Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 animated movie, released by Walt Disney Pictures and produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. on June 21, 2002. The 41st animated movie in the Disney animated features canon, it was written by and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. It was the second of three Disney animated movies produced mainly at the Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida studio in Walt Disney World's Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida. The movie was rated PG for "mild sci-fi action". Lilo & Stitch was nominated for the 2002 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, which went to Hayao Miyazaki's movie, Spirited Away which also was released by Walt Disney Pictures and starred Daveigh Chase (in the English version).
The movie was so popular that it started a franchise. A direct-to-video sequel, Stitch! The Movie, was made. It launched a television series, Lilo & Stitch: The Series, and a second direct-to-video sequel, Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, was released in August 2005. A third and final television sequel, Leroy & Stitch, was released in June 2006 and ended the TV series. Another television series, an anime called Stitch!, aired in Japan from 2008 to 2011, later gaining two post-series specials in 2012 and 2015. A third TV series, a Chinese animated series called Stitch & Ai, began airing in 2017. Both the later two series took out Lilo as a main character, separating Stitch from her and putting him into different countries on Earth where he makes new friends with other human girls and becomes part of their families.
The movie was released on VHS and DVD on December 3, 2002. In 2003, a 2-disc DVD version was announced to come out along with Alice in Wonderland and Pocahontas, which were released in 2004 and 2005. A 2-Disc Special Edition DVD of Lilo & Stitch was released in the UK on August 22, 2005, along with the UK release of Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, but a release in the US was affected by many delays. On March 24, 2009, Disney finally released the special edition DVD, which is called a 2-Disc "Big Wave Edition". This new DVD has everything that the original DVD had and adds an audio commentary, a 2-hour documentary, more deleted scenes, a number of behind-the-scenes featurettes, and some games. The original DVD is no longer available, with the new one having the same list price.
Plot
An evil Dino-Bull-like Alien scientist named Dr. Jumba Jookiba creates "Experiment 626", a Koala-like Doguin-creature built to cause chaos and destruction. This is against the law of his planet, and he is arrested. 626 escapes the planet, flying a spaceship to Earth.
On Earth, a little human girl named Lilo adopts 626 (thinking he is a dog) and names him "Stitch". Lilo lives in Hawaii, a series of islands in the United States of America. Lilo's mother and father have died in a car crash, so her older sister Nani takes care of her.
Stitch at first uses Lilo to avoid being captured by the alien officials, but the they become friends when Lilo teaches Stitch how to be good. She uses music by Elvis Presley in her lessons. Stitch also learns a new phrase: "'Ohana" means family. Family means nobody gets left behind, or forgotten." Because of this, Stitch decides to go against his original purpose in order to keep his family together. The alien officials manages to find Stitch on Earth and prepare take him away, but they decide to let Stitch stay with Lilo in Hawaii after she explains that she legally purchased Stitch. Jumba and Pleakley become members of Nani, Lilo, and Stitch's family, and the movie ends with various footage and pictures of Stitch and his new family's life together.
Cast
Daveigh Chase as Lilo Pelekai
Chris Sanders as Stitch, a blue koala/Goanna/Fossa/Wolfdog/Rabbit/Donkey/Butterfly-like hybrid Doguin-monster with the ability to create untold chaos. Paul Winchell as Stitch (howling) Tia Carrere as Nani Pelekai David Ogden Stiers as Dr. Jumba Jookiba, a purple Minotaur/Bear/Hippopotamus/lion/warthog/Rhinoceros-like Bull-alien. Kevin McDonald as Agent Pleakley a Cyclopes/Dragon-like alien. Ving Rhames as Cobra Bubbles Zoe Caldwell as Grand Councilwoman a Old Witch-like alien Jason Scott Lee as David Kawena Kevin Michael Richardson as Captain Gantu, a grey-blue shark-like alien. Susan Hegarty as Rescue Lady Hans Zimmer as Male Officer