Disney movies typically are based on fairy tales, folk lore, children's stories or influential literature.

The movie consists of two stories, Stitch's and Lilo's, both of which are different takes on The Ugly Duckling.

Stitch's creator, Dr. Jumba Jookiba is found guilty of illegal genetic engineering (creating Stitch) and Stitch (known before his meeting with Lilo at the shelter as Experiment 626) is sentenced to exile on an asteroid after offending the council. He escapes his prison pod and hijacks a police cruiser, activated hyperdrive and ends up en route to Kauai, Hawaii

Meanwhile, a young Hawaiian girl named Lilo is coping with the changes with her sister Nani being in charge after their parents were killed in a road accident. Under the supervision of Cobra Bubbles, a freelancer among social workers, Nani is to get her life in order and a job to support herself and Lilo.

Not long after Cobra's visit, 626 crashlands in the Kauai Rainforest and get hit by a truck (Luckily, his genetic makeup makes him pretty indestructible). He ends up at the animal shelter and Lilo meets him, making known as Stitch from then on.

Cobra comes back to add another item to the list: make Stitch into a model citizen.

Like most of Disney's animated features from 1937 to 2011, this was hand drawn and for this film features watercolor painting backgrounds, which were featured in early Disney films.

The music composed of Alan Silvestri's score, two original songs sung by a Hawaiian children's choir and a local celebrity in Hawaii and of course, some of Elvis Presley's hits which are sung either by The King himself or by artists covering him in the spirit of the movie. Its eclectic charm highlights the personality of the entire setting and characters (Lilo and Stitch)

The vocals are just great. I didn't know much about Daveigh Chase (voice of Lilo) as an up and coming star and I really haven't heard much since Leroy and Stitch. Daveigh's credits include Samara in the American Version of The Ring and Sen\Chihiro in the English dub of Spirited Away (a production produced by Disney in conjunction with the currently in limbo Studio Ghibli). For the actors who lived in Hawaii, they gave insight to cast members who lived elsewhere in vocal acting by teaching terminology and local language.
Tia Carrere has numerous credits and yes, after watching Wayne's World 1, I am stuck with a visual that comes from the fact she didn't really change her voice.
Stitch is voiced by his creator, Chris Sanders, who also directed and wrote the movie.

Fun fact: Preliminary art dating back to 1985 shows that Stitch originally looked like a monitor lizard than a blue koala.

The movie was rated PG for Mild Sci-fi Action. However, the concept of all inclusive family values in that "Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten" is a value I hold dear. I even add the notion of "lost" to my definition of this value.

It's been a while since I last saw this movie and it did not disappoint. It's like I remembered it all those years ago.

I hadn't been buying many DVDs but with the purchase of a DVD player that isn't my laptop, I decided it's time to build my DVD library, and Lilo & Stitch was one of the movies I really wanted to buy on DVD. I've always been big on bonus features and when I saw this 2-disk set for under $8 it was pretty much a no-brainer. The first disk has the movie and the usual single-disk goodies, and the second disk with a making-of documentary, deleted scenes and early versions of scenes make it easily worth twice the price. I had no idea how the movie changed after 9/11, nor did I know it wasn't originally set in our 50th state.

Lilo is a little girl from the state of Hawaii. She is raised by her sister Nani. Lilo and Nani have been dealing with the loss of their parents. After a visit from a social worker, Nani hears Lilo pray for an angel to come. Nani then decides that the best angel for Lilo is a dog. Lilo finds Stitch, an alien created by a mad scientist, and decides to take him in.
There are so many reasons why I give Lilo & Stitch a perfect score. For starters, the writers decided to tell a story of a family going through hard times and they do such an excellent job. I found myself caring for Lilo and Nani, hoping for things to end in the usually happy way that Disney movies do.
I also love the character Stitch. He has the friendly looks of ET and some of the most energetic antics I have ever seen in a cartoon character. Stitch is an absolute welcome sight for any die hard Disney fan.
The animation is also spectacular. The use of Hawaii as the setting gives Lilo & Stitch a beautiful looking back drop. The use of water colors being blended in with traditional animation is stunning.
Lilo & Stitch also has a great soundtrack with a perfect selection of Elvis Presley songs that are complemented by the score of Back to the Future composer Alan Silvestri.
The movie also delivers important messages for kids in a very entertaining way. Stitch is the perfect solution for the trouble that Lilo and Nani have been facing, but during the films climax it seems as though they feel like he is not. This tells kids to be careful when searching for the solution to their problems. On top of that there is the theme of ohana. Ohana is Hawaiin for family. Lilo says that family means that nobody gets left behind or forgotten. The use of this theme brings my to tears.
The writing is excellent, the characters are great, the animation is spectacular, and the messages for kids are delivered perfectly. Lilo & Stitch is a rare movie that is as close to perfect entertainment and rightfully deserves my seal of approval.

My favorite Disney movie. This movie teaches that family isn’t always blood, and to never give up on each other. I love the depth of characters and have noticed new things watching it as an adult. The soundtrack is my favorite, especially considering that I grew up on Elvis and the songs from this movie. Share this with your kids, talk about it! It’s such a cute film with good messaging.

