Lilo and Stitch 2 Disc Movie Collection Blu-ray Review
“Lilo and Stitch” is one of the last memorable non-Pixar Disney animated films.
“Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch” is a so-so sequel.
In “Lilo and Stitch,” an alleged evil scientist named Jumba (who was doing illegal genetic experimentations) on Planet Turo created a creature known as experiment 626. This being was small, fast, smart, powerful, and virtually indestructible. For his crimes, Jumba was sent to prison while the creature was to be banished to an asteroid. As you can probably guess, the creature escapes and winds up on Earth (specifically Hawaii). As a result of this fiasco, Jumba and an Earth expert (Pleakley) are sent to capture the creature. Enter Lilo, an eccentric, troublemaker little human girl who lives with her big sister/mother figure (Nani). With the death of their parents, Lilo and Nani are struggling to get by especially as a social worker (Mr. Bubbles) breathes down their neck and threatens to separate them. On top of that, the friendless and frustrated Lilo is in dire need of a friend who understands her. In a convenient bit of writing, Lilo finds her friend at an animal shelter when she and Nani adopt the strange fugitive creature (who tries to disguise himself as a dog of sorts in order to evade Jumba and Pleakley). The creature (AKA Stitch) is a nightmarish pet at first, but he soon begisn to learn more about humankind, good behavior, and, more importantly, family. Along the way, there are other minor subplots involving Nani trying to find a job, the mysterious Mr. Bubbles, Nani’s love interest (David), and Planet Turo officials.
In the sequel (“Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch”), the plot involves Stitch acting oddly due to a interruption of his molecule charge prior to the events of the first film. The only one that can save Stitch is Jumba who has to create the highly technologically advanced device with Earthly materials. Mixed in with this storyline are key subplots involving Lilo and Stitch’s strained relationship and a hula competition that Lilo enters.
2002’s “Lilo and Stitch” (along with “Treasure Planet” in the same year) were arguably the last of the GOOD traditional non-Pixar Disney animated films. Now, make no mistake about it, ‘Lilo’ is by no means a flawless Disney classic. The screenplay is fundamentally flawed with plenty of frustrating gaping plot holes that make you want to yell at the screen. Among the questions- Why would Lilo act up in front of the social worker? Why would the Turo officials send an untrustworthy “evil” scientist to Earth to find his dangerous experiment? How did no one in Hawaii notice that there are aliens spaceships around? Why would Lilo’s sister leave Lilo at home alone with the troublemaking Stitch when she’s on the cusp of losing her? It’s questions like these that complicate an otherwise charming movie filled with interesting human and alien characters (most notably the spazzy lovable Stitch) and important themes about family
While “Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has A Glitch” is better than a lot of made for DVD sequels, it suffers from sequelitis. The movie repeats a lot of the same gags, same family problems, same songs, similar montages, and more aggravating problems. In this case, Jumba strangely tells no one that Stitch is malfunctioning. Wouldn’t it be helpful for people (and especially Stitch) to know this rather crucial information?
On the plus side, it’s nice to check back in with these characters again. Stitch, in particular, is actually more amusing here in some points as he has some really great dialogue. The only thing that I really felt was missing here (aside from a more in depth story) was the character of Mr. Bubbles. By the end of the first film, it was shown that Mr. Bubbles essentially became a friend of the family. In this sequel, he is nowhere to be seen.
Video/Audio:
“Lilo and Stitch” is presented in 1.66:1 1080p while the sequel is presented in 1.78:1 1080p. Once again, Disney does not disappoint with the transfers of their catalogue titles. The colors are so much more vibrant in hi-def and the animation work is so much more detailed in 1080p. Also, unlike some made for DVD sequels (like “The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2”), the ‘Lilo’ sequel has fairly high quality animation. Granted, it’s not as impressive looking as the first film, but you shouldn’t expect it to be since the budgets greatly differ.
The 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio tracks work their magic as both ‘Lilo’ films are filled with fast talking dialogue, music, and sci-fi sound f/x.
Note: The extras are only available on the DVDs and not the Blu-rays:
* Disney trailers and theatrical teaser trailers for “Lilo and Stitch.”
* “Your Ohana” and “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” music videos.
* “Lilo and Stitch Island Adventures Games” and “Create Your Own Alien Experiment Game.”
* “Disneypedia: Hawaii- The Islands Of Aloha”- Information about the islands of Hawaii.
* “Animating The Hula”- A short featurette about the creation of the hula sequences.
* “Hula Lesson”- An instructor talks about the art of hula and teaches how to hula to a class.
* “Burning Love”- Behind The Scenes With Wynonna”- Footage of singer Wynonna recording and talking about the Elvis song “Burning Love”
* “A Stitch In Time: Follow Stitch Through The Disney Years”- A silly extra that pretends Stitch appeared in or was deleted from past Disney animated features.
* Commentary by Clark Spencer,Chris Sanders, and Dean DeBlois. While there are some truly interesting facts about previous drafts of the script, this is a rather monotone track.
* A music video for “Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride.”
* “The Origin Of Stitch”- An animated short in which Stitch learns more about himself on Jambaa’s ship.
* Two additional games titled “Where’s Pleakley?” and “Jumba’s Experiment Profiler.”
Summary: “Lilo and Stitch” and Disney fans will fall head over heels in love with this 2 disc collection.
No comments yet.
Share This Blog
Robert Ham
dmanderson
Andrea
nicklyons1
DVD Corner 
Leave a comment