Family Friendly Pick: Lilo & Stitch (2002)
It might be cliché, but nothing can stop Disney from appearing in a feature that includes a section on exceptional children and family movies. Whatever misfires the company has are easily outweighed by the sheer amount of inventive classics they’ve managed to pump out in their time, and of the recent surge in creativity and original features, Lilo & Stitch is easily one of the best, and definitely one of the most memorable.
The story follows Lilo, a young girl who constantly acts up and makes herself a social outcast amongst her friends. Left in the care of her older sister Nani after their parents die in a car accident, the two must learn to get along and take care of each other so they can assuage the worries of Cobra Bubbles, a social worker with a silly name and a surprisingly soft heart.
This is made difficult by the arrival of Stitch, an experimental alien who escapes to Earth from his captors, who follow him to Hawaii and try to recapture him. When Lilo adopts Stitch, thinking he is a stray dog, she and her sister do everything possible to protect their unusual friend from being recaptured.
It’s a plot that sounds so strange and cheesy and yet works surprisingly well. The juxtapositions between frenetic battles in space and calmer moments, such as teaching Stitch to surf, give Disney the chance to flex their animation muscle. All of the detail poured into the depiction of Hawaii and the people who live there gives Lilo & Stitch a leg up over other Disney flicks by creating a rich and gorgeous landscape for all of the silliness.
Of course, the usual mushy moral is thrown in, espousing the importance of family, remaining true to oneself, and all the other clichéd lessons as taught by Disney. However, the inclusion of Nani and her struggle to piece her broken family back together allows for a surprisingly mature character to shine in a movie aimed at children, while the dynamic between her and Lilo is still a joy to watch.
Chances are you’ve already seen Lilo & Stitch enough times to know it by heart, but if you’ve somehow missed one of Disney’s newest classics, be sure to check it out while it’s still on Netflix.
