Lilo & Stitch (2002)

A Hawaiian girl adopts an unusual pet who is actually a notorious extra-terrestrial fugitive.

Directors:

Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders

Writers:

Chris Sanders (based on an idea by), Chris Sanders

Stars:

Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, Tia Carrere

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daveigh Chase	...	Lilo (voice)
Chris Sanders	...	Stitch (voice) (as Christopher Michael Sanders)
Tia Carrere	...	Nani (voice)
David Ogden Stiers	...	Jumba (voice)
Kevin McDonald	...	Pleakley (voice)
Ving Rhames	...	Cobra Bubbles (voice)
Zoe Caldwell	...	Grand Councilwoman (voice)
Jason Scott Lee	...	David Kawena (voice)
Kevin Michael Richardson	...	Captain Gantu (voice)
Susan Hegarty	...	Rescue Lady (voice)
Amy Hill	...	Mrs. Hasagawa (voice)
Steve Alterman	...	(voice)
Emily Anderson	...	(voice)
Jack Angel	...	Alien Guard (voice)
Bill Asing	...	(voice)

Storyline

In a place far, far away, illegal genetic experiment #626 is detected: Ruthless scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba has created a strong, intelligent, nearly indestructible and aggressive being with only one known weakness: The high density of his body makes it impossible for the experiment to swim in water. The scientist is sentenced to jail by the Grand Council of the Galactic Federation. The experiment is supposed to be transported to a prison asteroid, yet manages to escape Captain Gantu, who was supposed to deliver him there. With a stolen police cruiser (the red one), the destructive being races towards a little and already doomed planet: Earth. Stranded on Hawaii, experiment #626 can't actually do much harm: water all around, no big cities and two well-equipped representatives of the Galactic Federation already following close behind to catch him again. But Dr. Jookiba and the Earth expert Pleakley never could have guessed that earth girl Lilo adopts the experiment as dog, gives him ...

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Plot Keywords:

hawaii | bare midriff | alien | disney | alien friendship | 

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Taglines:

He's coming to our galaxy

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild sci-fi action

Did You Know?

Trivia

Judging from his vocal patterns, and that the minimum age of joining the CIA is 18, it would be reasonable to believe that during the events of Lilo & Stitch, Cobra Bubbles would be at least 48 years old.

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Goofs

When David pulls Stitch out of the water after he appears to have drowned, Stitch is facing out, but when you see him again he is facing in.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Grand Councilwoman: Read the charges.
Gantu: Doctor Jumba Jookiba, you stand before this council accused of illegal genetic experimentation!
Grand Councilwoman: How do you plead?
Jumba: Not guilty! My experiments are only theoretical, and completely within legal boundaries.
Grand Councilwoman: We believe you actually... created something.
Jumba: Created something? Hah! But that would be irresponsible and unethical. I would never, ever...
[Stitch is revealed]
Jumba: ...make... more than one.

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Crazy Credits

One of the photos of Nani, Lilo, Stitch, et al. displayed at the end has them posing at the gate of Graceland, continuing the story of Lilo and Stitch's love of the music and style of Elvis Presley.

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Alternate Versions

In the UK, to avoid a "12" rating, a shot of Lilo climbing out of a tumble dryer has been reanimated to have her lowering the top of a cardboard pizza box cover she is using to hide herself under a wooden table. The pizza box takes the place of the dryer door, and the table is the same size as a dryer. The scene is identical in every other way, including the action between Nani and Lilo. Apparently the lack of a latch or seal of any kind on an enclosed space satisfied the censors. The film has the same length as other uncut versions and is also available on Disney+ in all countries. When the Disney Channel aired this, it removed the scene entirely, skipping to when Nani has apprehended Lilo.

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Connections

Referenced in The Chase Australia: Episode #2.2 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Heartbreak Hotel
Written by Elvis Presley, Mae Boren Axton (as Mae Axton), and Tommy Durden
Performed by Elvis Presley
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label, a unit of BMG Entertainment
Under license from BMG Special Products

User Reviews

Refreshingly different from the usual Disney fare

Lilo is an orphaned Hawaiian girl who is brought up alone by her elder sister. They adopt a dog, Stitch which unknown to them, is actually a mutant alien accidentally landed on Earth and has been designed to destroy everything it touches. Despite Stitch's genetic tendencies towards destruction, a bond forms between girl and alien while the scientist who created Stitch also arrives on Earth to capture him.

Lilo is an adorable but rebellious little girl who loves Elvis. Therefore, instead of characters bursting into song singing the usual Disney tunes, we get Elvis songs on the soundtrack which makes for a refreshing change. Stich is immediately unattractive, being a big-eared four armed monstrosity designed for destruction and creating havoc. Like with Warner Brothers' Tasmanian Devil, it is down to the animation and characterisation which up the cute factor and allow for the audience to warm towards the alien.

It seems like Disney have gone with the times, choosing to deal with the issue of a single parent family. In doing so, they keep the right balance of sensitivity and compassion in the relationship between the two sisters without being sickeningly sentimental.

As is often the case in animated features, part of the fun is to work out who the familiar voices belong to: Lilo's older sister Nani is played by Tia Carrere and Jason Scott Lee plays Nani's friend who offers her a shoulder to cry on (and probably wants the friendship to develop into something more!) Another character is the Ving Rhames-voiced social worker who oddly, is a big burly Man in Black type character.

Chaotic action towards the end of the film is a little bit of a let-down after the fun of the relationship between Lilo and Stitch and inevitably, the ending is a sentimental and happy one.

Overall, ‘Lilo and Stitch' is good fun and will win over audiences both old and young through the story's originality and the characters' charm.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hawaiian

Release Date:

21 June 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lilo & Stitch

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida, Walt Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$35,260,212, 23 June 2002

Gross USA:

$145,794,338

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$273,144,151

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (Digital DTS Sound) Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1