Lilo & Stitch
Year: 2002
Rating: PG
Length: 85 minutes / 1.42 hours
The early 2000s were a weird time for Disney. After a solid run of their 1990s renaissance—full of classics beloved by all—they started exploring ideas outside their wheelhouse. With most of their best work in the fantasy genre, Disney hadn’t quite figured out how to do science fiction. Despite all this, they created a few cult classics during this period. One of these was none other than Lilo & Stitch (2002).
A common theme in children’s movies seems to be outsider kids befriending creatures they probably shouldn’t. This list includes (but is not limited to) E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Iron Giant (1999), How to Train Your Dragon (2010), and even Bumblebee (2018). Where Lilo & Stitch takes this a step further is how it embraces the idea of the “found family.” With so many orphans in Disney movies, it surprised me it took this long to hone in on this trope and really refine it (albeit not nearly to the extent One Piece does). Furthermore, this movie also shows that everyone deserves love, even if they have a sordid past.
While there are a lot of common tropes in Lilo & Stitch—including some of its humor, which itself has graciously few bathroom-focused jokes—one of its best characteristics is the realism of its human characters. Relying on evil stepmothers or narcissistic queens as villains hides much more relatable challenges modern families face. Just trying to survive, especially when there are no parents in the picture, is hard. Being able to rely on those around us is a much better lesson for kids than princesses finding out they’re a special.
A relevant and modern take on found family and aliens as pets, I give Lilo & Stitch 4.0 stars out of 5.
This movie appeared in Cinema Connections:
#256. Hawaii
#257. Aliens as Pets
