Lilo and Stitch

The story centers on a mischievous alien who crash lands on Earth and learns the meaning of family from his new friends. Experiment 626, created by the mad scientist Jumbaa, is declared a huge hazard to the universe and is ordered by the Galactic Federation to be exiled on a far distant asteroid. Unfortunately things quickly go wrong and 626 hijacks a space cruiser only to crash into the Hawaiian Islands on the planet Earth. Being mistaken for a normal dog, a misunderstood girl named Lilo adopts the galactic criminal and dubs him Stitch. Unbeknownst to his adopted family, Stitch had been programmed to destroy everything in sight and nothing else but over time the fugitive learns accepts the love of his new friends and learns the meaning of family. The story for Lilo & Stitch starts off a little slow at the beginning but as the film goes on, it quickly picks up and comes off as being unique and well done. One thing that can clearly be said is that the plot holds up much better then Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which suffered severely especially in its third act.

Stitch may look ugly but, as he puts it, he's just "cute and fluffy". The character of Stitch has to be one of the most original creations coming from Disney animation. Certainly he is more different then any other Disney animated character and that is probably why he is so loveable. The Walt Disney Company will definitely be making a fine coin off this wonderful creation based on merchandise sales this summer to be sure. Be forewarned that some smaller children may be frightened by some of Stitch's mischievous antics at the beginning of the feature but they are nothing of huge concern. The character of Lilo, who is a typical six year old who is cute and weird but also has a bit of a dark side, is probably one of the most down to Earth animated characters ever. She feeds a fish peanut butter sandwiches everyday believing it controls the weather and when another little girl makes a comment, Lilo jumps on her and punches her. Her antics worry the audience and yet at the same time we can't help but feel sorry for the way others treat her. The only problem found in the cast of characters lies with the background aliens. Though there are a variety of them in the feature, they aren't as unique to audience members as the aliens in Men In Black or Evolution but it is difficult to do that with so many alien features in recent years.

Overall, Lilo & Stitch is a pure Disney gem and ranks up there with many of the past traditional animated classics. Certainly the film doesn't match up with the artistic merits of The Lion King or Aladdin but its own unique style makes it stand out from the rest of the box office pack this summer. This has to be one of the most different Disney animated films in recent memory but the studio needs to keep up with its ever changing audience. Stitch suffers from a slow start and over cuteness in the story department but there is tons of humor that mixes well with the overall story and delightful characters that makes up for those small squabbles. Despite featuring no original songs, the soundtrack for Lilo & Stitch offers several Elvis Presley songs that go extremely well with the actions occurring in the film. Lilo & Stitch is definitely one of the best comedies of the year and should be considered one of most unique and outstanding animated features in recent years.