Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Written & Directed by Dean Deblois & Chris Sanders
Starring the Voices of Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, Tia Carrere, Ving Rhames, David Ogden Stiers

My Advice: Wait and Rent It.

Jumba (Stiers) is an evil genius who has, for one reason or another, decided to create a cute little genetic experiment (numbered 626, voiced by writer/director Sanders) who wants nothing more than to destroy cities by the truckload. The galactic powers that be really don't think this is a good idea, so they throw Jumba in prison and plan to exile 626. However, 626 manages to escape and makes its way to Earth, where it's mistaken for a dog and adopted by the young girl, Lilo (Chase). Lilo's lonely, having lost her parents and living with older sister, Nani (Carrere)--so despite the creature's ill manners, she names it Stitch and decides to keep it. Trouble is, the galactic forces want Stitch taken back and wiped out. Then there's also the social worker Cobra Bubbles (Rhames), who thinks that Lilo needs a better home. So something needs to change--and quickly.

I've long ago given up on Disney being able to produce an animated film that innovates in its field, entertains and touches the audience on a deep level. They dropped that particular ball--but Pixar picked it up and is running with it, so all is not completely lost. Basically these days, Disney films can aspire to entertain--and that's about it. So the good news I can offer you is: yes, the film does entertain. Quite a bit, in fact. With Stitch, they've gone back to a basic character archetype: the character so bad, you have to love it. And the fact that this death-dealing walking weapon is mistaken for a puppy by Lilo automatically gives you a lot of cool stuff to play off of from a writing standpoint.

Further good news is that this overwhelming potential for comedy is not wasted. In fact, the film is one of the funniest Disney animated flicks to come out in some time. When it's playing the laugh cards, it's positively hilarious. Here's the but, and I bet you could hear it coming. But--when it tries to play any other card in the deck, it comes up unfortunately short. One of the major themes of the film is family, broken or otherwise. The Disney folks have latched onto a Hawaiian concept called ohana, which deals with the bonds between family members, blood relations or no. I say "latched on" because it doesn't feel like a solid part of the story, it feels like you've crossed a line into "Here's where we make the point" territory, and the seams show badly. Every other part besides the humor lags, and it's obvious that while Sanders and Deblois know humor like the backs of their hands, they really need some help with dramatic tension and emotional payoffs.

A brief word about the voices before I wrap this up: Stiers is the standout of the cast, his strange, hulking multi-eyed scientist with the Russian accent being a hoot. However, Chase and Carrere get points for being able to bring characters that are pretty nicely three-dimensional to life, and making them out to be individuals that we're sure we know from somewhere. A scene where Lilo has come home and is lying on the floor listening to Elvis while Nani tries to gain entry through a nailed-shut front door is quite amusing.

For the most part, if you have kids or if you just want to catch a decent animated film, you're cleared for matinee. But honestly, there's nothing that you'll lose on the TV at home--so in the interests of saving you some coin, we've got this down as a rental.