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All-Reviews.com Movie/Video Review
Lilo & Stitch
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  out of 4
Review by Susan Granger
2 stars out of 4
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Yes, it's yet another Disney movie about a misfit orphan befriending
an animal - but, this time, there's a campy twist. Lilo (Daveigh Chase) is a
lonely Hawaiian island girl who lives with her older sister Nani (Tia Carrere).
They're being closely watched by a menacing social worker, Cobra Bubbles (Ving
Rhames), because of Lilo's rebellious behavior and Nani's inability to keep a
job. Enter Stitch (Chris Sanders), a demonic extra-terrestrial gremlin who has
been jettisoned from the planet Turo for causing chaos at an intergalactic
meeting. Designed as a genetic experiment by a mad scientist named Jumba (David
Ogden Stiers), he's creature #626, a superhuman little monster with four arms
and a dorsal fin. But when Lilo spies him at the animal shelter on Kauai, she
thinks he's a strange-looking puppy and insists on adopting him. Certainly his
bright blue fur, razor-sharp teeth and pink, bat-like ears make him unusual,
rather like Pikachu from "Pokemon." Meanwhile, Jumba and a one-eyed
environmentalist (Kevin McDonald) are sent to capture mischievous Stitch - which
leads to a merry chase. Writer/co-director Chris Sanders ("Mulan") has obviously
been inspired by Steven Spielberg's "E.T." although, in this case, the devilish,
destructive alien doesn't want to go home. Quite the opposite, he wants to stay
here. To that end, Lilo teaches Stitch about family ("ohana"), friendship, and
being an "upstanding citizen," like her idol, Elvis Presley, who contributes
five songs to the soundtrack. (Since when was Elvis a role model?) What's a bit
disappointing is the hand-drawn animation, resembling the old Looney Tunes
cartoons. While it's certainly not as good as the classic Disney films, on the
Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Lilo & Stitch" is a hip, heart-tugging 5,
packing a breezy Hawaiian punch.
Copyright © 2002 Susan Granger
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