Stitch!: The Movie 2003 Buena Vista Home Entertainment   Buy It Now

Lilo and Stitch rocked...plain and simple.  If you have read my review of this film, you would know already that I consider the film both a brave step forward, and a return to the golden days all at the same time.  The film dealt with issues left unspoken previously by Disney (broken homes and tattered families), and returned to a brilliant writing style that had laughs and tears aplenty without at any time offending the audience with overused and underdeveloped material.

What was so nice about Lilo and Stitch was that you could believe that Disney wanted to entertain you.  Gone were the notions of a giant studio wanting only to turn you upside down and shake your pockets empty, all the while telling you how important you are to them.  Lilo and Stitch was entertainment, wait, dare I say quality entertainment, devoid of ulterior motives and filled with heart-warming affirmations of the "happiest studio on Earth".  Disney, as I knew it as a child, and all their magic, was back.  

So what then prompted the resulting Stitch! The Movie?

Now, I am not one to simply jump on the bandwagon and begin beating Disney with a stick over a plethora of Just-Add-Water, Instant-Mix sequels, without proper due.  In fact, a few of these sequels left me with a smile on my face and a song in my heart, just like their originals.  Jungle Book 2, while not reaching the levels of its predecessor, did manage to captivate me and minus a few of the musical numbers, I found myself both shocked and awed by the amount of care that went into its making.  101 Dalmatians 2?  Even better!  A superb treat that managed to add new hijinks aplenty onto a foundation that served my memories of the original quite well.

And so it is that I would like to say that I am surprised at the quality of this new release, Stitch! The Movie.  However, I cannot say that I am.

The first thing that led me into some apprehension over this release was simply the name.  Throwing an exclamation point onto the end of a word is usually utilized to build a sense of excitement and drama.  This works mostly with kindergartners and Broadway musicals.  Since Stitch has not put on the Ritz with the Lion King just yet, I must assume that kindergartners are exactly the target audience.  This is not entirely surprising either...I mean this is a children's movie...but Disney used to be able to market their films to the PARENTS of the kindergartners, who would then become excited to take their children to the movie.  When things bypass the parents and go straight to the kids, it is usually because the parents want nothing to do with it...not a good sign.

Next up was the running time.  Stitch: The Movie rolls in at just over an hour; by no means a follow up feature length film.  But then again...it is enough to be a bit more than a Saturday morning cartoon.  Isn't it?  You see, Stitch! is also a new cartoon series on the Disney Channel.  This series is all about a group of strange creatures who are scattered about the countryside, each with its own special power.  It is up to our heroes to find each and every one of these little fellas...gotta catch 'em all, right?  Yeah, I know...sounds familiar, but it isn't THAT series.  In this one, there are aliens scattered about Hawaii and Lilo and Stitch have been consigned by the galactic federation to round them all up and find a place where their particular talents can be put to good use.  Stitch! The Movie acts as a prelude to this series.  I would like to say that it stands on its own as well, but it does not.

It seems that Stitch has gotten a little homesick for all of his 625 other "cousins" (none of whom he has ever met) and in a convenient twist of fate, has a chance to release each and every one of them from captivity to act as his extended family.  Of course, since we have a series coming up, we only get a few of them released in this film, but the ones chosen are less than spectacular.  One is a carbon copy of Stitch himself, except he has a bit of trouble releasing huge jolts of electricity, and the other is an overly hungry alien that talks a lot.  Oh yeah, I said talks...mostly about sandwiches.

Then there is a bunch of stuff about capturing them again and a whole big play on the world's most popular Hawaiian word since Aloha..."ohana".  Ohana means family, remember?  Lilo talks about badness levels some more.  Cobra Bubbles acts really serious, but hides a bleeding heart some more.  Jumba and Pleakley play a bizarre version of Ralph and Ed from the Honeymooners some more, while Pleakley does a bit more cross-dressing.  All in all, all of the characters act a whole lot like they did in Lilo and Stitch and not a whole lot of anything new happens.

The youngest of your children will truly enjoy Stitch! The Movie, because they don't know any better when it comes to quality and dedication to a fine product.  You as their parent, or Disney fan (like myself), will once again find yourself asking, "Where did the magic go?".  The answer, plain and simple, is that the magic hasn't left at all; Disney stills turns out some real gems...but I think it is safe to say that not every single Disney release is a labor of love any more.  Unfortunate, but true.  Luckily, you have me here to tell you the difference, and when it comes to Stitch! The Movie, I do have to advise caution.

If you are concerned with completing your Disney collection, or are simply in want of some new cannon fodder in the age old battle of your child's short attention span, I must say that the little tyke will most likely love this DVD; so by all means pick this up.  However, if it is Disney's newest animated classic treasure that you are after...let's just hang on for Brother Bear to hit theaters.  In the mean time, use the $25.00 to go see Pirates of the Caribbean some more!

-aaron-