Sorry for the terrible pun there, I couldn’t resist. Lilo and Stitch is one of my wife’s favourite Disney films, and with our current access to Disney+ we discovered that there are not only two sequels, but also a whole animated series. We’ve not watched those (yet?) but we really liked Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch.
The Tl;Dr Version
Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch is actually quite a clever film in that it manages to successfully have no antagonists whatsoever, and yet still has a degree of tension and drama. This really is quite an impressive feat, and makes for enjoyable viewing. It’s fun, like the first, but not quite as zany and weird, which was a bit of a shame. But I really enjoyed it, which is rare with me for animated Disney sequels, and would give it a solid 8/10.
The Detailed Version
Who doesn’t love a bit of Disney? Yes, they are kindof evil and are trying to take over the world of digital media entertainment one franchise at a time… But let’s be honest, everyone has a favourite Disney movie. Anyone who grew up in a Western country, and many other places throughout the world, will know at least a handful of Disney film. The only animation studio that can really match it is Studio Ghibli in Japan.
I’ll maybe review my favourite Disney film(s?) some other time, but for now I want to make a simple point: much as people love Disney’s films, they very rarely love the sequels. I could be wrong, please let me know in the comments, but other than a choice few (Toy Story 2-4, Frozen 2, maybe Monsters University and Finding Dory, for example) I can’t think of many other sequels that are actually all that worth talking about. Notice, though, that these are newer Disney. Older Disney films were never really made with sequels in mind – they follow pre-set stories that come to satisfying conclusions and don’t really need to be followed up. This is not least because they are often based on existing stories, ideas or legends.
Lilo and Stitch kinda breaks this mould nicely. It’s a totally unique story, not based on existing characters from myths or fairy tales and the characters are original and interesting. The first film is so heartwarming, and does have a nice conclusion, but you are left quite nicely with a feeling that, yes, I’d like to know more about what happens. Stitch Has a Glitch nicely demonstrates that and gives a really nice little view into the next chapter of the story.
Helen (my wife)’s view was along these lines: ‘It was true to the original characters, so it felt like a good continuation, whilst also feeling like there was some genuine character development – both Lilo and Stitch have clearly grown a bit. Lilo is much less insecure, but sill Lilo. Stitch is still cute, I just like Stitch ok, he reminds me of our dog…!’ She generally enjoyed it and thought it was fun and interesting, but there were some negatives too. ‘The absence of Mr. Bubbles was really weird, considering his role in the first one. It’s also not clear how much time has passed because Nani and David say they’ve been dating for ‘three weeks’ but it feels like time has passed and they have settled down. Plus, the end credits of the first film show Halloween, Christmas etc. but imply that the two are dating. These have clearly happened thanks to references such as the hovercar, but yet the script sometimes makes it sound like only weeks have gone by and they have already settled into a routine.’
We were pretty much completely in agreement with this, so I can’t really add much more other than that I felt that in many ways it built on and added to the original story in an honest and genuine way.
One thing that I think does need to be discussed, however, is Pleakley’s gender identity. It is fairly clear that Pleakley, who is throughout the butt of a slight joke about liking girly things and being feminine, is supposed to be ‘male’. Yet the very way that ‘he’ expresses himself is recognisable as, as the very least, non-binary if not trans. This is kindof awesome, and I think in a modern Disney film would possibly be actively embraced. But as we are talking about 2005, the idea of Trans people in mainstream was still sketchy, nevermind the concept of being non-binary or genderqueer. This isn’t really a review point, positive or negative, but more something that I think it quite interesting. On top of that, am I the only one who gets some hella-gay (or not, if Pleakley is actually trans!) vibes between them and Jumba…? I’ll leave you, and indeed this review, with that thought….!
AHF Writes 