Stitch Head tells a story about humans who are afraid of monsters—and monsters who are afraid of humans. When their worlds collide, friendships are formed, family is found, and each side learns to embrace the other. Most of the content we see is slapstick comedy, but questions about life and creation may require some adult hand-holding.
Welcome to Grubbers Nubbin, population: 665. It’s a bleak, gray town hosting some rather bleak, gray citizens.
When Fulbert Freakfinder rolls in with his traveling circus, he doesn’t necessarily expect to become rich, but he at least hopes to make enough to get him to the next town. After all, his freaks are top-notch.
Contortionist Dr. Horatio Dislocation, the “Human Knot,” can bend and twist his limbs in horrifying ways. Mademoiselle Miranda Cassandra will peek into your future and let you know if you’ll die by heart disease, stroke or drowning. Still not impressed? Then check out “Titanium Twins” Taj and Tej, as they walk across burning, broken glass.
Well, the people of Grubbers Nubbin are not impressed. Fulbert struggles to understand why until a little girl named Arabella tells him: “The people around here are already scared of something much scarier.”
Just above the village, right at the edge of a cliff, sits a castle. No human has ever set foot there for none would return alive: They say there be monsters there.
Welcome to Castle Grotteskew, population: growing.
Here there indeed be monsters, each sewn together then awakened to “almost life” by a mad professor. Some monsters have human limbs and animal bodies. Some beasts sport sharp teeth or claws. But all follow one very important rule: Do not be monstrous.
Stitch Head, the professor’s very first creation, warns the others that just below the castle, nestled in the foothills, lies a village. No monster has ever set foot there for none would return alive: They say there be humans there.
And humans, Stitch Head tells his friends, hate monsters. If they suspect that the monsters they fear are real, they’ll form an angry mob, storm the castle and burn it to the ground. So, he says, “Stay hidden. Stay quiet. Stay safe.”
But where others may see hideous disfigurements, Fulbert sees a business opportunity. Unlike the townsfolk, he isn’t afraid of Stitch Head. In fact, he believes he can capitalize on the villagers’ fear. He promises Stitch Head that people love to be scared, that they’ll love him.
Stitch Head cautiously accepts Fulbert’s offer of employment. Unfortunately, he’s about to learn that most monsters don’t have furry faces or too many arms.
Ultimately, Stitch Head’s themes center around friendship, familial love and acceptance.
Stitch Head has always taken care of Grotteskew’s monsters. He takes on a sort of big-brother role, telling them when to go to bed, tucking them in and reading them stories. However, what Stitch Head really wants is to be loved and remembered.
Stitch Head and the other monsters were created by the professor, but they don’t feel loved by him. After creating each beast, the professor immediately rushes off to work on his next creation. Between that abandonment and the ever-present fear of humans storming the castle, Stitch Head has struggled to understand what love is. He certainly doesn’t love himself. He doubts that anyone else can, either.
However, with help from Arabella and Creature (a new monster who immediately bonds with Stitch Head) Stitch Head finally comes to realize that he has been loved all along—by his monstrous brothers and sisters. And not because he frightens them but because of who he simply is: kind, caring, selfless. Creature had barely met Stitch Head before declaring that the boy was his best friend. With that kind of devotion, Stitch Head doesn’t need the accolades of the masses: He just needs his family and friends.
Creature acts bravely, telling the other monsters that even though he’s scared, he will rescue Stitch Head from Fulbert’s circus because that’s what best friends do.
Though she’s just a child, Arabella acts as a liaison between humans and monsters. She isn’t scared of the monsters; she’s fascinated by them. She’s the only person to recognize that the monsters aren’t very monstrous: They live quiet, peaceful lives. Arabella acts bravely to protect Stitch Head and the other creatures from humans who would hurt them. And she eventually brokers peace between the people of Grubbers Nubbin and the beasts of Castle Grotteskew.
[Spoiler warning] Although the professor initially abandons his monstrous creations, he’s finally knocked out of his reverie long enough to recognize how much they need him, and he rectifies his mistakes.
The inhabitants of Castle Grotteskew are brought to life via electricity. The professor shouts, “Live!” as he brings forth his creations. But Stitch Head informs them that they’ve only been brought to “almost life.” There’s some question throughout the film whether the monsters are actually alive, but they’re largely treated as living, sentient beings—albeit ones with very short memories.
Fulbert claims that Miranda Cassandra can see the future. And while she rolls off several death predictions, there’s no way to verify if they’re accurate or not (since everyone she sees is, of course, alive). So we’re never shown if her powers are real.
Several adult women swoon over the childlike Stitch Head, calling him “dreamy.” In one scene, they throw their bras (apparently removed from under their clothing) at him, and one man even throws his underwear at the boy (again, seemingly without removing other parts of his clothing).
