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"LILO & STITCH"
(2002) (voices of Daveigh Chase, Tia Carrere) (PG)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
*None Minor Moderate *Moderate Mild
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Moderate None Heavy None None
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Minor None Moderate Moderate Moderate


QUICK TAKE:
Animated Sci-Fi: A young and parentless girl adopts a "dog" from the local pound, completely unaware that it's supposedly a dangerous scientific experiment that's taken refuge on Earth and is now hiding from its creator and those who see it as a menace.
PLOT:
On the planet Turo, slightly mad scientist Jumba Jookiba (voice of DAVID OGDEN STIERS) has created Experiment 626 (voice of CHRIS SANDERS), a small but deceptively dangerous monster whose sole design is to destroy everything with which he comes into contact. Grand Councilwoman (voice of ZOE CALDWELL), Captain Gantu (voice of KEVIN MICHAEL RICHARDSON), and the rest of the Intergalactic Federation are so aghast at the creature that they order it to be exiled on a desolate asteroid.

Unfortunately for them, the resourceful creature manages to escape his prison transport, steal a spacecraft and uncontrollably leap into hyper-drive, thus eluding his pursuers. 626 then ends up headed toward Earth where he lands in Hawaii. Accordingly, The Grand Councilwoman orders her assistant, Pleakley (voice of KEVIN McDONALD) - whose knowledge of Earth is limited to the fact that it's a restoration habitat for mosquitoes and that humans are not to be harmed because they're part of the food chain - to assist Jumba in retrieving 626.

Meanwhile on Earth, another little troublemaker is creating havoc, but this time around it's Lilo (voice of DAVEIGH CHASE) a young outcast who's being raised by her older sister Nani (voice of TIA CARRERE) after the untimely deaths of their parents. Pressured by social worker Cobra Bubbles (voice of VING RHAMES) to prove that Lilo is getting the best care possible, Nani tries to do that, but the little girl continually makes things difficult for her.

After crash-landing on the island and being captured by animal control, 626 realizes he must change his appearance so as to look less menacing, although he still scares the other dogs in the pound. It's there that Lilo adopts and names the extraterrestrial "Stitch." As the creature tries to maintain a low profile and avoid being detected by Pleakley and Jumba, he still manages to hang out with Nani's friend, David (voice of JASON SCOTT LEE), while also creating his own form of havoc.

That eventually endangers Nani's efforts to keep Lilo with her. From that point on and as Captain Gantu is sent in to assist in capturing him, Stitch finds himself feeling as if he has a family for the first time and does what he must to preserve it.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
It's a good bet many young kids will want to see it once they've seen advertisements and/or heard about it.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG
For mild sci-fi action.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
It's debatable whether kids view animated characters (particularly nonhuman ones) as role models, but here's a quick look at the characters' major characteristics.
  • LILO is a young outcast who has no friends and often butts heads with her older sister. She bonds, however, with Stitch.
  • STITCH is the genetic experiment gone awry, a creature designed to destroy everything that eventually develops a soft spot for Lilo and the nicer things in life.
  • NANI is Lilo's older sister who tries her best to raise the girl and prevent child protection services from removing her.
  • JUMBA JOOKIBA is the somewhat mad scientist who invented 626 and is then sent to retrieve him.
  • PLEAKLEY is the bumbling and somewhat skittish alien assigned by the Grand Councilwoman to assist Jumba in retrieving Stitch.
  • COBRA BUBBLES is the no-nonsense social worker assigned to investigate Lilo's living conditions, lifestyle and overall well-being.
  • GRAND COUNCILWOMAN is a leader of the aliens who sends Pleakley and Jumba to retrieve 626.
  • DAVID is a friend of Nani's who hangs out with her and the others and helps her find a job.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    The following is a quick look at the content found in this animated sci-fi film that's been rated PG. Sci-fi related violence includes ships and people firing at each other with laser guns (causing some damage but no permanent/serious injuries), and some characters are hit or knocked around by others or objects.

    Some of that material and some other moments could be unsettling, suspenseful and/or scary to some younger kids, but that depends on their age, level of maturity and tolerance for/previous exposure to such material. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, a few colorful phrases are uttered and some imitative behavior is present.

    A few kid-based gross out moments are also present, some tense family material involves a young woman trying to raise her younger sister some time after their parents were killed (before the story starts), and some of the animated women are seen in somewhat revealing swim attire.

    If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.


