What would you do if a six-legged, furry, blue creature with antennae terrorized a wedding, got hit by a bus and somehow survived?
Well, most people probably wouldn’t adopt it as a pet and name it Stitch.
But then, Lilo isn’t most people.
Lilo and her older sister, Nani, lost their parents a few months ago. Since then, it’s been a constant struggle for the sisters. Lilo has no friends. Other girls her age call her weird. And her eccentricities have gotten her into trouble more than once, leading the adults in her life to say she’s a bad kid.
Nani gave up a full-ride scholarship to her dream school in order to take care of Lilo. But the bills are piling up. The house is in disarray. And Social Services knocks on their door almost daily.
The last thing Nani needs is another mouth to feed—least of all a furry, blue alien genetically programmed to cause mayhem and wreak havoc, and one who is also currently on the lam.
But Stitch isn’t just a destructive blue monster. Sure, that’s what Jumba (the alien evil genius who created him) intended Experiment 626 (Stitch’s alien designation) to be. But if Stitch has learned anything from Lilo and Nani, it’s that there is some good in him.
And his new family might be little and broken, but they’re good too.
Lilo and Nani, like most siblings, have their share of squabbles. But they really do love each other. In fact, it’s because of Nani’s love that she’s working so hard to keep the sisters together.
However, as their social worker, Mrs. Kekoa, reminds Nani, what Lilo needs most right now is stability—and Nani just hasn’t been able to provide that. That said, Mrs. Kekoa is also kind. She gives Nani actionable steps (and time to complete them) in the hope of earning the sisters more time to build that much-needed stability. She tries to make transitions as painless as possible for both sisters. And she gives the two siblings leniency, so they can adjust to their new circumstances.
Through all of this, Lilo tries to teach Stitch to be good. As Nani once told her, just because you sometimes do bad things doesn’t mean you’re a bad kid. Lilo believes the same is true of Stitch. And although he initially uses her for protection (since the aliens chasing him have been ordered not to reveal themselves to humans or cause the humans harm), Lilo’s love impacts Stitch. And he comes to love her too, accepting his new role as a member of her family.
In the end, the message driven home is summed up by a Hawaiian word: ohana. “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” Nani and Lilo’s parents instilled this value in them, and the sisters teach it to Stitch. But close, supportive friends declare that they’re ohana, too—and they make sure nobody is ever left behind or forgotten, even when circumstances might change.
One alien is quite the conservationist, convincing the Grand Council (the alien ruling body) to spare Earth (where Stitch has escaped to) because it’s being used to rebuild the mosquito population.
Stitch wasn’t born, he was created—by an evil alien scientist, no less. Ordinarily, the Grand Council would have had Stitch destroyed. However, they realize that he is a sentient being. Moreover, he didn’t ask to be created. And the Council decides the most, ahem, humane thing to do is to exile Stitch to a derelict asteroid, where his destructive programming will cause no harm.
Lilo makes a wish upon what she believes is a shooting star. And she asks in this moment to be sent a friend, perhaps even an angel. (We know, of course, that the star was Stitch and that he is about to show up … albeit perhaps not quite so angelically.) Later, Lilo asks Stitch about his own family and assumes that since he doesn’t have parents, they must have died like hers. She tells him, “Maybe my parents talked to your parents, and they sent us to each other,” implying that she believes in some sort of afterlife, albeit one shared by humans and aliens.
Lilo believes that a fish she calls Pudge can control the weather. And she brings him a sandwich each week so he’ll grant them good weather.
Many characters wear swimsuits, crop tops and shorts. We see a man in a bubble bath from the chest up. A picture shows a young couple kissing.
Pleakley, an alien who is ignorant of how humans dress, wears an odd mixture of men’s and women’s clothing. He seems interested in deepening his relationship with Jumba. But what Pleakley would like that relationship to look like is open to interpretation.
Nani’s neighbor, David, sometimes flirts with her; Lilo informs him that Nani likes his “butt and fancy hair.” Elsewhere, someone jokes about seeing his own “derriere.”
Aliens use a sort of cloning technology to disguise themselves as humans. When one alien’s disguise is temporarily disabled, he shrieks and covers himself as if he were naked even though he’s fully clothed. Elsewhere, Stitch covers his furry tail after his grass skirt slips, even though he doesn’t usually wear clothing.