One of the male circus performers kisses Stitch Head on the mouth in celebration—though this isn’t meant to be sexual, and we don’t see the act occur since the camera shifts to focus on the kisser’s puckered lips, making it appear that he kissed the camera lens. One animated woman wears a corset-like top with bare shoulders.
Creature asks Stitch Head if there are mommy and daddy monsters, whispering an inaudible question about where monsters come from into Stitch Head’s ear.
When a few characters are “exposed” (there’s nothing obscene), they cover their private parts with their hands. A man is grabbed by his pants as he falls, effectively revealing his underpants. Someone shouts, “My groin” after he falls on a ladder with a leg on either side. Fulbert says that Stitch Head will want “girlfriends” once he’s famous.
Most of what we see here is slapstick violence. Even scenes that would otherwise be scary are constructed to have comedic effect instead.
When characters seemingly perish, they often show up later, completely unharmed. (One man is swallowed whole by a toothy, half-crocodile, half-gorilla creation and then is later spat back up.) Elsewhere when characters take a rough tumble, it usually occurs offscreen or from a distance, keeping the more unseemly aspects of their injuries just out of sight. And again, we usually spot them later, completely unmarred.
An animated video depicts what will happen if the people of Grubbers Nubbin attack the castle: They’ll approach with torches and pitchforks, kill the monsters (shown as drawings with X’s over the eyes) and burn the place down. When the townsfolk do attack the castle, they indeed arm themselves with torches and pitchforks, as well as brooms, plungers, vacuum cleaners and nunchucks made of salami. However, given the slapstick nature of the film, we never really see these weapons put to real use.
Fulbert tries to gain access to the castle through various means. In one attempt, he’s nearly successful, hanging onto a balcony by a finger. Stitch Head pushes that finger off, stating firmly, “No visitors.” We hear a thump as Fulbert falls into some clouds below, but he shouts that he’s OK.
The stitches holding Stitch Head’s arm to his body begin ripping early in the film. Throughout the movie, those stitches come closer and closer to popping. [Spoiler warning] Stitch Head allows his arm to get torn off in order to save his friends. The effort nearly kills him, but he’s saved.
The circus tent catches fire when audiences panic and flee the area, causing a piece of canvas to fall on a hot light. Arabella uses one of those circus lights on Creature’s bottom to get him to run away from the collapsing structure.
Fulbert ties Arabella into a sack, and she fights back from within. A dog bites Creature. A woman inadvertently chokes her granddaughter with the strap of some binoculars. Someone smashes some plates in anger. During a performance, Fulbert and the circus performers use lights and shadows to make it appear that Stitch Head is eating a baby.
None. But we hear some mean name-calling, including “stupid,” “moron” and “losers.”
After Stitch Head’s first successful show, the circus performers pop open two bottles of what appears to be champagne.
Fulbert turns out to be quite the selfish cad. Though he pretends to care for the “freaks” in his circus, offering them profit shares, he uses the circus’ income to fund his own money-grabbing schemes (to ill effect). He essentially kidnaps and imprisons Stitch Head, all while pretending to “protect” the boy. And when he learns that Stitch Head isn’t the only monster living in Castle Grotteskew, he incites the townspeople to form an angry mob, hoping to capture and imprison all the beasts hiding there. He also lies.
Arabella is disobedient. Her nan repeatedly tells her to stay away from Stitch Head and other monsters—an attempt, it would seem, to protect Arabella from danger. However, Arabella ignores her nan’s rules, sneaking out of the house whenever she can. However, it should also be noted that Arabella’s nan acts hypocritically, since she pays to go see Stitch Head at the circus multiple times.
The people of Grubbers Nubbin are very much a reflection of how audiences used to react at circus “freak shows.” They say they love Stitch Head—at least when he’s giving them what they want. However, the minute he stops performing, they’re all too willing to turn on him and call him a monster.
Fulbert repeatedly says that he doesn’t care if his “freak show” induces fear or physical illness, as long as people keep paying to see it. A dog urinates on a man. Someone uses an outhouse. Arabella purposely puts a licked lollipop in Fulbert’s hand. A man scratches his rear end.
Based on the book series by Guy Bass, Stitch Head is a weird little Frankensteinian offering for the Halloween season. It’s meant to be light and funny and not at all scary.
And that’s exactly what it is.
Christian families will certainly need to do a bit more handholding with younger children, since this film explores (to a minor extent) what it means to create life—or rather “almost life.” There are also a couple of grown-up jokes that are probably a bit much for kiddos. Some fans throw their undergarments at Stitch Head, for instance.
But if families can navigate those issues, Stitch Head is otherwise reasonably traversable. Even violent or scary moments are largely played down for comedic effect rather than fearmongering. And the film’s nice messages about family, friendship, love and acceptance all make for a cute “almost happily ever after.”
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
