Film: Lilo & Stitch

[liv]

Reasons for watching it: I had managed not to see this, I think because it came out when I was just at the age of feeling I needed to avoid media marketed at children, and it's somewhat of a classic and the sort of story I love.

Circumstances of watching it: We watched the DVD while we were relaxing after some intense touristing in Budapest.

Verdict: Lilo & Stitch is intensely sentimental about things I'm inclined to care about personally.

I have seen various gifsets on Tumblr which led me to understand that Lilo & Stitch is all about chosen family, but I had no idea at all that it's also about space aliens. In fact it's a really original concept, where Lilo, a child from a troubled background, ends up adopting an alien from the dog pound.

I liked the depiction of Lilo's family, she's an orphan raised by her teenaged sister Nani, and that could so easily be incredibly saccharine, but it's not. The film acknowledges that it's really hard for a young woman with limited resources to be responsible for a young child, and the whole plot revolves around the love between the sisters but it's not a soppy thing, they fight, and Nani is actually depicted struggling to manage the household and bring in enough income. Of course the narrative believes that the sisters should be together no matter what, but Mr Bubbles is not the stereotypical evil social worker trying to take a child away from her guardian for pointless bureaucratic reasons, Lilo actually is in a pretty unstable, even actively dangerous, situation, and Nani loving her isn't enough when she's just not coping (let alone when she's being attacked by armed aliens). Lilo isn't an adorable little moppet either, she acts out in response to her stressful living situation, she's violent, she has social difficulties, she's dark in ways that are much more like real traumatized children than the usual storybook orphans. Also the sisters are dark-complexioned (could be read as indigenous Hawaiians), and stocky with normally proportioned eyes and expressive faces, not uncanny valley exaggerated cute / hyper-feminine.

And Stitch. The blurb on the DVD described him as "mischievous" but he's not mischievous, he's literally a monster created by aliens to be as destructive as possible. And yes, he is cute as well, but what I really liked about this film is that it allows Stitch to be actually monstrous, he's not just an ugly but misunderstood puppy, he actually is violent and dangerous, and with at least human-level if not higher intelligence. It seems to be generally accepted in child psych circles that many children need relatable monsters in their stories, and Stitch really does embody unconditional love, he's not just a bit different like the Ugly Duckling trope (which in fact is referenced in the film), he's loved for who he is very much including his destructive nature. I never felt like a monster (or an alien or a changeling) as a child, but I have a lot of friends who did grow up thinking of themselves in that way, especially neurodivergent folk, and I'm extremely glad that Disney were willing to go all the way with this storyline and not pull punches.

Anyway, the film is exciting and plotty and got me really engaged in the twin storylines of whether Stitch would be captured and whether the family would get to stay together. I teared up several times, including at the little, and broken, but still good line. And I liked the ending, it's satisfying without being too perfect.

Comments

[ambyr]

Have you read Nimona? You might enjoy it; it hits some of the same themes, I think.

[liv]

No, I don't know it. Certainly Lilo & Stitch is the kind of story I'm really drawn to, so I should look out for the comic. I like the art style in the excerpts available online, definitely. Thank you for the rec.

[andrewducker]

Seconding the Rec.

It's not the same, but it does hit some similar stuff, and it works very well.

[lilysea]

I really liked Lilo & Stitch.

I found it easy to relate to Lilo.

[liv]

I think I mostly relate to Nani, which is maybe partly because I'm watching the film as an adult. But also because I always connect to mentor characters and to older sisters who take responsibility. And I particularly like that she's such an obviously positive character even though she doesn't get everything right; sometimes older sisters are like Susan in Narnia or Meg in Little Women, the narrative punishes them any time they're anything other than perfect, more perfect than an actual mother would be.

[marymac]

I love and adore Lilo & Stitch, it socked me hard in the back of the brain when it came out and I've shamelessly shown it to every child I've minded since.

I also own a stuffed six-legged Stitch, because my friend spotted it in the Disney store in Manchester last summer, remembered me bemoaning the lack of six-legged Stitches over a decade ago and pounced on it in a manner which apparently scared the staff.

[liv]

That's interesting. I really loved six-legged Stitch and I had some queries about the choice for him to be shown as roughly humanoid for most of the film. I mean, the scene where he initially pretends to be a dog is important for showing that he's clever and has alien powers, but I would have liked it even more if once adopted he had reverted to being visibly and obviously alien. I'm glad there are six-legged toys!

[marymac]

I think it's mainly ease of animation and connection for little kids - M was very clear about Too Many Legs at four.

Six legs in dog gait is a bugger to animate. But the six legged toys were way too long in coming. It's my favourite Stitch aspect.

[liv]

That makes sense pragmatically. There's something slightly uncomfortable for me on a metaphorical level, though: there's this wonderful story about an evil alien freak monster of destruction being loved and accepted, but in order to be part of the human family he has to maintain this quite radical change to his own body basically forever. Like the Little Mermaid, she can't be loved as she is, she has to have legs and pain to be loved by a human. I don't think that's at all the intended message of the film, mind you, just, a bit wistful about the portrayal.

[silveradept]

That was an excellent movie, and really well enjoyed when I saw it. Glad you enjoyed it as well.

[liv]

It was really nice watching it with my loves, my people who are still working out what sort of a family we are, and it's not at all a story about people-like-us, but it is something.

[gool_duck]

I like that film a lot. Also I think Mr Bubbles is a time-lord, look at his interaction with the alien ruler.

[liv]

I like that theory! He's just a lovely character altogether, and the whole backstory about saving earth by declaring mosquitoes an endangered species, it's just adorable.