I...I think I have something in my eye. (*Sniffles*)
Okay, now say it with me: "This is my family. I found it on my own. It is little, and broken. But still good. Yeah, still good."
D'AAAWWWWWWWWW.
I'm not the sort of person who cries at books or movies--over the years, only three books (Stone Fox, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and East of Eden) and two movies (The Princess and the Frog and Midnight Cowboy...yeah, talk about opposite ends of the spectrum) have ever brought me to tears, and in just about every case there were extenuating circumstances which meant those movies/books hit me particularly hard. That was not, however, the case with Lilo and Stitch (okay, I'm across the world from my family, but still...) which was why I completely surprised myself by tearing up at the end.
Part of the reason Lilo and Stitch resonated so much (and, in case it wasn't obvious, spoilers from here on out) was because the first time I saw this movie, I didn't care for it. I was twelve at the time, and I remember thinking that it was sort of cute and funny but not that interesting or amusing and definitely not worth all the hype it had been getting. The problem, I think, lay not with the movie, but with me. I was at the age when little kid humor and stories no longer amused me (I know...I cringe when I think about my adolescent self) but I was still too young to get the adult humor or understand the deeper themes.
But enough about angsty twelve-year-old me. Point is, I recently saw several sites and articles (Cracked.com, TV Tropes, Movies w/o Pity) raving about how good Lilo and Stitch was, and so, despite my memories, I decided to give it another chance.
Thank god I did.
Now, this movie isn't perfect, and it's not even on par with my top picks for Disney movies (Lion King, Princess and the Frog, Mulan, and The Little Mermaid) but it was sweet, heartfelt, amusing, and fun, all while having realistically written characters and delivering a good message without getting preachy. And yes, the ending was a punch in the gut, in a good way. So, without further ado, here we go.
The Bad:
I decided to do the bad first, because there really isn't much, so I thought I'd get it over with.
The Fight Scenes, Especially the Air Battle: Really, Bug should be the one writing this bit, because she's the one who appreciates a good air fight, but even I, uneducated, ignorant peon that I am, could tell that the chase scene/fight between the two spaceships at the end was not well done. For much of the time it was impossible to tell where they were going and what they were doing, which is the death knell of any fight scene. If it descends into chaos, with people or objects flying pell-mell with no clear goal or objective (see: The Last Airbender) then the scene will be a mess and no one will be able to follow it. Such is what unfortunately happened with both the spaceship scene and the fight at Lilo's house. The house is literally torn to shreds, and while I get that these are super-strong aliens, much of the destruction seemed to be nonsensical. Similarly, the whole air battle seemed to consist of them chasing each other and shooting for no apparent reason. Sigh. Whatever. Action is not this movie's strong point, but luckily there's very little of it.
The Degree To Which Lilo Is 'Different': I know I'm treading on dangerous ground with this one, because many people love Lilo precisely because she's so different, but while I like her and her uniqueness over all, I felt the writers went too far trying to make her seem different. The problem is, small children (the intended audience of this movie) just aren't going to get it when Lilo says certain things, like when she explains that she has to feed Pudge the fish a sandwich because he controls the weather. To a certain point that'll make sense (keeping a promise to a friend by bringing him food) but the added bit about the weather just drags it into 'huh' territory and makes it seem like the writers are handing a giant sign over Lilo's head which reads, 'See? She's Different! She's Unique! See?'
Now, don't get me wrong. I was both a fairy 'different' child myself and the older sister of a very 'different' child, one who would talk the photographer into taking her picture with her tongue out and eyes crossed on school picture day by convincing him it was what her parents wanted. (Cough *Bug* Cough) I get (and like) kookiness, twisted logic, and individualism. But at some point it becomes unrealistic for a kid to think and act that way, and this movie did such a good job of creating realistic characters that some of Lilo's comments stick out like a sore thumb.
The Good:
The Characters: I could do a separate section on each one, but suffice to say they were all brilliant because they were all multi-faceted and realistic. No one was perfect--even Lilo's brattiness gets to be a bit much at times--and even the villains weren't evil for the sake of being evil, but because they were trying to protect people. Again, they're all great, but I think particular mention has to go to David and Agent Bubbles. David has very few scenes, and even within those scenes he has few lines, but the writers still managed to make a well-rounded character who obviously genuinely cares for both Lilo and Nani. He's way more than the love interest, which is would have been easy to make him. As for Agent Bubbles, although he seems like a hard case, he really does have Lilo's best interests at heart, and he rushes out to help her at a moment's notice. He genuinely feels bad for Nani and recognizes that she's trying, and at the end he goes out of his way to help everyone. Again, few scenes but a complete character. Nicely done, Disney.
The Setting: Disney fully embraced several aspects of Hawaiian life and culture (hula dancing, tacky tourist spots, beaches with tacky tourists, the ocean, the gorgeous scenery, the islands' Polynesian heritage, especially the music) without making its characters racial cliches. (I'm looking at you, Pocahantos!) Yay Disney! They also did a nice job of contrasting the ultra-modern, industrial, spartan life of the aliens to the laid-back, warm, natural life of the Hawaiians.
The Rule of Cool Stuff: Specifically, the surfing scene. At that point in the movie, Nani and Lilo have about a million and one problems that need solving--Nani's lack of a job, Lilo's custody, Lilo's behavioral problems, and, of course, Stitch--but the movie manages to make it seem realistic that they would set aside everything for a relaxing afternoon of surfing. The surfing sequence is fun, beautifully drawn, and an excellent example of how to show character without dialogue.
