After a brilliant trailer campaign (which you can see here, here, here, and culminating in the full trailer below) Lilo & Stitch was released in 2002. Though expectations were modest, the film quickly went on to become a hit, earning good reviews and strong box office numbers. Tonally, it definitely stands out among its Disney peers. Despite the soft, round shapes on display in the animation style the dialogue has a pointed, real world edge. The sisters fight, yell and scream, and basically act like real sisters. While some were put off by this, it serves as a refreshing change of pace for the company and the general public seemed to agree.
On the technical side of things, Lilo & Stitch is most notable for its backgrounds. It marked the first (and, to date, only) use of watercolour backgrounds in a Disney feature since Bambi, and they are stunning, perfectly capturing the look and feel of Hawaii. Placed on these backgrounds are fully realized characters, thanks to an intelligent script which treats them as real people. The plot, too, deserves praise, for managing to be at once completely unfamiliar and thoroughly relatable. Finally, special mention must me made of Chris Sanders’ excellent work on the character animation for Stitch himself. By imbuing him with dozens of subtle characteristics of household dogs, Sanders manages to make what starts as an ugly, evil character cute and lovable.
When the film was first released a decade ago, I certainly enjoyed it. It was different in both look and tone, and was uniformly well made, but it didn’t really stick with me long after viewing it. As such I always regarded it as a fairly middle of the road Disney film. Revisiting it now, I think that assessment undersells it. In addition to strong characters and an abundance of action, it has a surprising amount of heart. It is this heart which likely earned it its initial success, and it is the heart which still makes it a great film for both young and old.
Up next: Treasure Planet (2002)
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