    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • Some miscellaneous people appear to have tropical drinks, but there's no indication of whether they're alcoholic or not.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • Stitch says something so revolting (in another galactic language) that causes robots to vomit up pieces of metal.
  • Stitch sticks his tongue into his own nose, pulls something out with it, and then eats it.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Jumba lies about creating 626.
  • Lilo grabs, jumps on and punches another little girl (after the girl tells Lilo she's crazy), and seems to have a bad attitude about many things (due to her parents being dead and no one liking her).
  • Other girls don't seem to like Lilo.
  • Some viewers might not like Lilo reading a book called Practical Voodoo and stating that her "friends" need to be punished.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • As is the case with many animated films, the following material may or may not be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to some younger kids, while older ones will probably have less of a problem (or none at all) with it.
  • Stitch's initial appearance (a small monster with sharp teeth and wild eyes) might be unsettling and maybe even scary to very young kids, which also holds true for scenes listed under "Violence."
  • Scientists take a blood sample from Stitch by putting a needle in his neck (nothing graphic, but it might be disturbing to some kids).
  • Despite his last name, Mr. Bubbles and his large, no-nonsense persona could be intimidating to some younger viewers and kids might be upset when he takes Lilo away.
  • Stitch, who can't swim, ends up sinking underwater (and kids might worry about him), but David saves him.
  • A laser gun appears to be jammed and ready to explode.
  • Stitch and the others' attempts to rescue Lilo from Gantu's ship (with some resultant action scenes) might be suspenseful to some younger viewers.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Various laser guns: Used to threaten or shoot at various characters or ships.
  • Explosive: Explodes and knocks down Jumba.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Crazy head," "Stupid head" and "You're such a pain."
  • Some kids might want to imitate some of Lilo's behavior (a defiant/smart aleck attitude, etc.) and/or Stitch's actions and behavior (the sound of his voice, etc.).
  • Stitch spits at Gantu.
  • Lilo grabs, jumps on and punches another little girl (after the girl tells Lilo she's crazy).
  • Nani (Lilo's older teenage sister) wears a midriff-revealing top.
  • During a performance, David shoots fire from his mouth (using a flaming torch).
  • Stitch belches and crushes a can on his head.
  • Stitch turns around and waves his rear at Gantu.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • A heavy amount of suspenseful, dramatic and adventure music plays in the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • None.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Nani wears a bikini top while working as an island waitress.
  • Lilo tells David that Nani likes "your butt and fancy hair."
  • We see a female lifeguard in a Baywatch type outfit (high cut on the bottom).
  • Nani wears a bikini and we see part of her bare rear while she wears that.
  • SMOKING
  • None.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • We see that Nani is raising Lilo by herself and is trying to prove to a social worker that she can do that. We later hear that their parents were killed and see that the two sisters occasionally have a tough time getting along (Lilo even states, "We're a broken family, aren't we?").
  • Nani is upset when Bubbles takes Lilo away.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Being an outsider that others don't seem to like.
  • The film's message that nobody gets left behind and that family ("ohana") is important.
  • Lilo tells Stitch about some time in the past when it was raining and her parents went for a drive (and were involved in a fatal car accident - not seen).
  • How Stitch proves others' pre-conceived notions about him as being wrong.
  • VIOLENCE
  • After Stitch bites his finger, Gantu holds his laser gun on the creature.
  • Realizing laser guns are trained on his genetic material, Stitch spits at a guy to make the lasers shoot at him (and they blow a hole in the wall). The guns then fire at Stitch, as do several guards, but he manages to escape.
  • Various ships fire on Stitch's ship as he tries to elude them. He then fires back at them as he flies through them and they hit his ship, but he then escapes.
  • Lilo grabs, jumps on and punches another little girl (after the girl tells Lilo she's crazy). The girl also claims Lilo bit her, but we don't see that.
  • Nani kicks a car's bumper.
  • A truck accidentally drives over Stitch (the tires run over his body, but he's okay).
  • A character shoots at Stitch.
  • Pleakley blocks Jumba's shot at Stitch to protect Lilo.
  • Jumba grabs Pleakley with his hand around his neck, fires his weapon, and then occasionally throws him around.
  • Stitch knocks a girl off her bike so that he and Lilo can escape.
  • Stitch throws a volleyball and hits a guy on the head.
  • Stitch bites Jumba's arm (prompting Jumba to punch him) and then briefly swallows Pleakley's head.
  • Stitch knocks over a table.
  • Stitch creates a scale model of San Francisco and then smashes through it like a giant, sci-fi movie monster would.
  • Stitch throws a book that hits Bubbles in the face.
  • Jumba grabs Stitch while surfing, resulting in Stitch sinking underwater (he can't swim, but David saves him). During the struggling, Stitch causes Jumba and Pleakley to fly up through the air and then land back in the water.
  • Jumba fires some sort of laser gun at Stitch who catches one of the blasts and then throws it back at Jumba, hitting him in the face.
  • Some sort of explosive explodes and knocks Jumba down.
  • Jumba throws plates at Stitch causing him to fall to the floor. Lilo then hits someone with a broom and Stitch picks up Jumba and throws him out the window. Stitch then picks up a VW Bug (saying "punch buggy") and uses it to hit Jumba and smash some of the house (that we then see is a total wreck).
  • A laser gun appears to be jammed and ready to explode and we then see that it destroyed Nani's house.
  • Nani hits Stitch with a branch and Jumba then smashes him into a tree while capturing him (he then has his foot on him).
  • A spaceship fires at another spaceship, eventually hitting it, while the first ship bangs into some things.
  • Gantu then aims his engines at Stitch in an attempt to burn/incinerate him and then fires upon Stitch on the ground.
  • Gantu then tries to smash Stitch after he's shot up through the air from a burning tanker truck.
  • A spaceship explodes (but no one is harmed).



  • Reviewed June 15, 2002 / Posted June 21, 2002

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