Cartoon Lilo & Stitch (2002) from Disney studios. Somehow in my childhood I missed it. Probably because in my childhood it was not there yet. Yes, that’s right! When he came out, I was definitely over the age of a child. And then I was more interested in girls, music and alcohol. And, of course, Elvis. My interests haven’t changed much after many years, but recently I checked out this cartoon and was extremely pleased. An island in Hawaii and such a kawaii Stitch. On the one hand it’s a comedy, on the other a drama. The jokes are very subtle, absolutely without vulgarity, and the drama is really real, deep – about family, friendship and responsibility.
The plot is of course cliched and predictable. But the direction, script, animation, music and songs all together make this cartoon as we know it – just great. There are excellent dialogues, all the episodes are thought out, there is nothing superfluous.
- I'll put you in a meat grinder, make minced meat and feed it to this children's inspector, and when he says, mmm, how delicious, what a seasoning, I'll say ... - love and care!
These are all wonderful animators Chris Sanders and Dean Deblois – they are both screenwriters and both directors. Previously, they worked together on the script of the cartoon “Mulan” (1998), based on Chinese mythology. The same multipliers were used in Lilo &Stitch as in Mulan, for a reason one of the shops in the town is called MULAN WOK.
Lilo is an unhappy and lonely child, her parents died, no one understands her, she has no friends. The older sister is trying to replace her parents, but she is not doing well. Their relationship is so difficult. Both sisters are screaming into the pillow after a quarrel. This is such a “defective” family. Lilo’s emotions are conveyed very well.
"That bastard! It seems like it's already bursting!..
Of course it’s a Stitch – it’s such a charming monster. Even with Gremlins, it became clear that cute monsters can be cool protagonists, idols of children and adults. Stitch also appears in the form of Elvis, who also quickly mastered the guitar passages of Grady Martin and James Burton.
Lilo &Stitch Soundtrack
There are many Elvis songs in the cartoon: Heartbreak Hotel, Stuck On You, Devil in Disguise, Hound Dog, Suspicious Minds – and they are all present in the soundtrack. So we can say that Lilo &Stitch is another Elvis movie. The music was written by Alan Silvestri, several tracks were included in the OST, the rest of the music (Score) is quite easy to find.
02 Elvis Presley – Stuck On You
03 Wynonna – Burning Love
04 Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds
05 Elvis Presley – Heartbreak Hotel
06 Elvis Presley – Devil In Disguise
07 Mark Keali’i Ho’omalu, The Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus – He Mele No Lilo
08 Elvis Presley – Hound Dog
09 A*Teens – Can’t Help Falling In Love
10 Alan Silvestri – Stitch To The Rescue (Score)
11 Alan Silvestri – You Can Never Belong (Score)
12 Alan Silvestri – I’m Lost (Score)
One of the most beautiful episodes is surfing to Hawaiian music (Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride) – riding on boards, which should comfort and bring peace. A heartfelt moment when Nani and Lilo are sitting in a hammock and talking.
“Ohana means family, and no one in the family will ever be abandoned or forgotten.”
The surname of the black social worker Bubbles was translated as a Butterfly, well, okay, this is normal and consonant. The Butterfly Cobra resembles Marcellus Wallace from Pulp Fiction. He speaks in concise and beautiful phrases:
“so far you have been drifting in the serene harbor of my patience”
“And this creature should behave like an exemplary citizen, did you get it?”
I really like drawing characters. Everything is so warm, tube, analog, with rounded edges. Everything is drawn with great love. Lilo and Nani are not fucking written beauties, but just cute, lively girls. A lot of details have been transferred, which actually makes the characters so lively and touching. Well, for example, take even the way Stitch eats bugs from his nose.
The cartoon ends with a traditional Disney video sequence in the spirit of “peace-friendship-chewing gum” under the magnificent version of Burning Love from Winona Judd. Winona is not a black woman, although I thought so. This is the white lady. That’s Rock-n-roll, baby.
Everything is good in Lilo & Stitch. Even the final song in the credits – Elvis pops from the Swedish A*teens listens pleasantly. Perhaps in another movie it would be inappropriate, but in a children’s cartoon it is quite appropriate.
