“Lilo and Stitch,” directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, is a 2002 Disney animated film about sisters Lilo (Daveigh Chase) and Nani (Tia Carrere) who are orphaned after the sudden death of their parents. So that Lilo won’t feel as lonely, Nani takes her sister to a shelter, where they adopt what they think is a dog named Stitch (Chris Sanders), but is actually a genetically mutated fugitive alien. While Nani is trying to prove to social worker Cobra Bubbles (Ving Rhames) that she is a capable guardian, Stitch is trying to evade capture from Agent Pleakley (Kevin McDonald) and Dr. Jumba (David Ogden Stiers). While on paper those two plotlines seem like an odd combination, they actually work extremely well together to convey the film’s main theme: family.
As an added bonus, the film has surprisingly good representation of Indigenous Hawaiian people. Lilo and Nani are both Native Hawaiian and they are not characterized with harmful stereotypes and instead subvert some of them. When Lilo is first introduced, she stops on her way to her hula class to take pictures of white tourists. While it is not stated in the film, Lilo does this because oftentimes Native Hawaiians are exoticized and treated as commodities by white tourists and Lilo is taking a little bit of that power back by flipping the narrative. Nani does something similar when she is fired from her waitressing job, saying, “Who wants to work at this stupid fakey luau anyway?” Oftentimes tourist trap restaurants in Hawaii sensationalize and appropriate elements of Hawaiian culture, such as luaus, which are traditional parties and feasts. The most meaningful addition to the film was Nani sing ing“Aloha ‘Oe,” the song written circa 1878 by Queen Lili’uokalani as Hawaii was being annexed by the Americans. In the film, Nani sings it to Lilo the night before Lilo is going to be put into foster care. She is being forced to say goodbye to her sister, just as Queen Lili’uokalani was forced to say goodbye to her kingdom.
The whole theme of family in the film is extremely powerful, with the concept of “ohana means family” being repeated multiple times. Lilo and Nani spend the whole film trying to keep their small family together. They add Stitch to the family, who by the end becomes the unexpected thing that will stitch the family back together. At first, Stitch tears the family apart with his destructive shenanigans, but once he realizes that what he’s doing is causing pain to his loved ones, he makes an effort to fix the situation.
Stitch was a genetic experiment designed to only be a force of destruction. However, when he lands on Earth and is adopted by Lilo, he slowly learns what it means to love and be loved. Together, Lilo and Stitch form an amazing bond.
Lilo and Nani’s relationship is also incredible. Nani does everything she can to be the caretaker Lilo needs, maturing above her age and sacrificing social activities to be there for her sister. Despite her flaws, she tries very hard to keep custody of Lilo. Lilo is seen as a social outcast because she has different interests from the other girls her age and Nani is the only person who is there to comfort her. When Cobra Bubbles takes Lilo away, Nani argues that this will only damage her sister more because she is the only one who truly understands her.By the end of the film, the family is reuinted and grows, adding Stitch, Pleakley and Jumba to their non-traditional family.
Overall, “Lilo and Stitch” is an incredible and beautiful film that is able to weave wacky alien hijinks into an emotional story about two grieving sisters in a way that doesn’t distract from either. It is incredible that this film’s main characters are two Native Hawaiian girls and they are written as well-rounded characters and not stereotypes. Also, Stitch is adorable.