Lilo and Stitch is one of my most favorite Disney films, and ever since I was a kid I've been obsessed with it's story and characters. And as an animator myself, I must say that the animation in this movie is the best Disney has ever done. This is a good High-Def release of the movie, although disappointing with the lack of bonus features that were present in the various DVD releases. It doesn't make much since to leave those out when they were added to older releases. Yes, the addition of the sequel is lovely (and that movie too is also wonderful), but it was a real bummer not to have any of the behind-the-scenes videos nor deleted scenes added. I've looked around and it seems all Blu-Ray releases of Lilo and Stitch also have a similar absence of bonus features.

Why’d it take me so long to watch this movie? I’ve been meaning to watch since about 2006 bc one of my besties favorite quotes was “oh good, my dog found the chainsaw” then a couple nights ago someone in a collie group on Facebook posted quotes from the movie where LILO says “he used to be a collie before he got run over” and that reminded me to watch it.
Lilo’s character makes me feel less alone in the world and it has a heartwarming end

I was not going to write a review, having read the previous ones and found them to be excellent, until I got to "storyboarder" form the "good ol' USA". Wow. What a boring world it would be were we all to agree an everything, but this person (whatever gender) is way, way out of line. Yes, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but this review is so offbase and borders on complete lunacy. Not one word was coherent, accurate or in any way representative of what the movie was about or what the writers intended to convey; which, IMHO, they did superbly. This reviewer needs to stick to hard, accurate dramatic movies and avoid anything that even remotely smacks of fantasy, intelligence, kindness, love, heart and wildly unique adventure, all of which this movie possesses in abundance. I loathe the taciturn, negative spin this person put on this new classic and resented even more the hubris that was so evident throughout the "review." We live in a time when there is a plethora of disasters, horrors and calamities; if this movie, by virtue of it excellence, can transport us from our worlds and bring us to a beautiful place, then so much the better, and the people who worked so hard on this movie have attained their goal and brought a great deal of happiness and joy to those of us who appreciated the fine artwork and unique story presented for your pleasure, not for the censure of some lone malcontent. I make no apologies for my apparent bias and anger at this one review; I must also have my say and urge those who have not yet had the pleasure of seeing this movie, to please do so and then judge for yourselves how much validity and accuracy this "storyboarder" has...I suggest he/she stay home and watch CNN 24 hours a day 7 days a week and let us choose to escape and enjoy ourselves, if only for a brief time, and reserve his/her vituperative verbal vomit for more deserving subjects, than this gentle, kind-hearted and beautifully rendered film...we all need some fantasy and beauty in our lives.

For anyone who was between 8 and 14 for the movie's 2002 release, I probably don't need to convince you it's a great film. If you're a little older and remember The Little Mermaid and other traditionally-rendered films fondly, I think you'll take the film for its art style alone. Watercolor backgrounds and some great character art direction make for a really watchable and colorful film, not to mention the fluid and sometimes manic motion seen in Stitch and the other alien characters.

If you'd like a really short review, please read the final paragraph of this review. If you'd like to read a little more about how the movie might be taken, keep on reading.

But it's not just a bauble. The plot sees a colorful and funny cast of aliens interacting with a struggling pair of sisters living on Hawaii's Kauai island, just as DCFS asks pointedly if younger sister Lilo is better off living with older sister Nani. The arrival of Stitch (an alien genetic experiment gone awry) throws everything into chaos for them both, including some pretty great scenes when Nani tries desperately to find a new job only to have Lilo and Stitch ruin her chances accidentally. It's the best use of a montage I've seen in a long, long time and gives some good laughs along the way.

The A plot revolves around a family dynamic which incorporating Stitch by degrees and Nani's struggle to keep Lilo in her life. The B plot is the alien federation's attempts to secure Stitch ("Experiment 626") and put him in exile. The final act marries the A plot and B plot well, and it finishes on a high note. Not typical 'Disney pie in the sky, everything's good forever' stuff, but Lilo and Nani have a chance at a better life.

There are some moments that are pretty painful for an older teen or adult to watch, particularly one scene where it becomes clear Lilo should be placed in foster care, and for some Nani's struggles strike close to home. It's not framed the way most Disney films approach "broken" families - both Lilo and Nani need each other, but they're both ill-equipped to support each other. That's not exactly fixed by magic wand at the culmination of the movie, but the new house and a wider support network (including two exiled scientists from Stitch's federation of planets) suggest things might get easier.

Most kids will focus on Stitch - I mean his name is in the title! Trying to cope with his "genetic programming" and unable to act on his aggression, he comes to terms with not currently having a "family" as a spliced clone. He comes to make his own extended family with Lilo, Nani, and a few secondary characters. In the end he's a hero for saving Lilo from a kidnapping by an overzealous space captain out for Stitch's bounty, and Stitch remains happily exiled on Earth with his new family or "ohana." There's plenty of funny "bad boy" behavior and trickery by Stitch, and kids and adults alike will enjoy the action scenes. As violence goes it's bloodless but dynamic, fun, with huge sweeping motions and rolling fight scenes.

If it's a rainy afternoon and you have some kids over, pop some popcorn and watch this. Be prepared for a few "pew pew pew" sound effects and giggles every time Stitch scurries on six (yes, six) limbs. If not, there's nothing to stop you from enjoying a well-animated movie about family and aliens that doesn't pluck at the same heartstring over and over again. It knows its marks, it makes it, but it's not cloying, and its execution in animation and plot are both pretty neat.