Jumba designed Stitch to be the ultimate weapon. As such, Stitch spends much of the movie destroying everything he touches. Although he never seems intent on hurting anyone, some of his actions lead to accidents (Nani gets hit in the face with a freezer door, for instance), which Stitch finds amusing.
Jumba is ordered to find and recapture Stitch after he escapes to Earth. However, he’s also told not to harm any humans in the process. Jumba unwillingly complies with this mandate for the most part. Jumba and other aliens are equipped with a fair bit of sci-fi technology, including a gun that creates portals when fired.
But when he gets fed up with Stitch’s shenanigans, Jumba takes matters into his own hands, swapping out his portal gun for a laser gun. With this, he destroys Nani and Lilo’s house with no regard for Lilo’s safety, who is trapped inside.
Elsewhere, aliens use laser guns. The Grand Council considers vaporizing Earth until Pleakley, an alien conservationist, informs them that the planet is a protected wildlife reserve for mosquitoes.
Stitch is practically indestructible. He’s shocked (via an alien shock collar), shot at, run over by a bus and otherwise beaten up as he tries to escape Jumba and the aliens. Jumba and Pleakley also take their licks from Stitch, Lilo and even each other.
During a hula performance, a girl bumps into Lilo, knocking her down. She then says something mean to Lilo. Then Lilo shoves the girl off the stage in response.
Elsewhere, Nani chases a screaming Lilo, jokingly threatening to kill her. Lilo can be a bit dramatic, telling Nani to “leave me alone to die.” She can also be reckless, removing batteries from the smoke detector (which nearly causes a fire after Nani accidentally leaves the stove on).
A few characters almost drown, but they’re rescued and revived. A black-and-white movie on TV shows a giant tarantula destroying a city.
There’s a single use of “h—.” God’s name is misused four times.
Early on, Stitch says something in an alien language that is quite rude. The phrase isn’t translated, but it causes many other aliens to gasp, vomit and otherwise “clutch their pearls.”
Vacationers drink cocktails, and an alien describes the drinks as “poison.”
Jumba is arrested for creating Stitch, since genetic experimentation is illegal (and because Jumba intends to continue these illegal experiments). But then Stitch manages to escape detention, stealing an alien police cruiser in the process.
There are jokes about spitting, sneezing, flatulence and other bodily functions. Stitch drags his bottom across a floor in imitation of a dog. A robot alien “vomits” spare parts after hearing something unsavory. Lilo is scolded for trying to give candy to dogs, since it will give them diarrhea.
Characters lie, act selfishly and sometimes double-cross each other. Lilo frequently disobeys and breaks rules. Many girls Lilo’s age are mean to her, mocking her and calling her names.
[Spoiler Warning] Acting in Lilo’s best interests, Nani eventually relinquishes guardianship of her sister to a close family friend. The sisters thrive under their new circumstances, and they’re able to visit whenever they want. But it’s still a difficult decision to make.
Lilo & Stitch marks yet another addition to the list of Disney live-action remakes. And this one is …
Well, I’ll be honest, I’m just not a fan of taking characters originally conceptualized as cartoons (read: Stitch) and trying to make them look real. It just winds up looking like a stuffed animal come to life.
But that’s beside the point. Compared to the original, there’s a bit more language here (the h-word and some misuses of God’s name). But the violence, the name-calling, the silliness of the aliens? That’s all about equal for the original Lilo & Stitch, which came out in 2002.
In case you’re not familiar with that iteration, here’s what you need to know about the latest take on it here. Stitch gets into quite a few scrapes with other aliens, though nothing fatal. Characters risk their lives to save one another—and those moments can get intense. And a large part of this film deals with foster care, since Nani hasn’t been able to provide a stable environment for Lilo since their parents died.
Lilo and Nani shout at each other, calling names and otherwise acting as you might suppose sisters would. But they also always apologize and make up. These sisters love and care for each other deeply. And although their ohana has been broken by the deaths of their parents, it also grows and gets repaired with the addition of Stitch and some close, supportive friends.
Much like Lilo and Stitch’s new family, this film might not be perfect, but it’s still good. Family, faithfulness and sacrifice are among the values that this reboot embraces. And apart from some minor stumbles, it could be a new take on an old franchise that many ohanas can embrace, too.
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.