All Hawaiian music was performed and recorded under the direction of Mark Keali’i Ho’omalu. He has also worked as a consultant and musician for Hawaiian Hula dances. All movements were performed by live dancers and then rendered from video recordings.
In the original version, in one of the episodes, Stitch hijacks a Boeing (in the cartoon he hijacks a fuel tank), but after the events of September 11, this episode was cut, although I would love to watch the original version.
The main alien for some reason reminds me of the first lady of the USA. All her habits are like that. In general, all the habits of all first ladies are about the same. I think they are all given pre-defined instructions: First Lady for Dummies.
Stitch is of course super-charming, and this could not help but attract the attention of the Japanese, who love “such funny Pokemon.” True, the elevation of the film to the rank of a franchise has completely ruined all the original charm of the characters, has become boring and mundane.
"He stole a patrol cruiser." - Yes, it's also red!..
Disney turns out something masterpiece from time to time, as in the case of Roger Rabbit. In addition, Lilo &Stitch is one of the last hand-drawn cartoons of the studio, there are relatively few 3D computer graphics here. True, excessive commercialization and the pursuit of earnings resulted in lower-quality sequels, which, if you look, you can certainly lose your fascination with these characters. Therefore, if you have watched only the original Lilo & Stitch, please do not continue. Stop at it and enjoy watching it again surrounded by your children and loved ones.
Oh, Disney! Allow me, allow me… I won’t be long, I’ll try to be brief…
It’s quite unusual to admit the fact that while working on this cartoon, Disney almost didn’t put a stick in the creators’ wheels – Sanders and DeBlois have been working at this studio for a long time (and, as far as I know, they are still there), and, apparently, they have earned a certain amount of trust. Which, in principle, is not surprising: a quick glance at their filmography makes it clear that these guys are typical corporate pawns, and apart from Lilo And Stitch, none of their creations deserve attention – except, perhaps, How to Train Your Dragon, which was made under the banner of another studio. But apart from him, none. And don’t even try to say something about the Lion King – it’s the most overrated cartoon I’ve ever seen in my life.
Returning to Lilo and Stitch, it’s worth mentioning that there was some censorship. The most famous moment, which can now be found on the Internet, is the last spaceship chase, which has been redone from beginning to end. In the original, the antagonist’s spaceship was chased by the heroes on a Boeing – and they chased through the city, hitting a couple of buildings along the way, if my memory serves me right. Not much, but… in general, even Disney can’t really be blamed here – airplanes flying too close to buildings are still too painful a topic for US citizens. And in 2002…
In general, the cartoon is really good. The first sequel turned out to be so-so, and it would seem that everything was supposed to follow the well-trodden path of the franchise convention. But suddenly, the series turned out to be quite watchable – especially in the original voice acting, since in the Russian dubbing, half of the actors were lost between the first and second seasons, who were replaced by completely unsuitable roles. And the full-fledged sequel that followed the series with the number 2 was almost in no way inferior to the original film, having a particularly memorable and very emotional ending.
But it was only a hitch for a couple of years – and, clearly feeling that they had forgotten to add tar to this barrel of honey for a very long time, Disney more than compensated for this blunder by releasing another film (which, according to all the canons of the genre, was depressing to the point of outrage), and then… by simply selling everything to the Japanese, who began to saw something completely their own, completely ignoring the old characters of the characters and the lines of behavior prescribed for them, Elvis and so on.
And, perhaps, there is nothing more unpleasant when someone’s skin, which you already love very much, is stretched over a completely different person. No, seriously, Disney clearly realized how phenomenal this cartoon is, and therefore they finished it off in the most brutal way – I don’t see any other reason for the fact that Mickey Mouse suddenly gave someone the rights to his cartoon. I can’t think of any other time that Disney has given someone the rights to something – it’s so rare!
To sum up, the only mystery remains how such a standard cartoon, produced by absolutely mediocre people, was suddenly left without princesses and other branded cliches a la Disney. This is probably the only case in which I won’t be able to point a finger at the clear culprit of success. And, in general, I used to consider this cartoon an accident, a statistical error that should not even exist. Which is a pity, actually, because he’s really good.