The Excellent:
The Music: So much win. Lilo and Stitch is that rare Disney movie which contains a fair amount of songs that exist only as background music instead of performances by the characters themselves (and yep, there's one exception, but I'll get there) and it works. Disney used a good amount of Hawaiian music, so from the first moment we see Lilo swimming under the sea (sorry...bad pun) we know where we are. The music also does a beautiful job of setting and capturing the mood. "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" fits the surfing scene perfectly, and the use of Elvis throughout was amusing and well done.
Then, of course, there's the one exception to the songs all being in the background, and oh man is it heart-wrenching. The entire scene is less than a minute, but it's one of the saddest scenes in Disney history, and no one's even close to dying. Agent Bubbles has told Nani that he's going to take Lilo away in the morning, and as Nani tries to tell her sister, she finds herself unable to explain and instead sings her a song. (Aloha O'e) What makes the scene even more impacting is that it's one of the few moments in the film when there's no background music playing, so it's just Nani's voice. Add in Stitch sitting on the ground, watching the sisters as he struggles to understand what he's witnessing and what he's feeling, and, oh man...(*Kleenex moment.*)
P.S. Tangled, take a lesson. Please. K Thnx.
The Relationship Between the Sisters: Here we have a film where two siblings...act like siblings! Furthermore, we have a story that gives equal attention to the older sister and younger sister without making the older sister seem perfect or a total bossy-know-it-all and without making the younger sister seem like a brat or a helpless cutie in need of saving. STOP THE PRESSES! IT'S A MIRACLE!
Ehm. Right. This may or may not be a personal pet peeve of mine. Just saying.
Anyways, Lilo's the one with her name in the title, so of course we see more of her, but the story is balanced because Nani's problems are bigger and have worse consequences if she fails, so, depending how you see it, Nani is the hero who's story is being told from the POV of her younger sister, or Lilo is the hero who has to stay true to herself in the face of very adult problems. Either way, it works wonderfully. Lilo and Nani are very loving and supportive, but they also bicker and fight and upset each other. It's so realistic, and it tugs on the viewer's heartstrings, to see Nani trying to balancing being a sister with being a parent, and to see Lilo struggling to define her sister's role in her life as Nani inadvertently gives Lilo mixed signals.
The best scene between the two (best in the sense that it's something that could absolutely happen between sisters; the scene mentioned in the music section may be the best of the whole movie) is when Nani comes up to give Lilo pizza after they fight. The fight was a familiar one to anyone who's ever had a sibling, brother or sister, younger or older, and the way they make up without really making up is familiar too. Lilo's fear that her sister really does wish Lilo was a rabbit is played perfectly--it's funny, but it's also realistic (I keep using that word a lot, but it just shows what a good job Disney did of building a complete, well-rounded story) for a young child, especially a young child who recently lost her parents, to be afraid that her sister really doesn't want her.
Yeah. Lilo and Nani rock. It's especially impressive that the sister-sister thing feels real because of the huge age gap between the girls--it would have been easy to make Nani a mature parent figure and Lilo a child who really sees her sister as her mom, but Disney didn't go that way, and the movie's stronger for it.
The Movie's Message: Ooh boy, this is going to be long...One thing that struck me watching this movie again was that this may be the first time I've seen a book or movie draw a clear difference between the idea of family (ohana) and nakama. Nakama, the idea of a group of people who bond together to protect and care for each other even if they don't always like each other, is what we see in the ending sequence between Nani, Lilo, Stitch, Bubbles, David, Jumba, and Pleakley. Ohana, on the other hand, is what Lilo and Nani share from the start of the film, and what Stitch is part of by the end. Ohana, as Lilo says, means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten. This is in no way meant to diminish the power of nakama, which in certain circumstances can be just as powerful as ohana, but there is a difference, and this movie drew it up quite nicely.
Under the conditions of Ohana, Lilo and Nani would literally do anything for each other, which we see them demonstrate throughout the film. They may occasionally fight, but all the fights occur because they care about each other. Whenever an outsider, even a benevolent outsider like David, intrudes upon their relationship, they immediately draw closer together (which the film often shows them quite literally doing) and cease all fighting so they can face the intrusion head on. Ohana is even harder to break than Nakama, which is pretty darn near indestructable, and it would take something of cataclysmic proportions to turns the members of an established family against each other.
Anyways, this movie portrays the message that family is the most important thing in the world, worth fighting for and protecting at all costs, on a whole number of brilliant levels. From Nani getting Lilo a dog because she knows Lilo wants a friend, to Lilo trying her best to cheer Nani up whenever things don't go her way (quite often...Lilo might be the little girl, but I think Nani is The Woobie) to Nani begging Bubbles not to take Lilo away, to Lilo's adorable attempts to set Nani up with David...yeah. And that's not even talking about the big moments, like Lilo running away so she can stay with Nani, to Nani's despair/Angry Mother Bear when Lilo gets kidnapped. Then there's the whole parallel with the Ugly Duckling, and Stitch's realization that not only does he want ohana, but in order to achieve ohana he has to work for it...yeah. Great message delivered in a whole number of ways, culminating in the moment that made me cry, when the Grand Councilwoman asks who Nani and Lilo are, and Stitch answers, "This is my family...." Yeah. Epic, epic win.
So, I liked this movie. An awful lot. I do think it's the sort of movie that's going to resonate more with adults than kids, because there isn't much action and a lot of the themes and ideas are pretty heavy, but it's also sweet and funny, so I feel like there's something for everyone, and, like I said, I'm so glad I watched it again.
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