Lilo & Stitch Review
by Tim Wick
Two years ago, Disney released what is arguably their best animated feature
film since The Lion King. The film, The Emperor's
New Groove was a slapstick comedy that used the unique medium of
animation to create one of the funniest films I can remember in a long time. Sadly, the studio had little faith in the film and they put little effort into any sort of publicity that may have generated a sizeable box office.
Although the lack of faith Disney showed in their project was disappointing, it would seem that they may have noticed the film inspired something of a devoted fan base. Being one of those fans, I can tell you that many Disney employees rolled their eyes in frustration when I would ask them for New Groove toys when I visited Disneyworld earlier this year. They rolled their eyes not because they hated the movie but because they all loved it as much as I did and had answered the same question numerous times every day. They wanted the toys as much as I did.
With the release of Lilo and Stitch, it would seem that
Disney just might have learned something. They have embraced their inner
comedian and made a film that embraces the comic sensibilities of
New Groove while employing their trademark sentimentality
with a surprisingly subtle brush. Based on early box office reports, this
ploy has worked as their film is may actually defeat the latest Spielberg/Tom Cruise epic - Minority
Report.
One could argue that since the film is showing on more screens and has a one hour shorter run time, part of this is simple economics. That is true but the fact is it is still a stunning upset (especially given the high art that is Minority Report).
Now I'm not going to say that this is a better film than Spielberg's latest great movie. Few films are. Instead it is a wonderfully entertaining tonic that can help us recall that when all else fails us, we still have our family. We always love them but we may not always like them. Still, if we can truly count on anything in life, it is that relationship.
Of course the film does not teach us this lesson in a dry, boring fashion.
I think that the animators must have looked at Disney's The
Hunchback of Notre Dame and noticed that the film worked any time
it wasn't focusing on the stupid gargoyles and realized that a film didn't
have to be dumbed down for children to enjoy it.
Despite it's slapstick science fiction premise, this film has serious points to make about loss and what it takes to keep a family together. It even has something to say about how we can choose to be who we want to be rather than who we are told we should be. These are valuable lessons for children but they are presented in a mature and thoughtful fashion that might, I hope, invite a child to talk to their parents about these issues.
But make no mistake, the film is a comedy and while it may at times seem
uneven, it is in fact a terrific mesh of the serious and the slapstick.
Stitch is a fantastic comic creation who makes you laugh just by looking at
him. The alien Laurel and Hardy team sent to capture him may well follow
the cinematic convention of sending the two most incompetent people
available on a mission of enormous significance but they are so much fun to
watch it is easy to forgive.
The second film this year to speak for the continued vitality of cel
animation, I really appreciated the way the animation was done in this film. While the main character animation was very good, much of the background work was done in an almost impressionistic style that actually made it clear this film was an animated film. Artistically, this has not been Disney's style for some time. It was nice to see them striking in a slightly different artistic direction.
Now there are those who will argue that some of the film is a bit heavy
handed and it probably is. For whatever else Disney does, they will never
strike too far from the territory they are familiar with. The lessons of
this film, though important, are certainly made very clear. If one can't
watch this film with the eyes of a child, however, why the heck were you
going?
As with most of my reviews, I have tried to avoid writing about plot and
simply talk about general impressions. My theory is that there are dozens
of places to get a plot synopsis and you don't need me to do it again.
Instead, what you really need to know is if I would recommend this movie to
anyone else.
I would urge everyone I know to see Lilo and Stitch .
Right after they see Minority Report.
It must have been something of a blow to Disney that the first even Oscar
for best animated picture went to Dreamworks and not to them. With
Lilo and Stitch , I am willing to bet that they have given
themselves an remarkable opportunity to go home with the second.
That is what lies beneath the basic running man plot. I fear that those few who have criticized this film have either failed to recognize that the movie is about so much more than a simple whodunnit yarn.
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