19 of those years (since my first ride on the Haunted Mansion), and I have not found much in the recent theatrical releases that was not geared straight to the 10 and under crowd, and through them, into mom and dad's merchandise fund.  Looking overseas for >ahem< inspiration, as in Atlantis, has diverted the focus of the timeless Disney target...family.  By placing the emphasis heavily on the ole standby plot of lovable-characters-stuck-in-an-impossible-

situation-with-no-hope-of-positive-outcome-

yet-still-they-go-on, instead of showing off new graphics, viewers are finally again treated to a story of laughter, tears, hopes and fears.

I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud so many times while viewing any DVD (and I already saw L&S twice in the theatre), but on the opposite hand, cannot remember the last time I got a lump in my throat caring for the characters on the screen.  This is wonderful stuff, and I hope it marks a new attitude from the Mouse House.  Although it is inevitable to mass market hits like Lilo and Stitch to the kiddies (i.e. the already announced straight to video sequel and television series), I am content in knowing that careful attention is still put into animated films and not all new releases will be sequels to old classics.

And speaking of careful attention, this DVD is stuffed with features that, again, are for the whole family!  Beyond deleted scenes, there are the usual mild trivia games and music videos for the young ones (watch out for the A*Teens music video that will surely be played to death by little guys and gals mimicking the polished moves of a new Disney bubblegum band!), but there is also a fantastic tour of the Hawaiian islands, a respectful look into the art of Hula dancing, and some behind the scenes featurettes that show you practically the whole process of creating this film, for the grown-ups.  Of special note are the inclusion of the four hilarious previews that featured Stitch meddling in your favorite Disney movies, and a "mockumentary" biography of Stitch as struggling actor.

All in all I give Disney a rousing round of applause on this release.  From start to finish I again get the warm fuzzy feeling that I had when I was younger, whether watching Tia and Tony escaping to Witch Mountain or cruising past the Blue Bayou in Pirates of the Caribbean...someone out there is trying to entertain me and cares enough to make it grand.  So all you kids, young and old, snatch up this Stitch and start believing in Disney magic again!

-aaron-