It's interesting how we go from a movie called Lilo & Stitch,
to its sequel Stitch,
to its other sequel called Lilo & Stitch 2.
Though, in a way, I do kind of understand it,
seeing how Stitch was obviously a pilot to a TV series,
like Tarzan & Jane was a pilot to a TV series,
but then they come out with Tarzan II and Lilo & Stitch 2,
which seemed more like actual sequels.
It's also interesting that the sequels seem to fall into the
slew of smaller stories.
They definitely connect to the first one,
but they're not as big or grand.
And, well, with the exception of Mulan II, they're surprisingly kind of welcomed.
I really enjoyed Tarzan 2, I thought a lot of great effort was put into it.
And here, this one's not too bad either...
Nyeeeh, for the most part. We'll get to the bad stuff too.
In this movie, Stitch has a glitch.
He starts acting all evil, and attacking people, and doing all sorts of terrible things.
But, it comes and goes.
Eventually it's discovered that this came from a glitch that happened years ago,
and the Russian alien is trying to figure out how to stop it.
While that's going on, Lilo has this big hula competition
that she really wants to win, especially seeing how her mother won it years ago.
And the rest of the story focuses less on alien encounters and explosions and ray guns,
and more on them just trying to figure out what to do for the hula contest and keeping Stitch under control.
Like I said, a much smaller movie,
but for what it is, it's actually alright.
In the 1st film, I thought the sisters really stole the show,
and in the 2nd film, I thought the aliens really stole the show,
and here, it seems perfectly balanced.
Both Lilo and Stitch are a ton of fun to watch, they're just adorable.
I love how she's written like a real little kid
and that sort of spreads to Stitch as well.
The side characters, though nobody really knew, are a lot of fun to watch as well.
Does that makes it as good as the 1st? Well, there are a couple problems.
There's one or two awkward moments that just come across as odd.
For example, the Russian alien knows that Stitch has a glitch and he's trying to put together this device.
But he keeps it a secret for some reason.
Why would he do that?
Shouldn't everybody know that this thing can explode at any moment
and he can attack people, and seriously hurt them, or even kill them?
Why is he keeping it a secret?
He's sneaking around trying to get household items to build this device to save him,
but why doesn't he just tell people?
I'll tell you why,
'cause you have to have a scene where Lilo thinks Stitch is really bad,
and Stitch does feel bad, and there's this misunderstanding,
and it's stupid, it's so freaking stupid.
There's also minor things like the romance between Nani and the boyfriend is kinda bland.
Once again, I guess they never really got this right.
Sometimes there's a read from an actor that clearly needed to be done again.
And even the water-color backgrounds are a little too obvious this time.
I don't know, I remember in the 1st film it was blended a little better,
but here it just look super flat.
And I know that's kind of the idea of water-color,
but, I don't know, it doesn't blend as well here.
Oh, and without giving too much away,
there is a huge cop-out ending.
There's a really emotional moment,
the acting is great, the animation is great
but then suddenly, it's just retconned
and they never explain why.
It's just, kind of magic, I guess.
Or, is it magic? Is it science?
I don't know, it just comes out of nowhere,
and they openly admit they don't know why it happened.
Stuff like this that could so easily be fixed
is what keeps it from being as good as the original.
But still, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoyed a lot of it,
again, as smaller stories go.
Most of the same actors are back with the exception of Lilo,
who this time is replace Dakota Fanning.
And by God, she does a great job impersonating her.
Not just the voice, but the heart, the comedy, the emotion. She really gets it.
I don't know if they switched her out because they wanted a bigger celebrity,
or the original actor's voice was changing,
but she does a great job.
You barely even notice the difference.
So even though it's a sequel that doesn't really add much,
and yeah, probably doesn't need to exist,
I still have a soft spot for Lilo & Stich,
and, if you do too, you'll probably enjoy this.
Grab your hovership and check it out.