Cute story, great characters, fabulous soundtrack.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
some
Lots of non-lethal cartoon action. On a distant planet, aliens/monsters are always ready to do battle: There are explosions, falls, armed conflict in space, shooting with lasers, stabbing with a needle, creatures held in glass cages, and an unintentional capture and imprisonment of a little girl. On Earth, a child punches and bites a classmate (but apologizes immediately after), a house blows up and falls apart, there's gunfire (by alien lasers), characters are dragged underwater, and there are frequent appearances by a destructive little monster with gnashing teeth and vicious behavior. The main characters' parents died in a car accident (a fact that is referenced once).
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David, Nani's coworker, is smitten with Nani and asks her out a few times. He's respectful and supportive of their friendship when she says no, even though she's also interested in him.
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Family ties can be formed under the most strained and difficult situations and can unite even angry, desperate, and otherwise abandoned people (and creatures). Trauma and grief, as well as resilience, are at the center of this film. A close, loving family is a source of great strength, and caring about others is a way to experience true happiness.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Lilo and her sister Nani are portrayed as strong and resilient, as well as capable of great mischief. Key characters, including Lilo, learn to channel aggression and anger in productive ways.
Diverse Representations
a lot
Lilo and her sister Nani are both Native Hawaiians. Nani and David are both voiced by Hawaiian actors -- Tia Carrere, who is multiracial, and Jason Scott Lee, who has Native Hawaiian ancestry -- who helped shape the script to better reflect their experiences. Unlike many young female cartoon characters, Nani is drawn with a healthy body weight and proportions. The only Black character, social worker Cobra Bubbles, is slightly villainized: Concerned about Nani's ability to care for her sister, he threatens to remove Lilo from her custody. A non-traditional family unit eventually proves to be safe, secure, and loving.
Parents need to know that some action elements of Lilo & Stitch (including laser battles, gunfire, characters being captured and held hostage, and explosions) -- as well as the more bizarre-looking monsters -- could be scary for young kids. Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders), a small but powerful intergalactic creature, is destructive and angry; he bares his sharp teeth and angry attitude frequently, causing chaos and mayhem wherever he goes. As in many Disney stories, Lilo (Daveigh Chase) and her sister Nani (Tia Carrere) are orphans, grieving and struggling to adapt to life without their parents, though the circumstance of their parents' death (a car accident) is referenced only once. In a break from Disney tradition, there are no unredeemable villains: everyone ultimately learns important life lessons, including the heroes, who are far from perfect when the movie begins. Characters demonstrate compassion, courage, and perseverance. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
Watched it as a kid once and couldn’t remember it... wow.
I was very disappointed. I have a pretty sensitive 4 year old that I am careful what I show him as his active imagination and sensitive soul gets troubled easily. I knew I had watched Lilo and Stich years ago and thought the characters were cute, so when a family friend wanted to watch a movie together we let her pick this. Big mistake. Within the first couple minutes my kid was whimpering. I kept fast forwarding intense parts and assuring him a cute little girl was coming up (I honestly couldn’t remember the movie mat all except the characters). I was so surprised when the little girl totally acted out, the sister acted inappropriately, the little alien acted sinister and the overall attitude was a lot darker then I remember. We kept fast forwarding trying to get to better parts but about a third of the way in we gave up. My poor kid was stiff as a board and frightened. I had to pick what age group this was appropriate for, so I picked what age we could actually have a good conversation about their behavior, but to be honest I will 100% skip this at any age. The bad attitudes (even though somewhat relatable with family trauma) are not anything I want my kids to see and internalize. Something else bothers me... Stitch himself is supposed to be cute, but really he does seem more... sinister. Though I know they are redeemable and at the end there is a positive message, I just couldn’t handle the trip there. It lacked too much. And in the end I didn’t like the characters enough to keep putting my kid through that.
My thoughts and opinions run parallel to the other negative reviews on here. Too violent, too sad, too scary. By the last third of the movie my 5 year old was hiding her eyes wailing she didn't want to watch it any more. We ended up watching the last half hour in fast forward, where the final 10 minutes were (the ONLY) cheerful part of the movie. It's very ironic to me that disney has convinced so many people that it's movies are for children. I cant think of a single one that doesn't involve death and monsters. I wish there was a happy medium between saccharine "Winnie the pooh" and frothing beasts and crying orphans. It's tough to find movies for 5 year olds. Oh, and as an added bonus my child is afraid of aliens now, where 2 hours ago she wasn't.
What's the Story?
LILO & STITCH opens on a far-away planet with all kinds of monstrous-looking creatures. One of them, a scientist, has been experimenting with genetics and has created an indestructible destruction machine called 626 that takes the form of a mischievous-looking little blue guy. The scientist is thrown in jail, but the experiment escapes and races off to a planet they refer to as "E-Arth." So, the scientist and an Earth expert are sent after him to capture him with as little damage as possible. 626 lands in Hawaii and disguises himself as a dog, getting adopted by a little girl named Lilo who's grieving the loss of her parents. She names him Stitch and teaches him that even a creature designed to destroy can learn to create and love.
A cute story, endearing characters, a sensational soundtrack of Elvis classics, and glorious hand-painted animation make this Disney film a winner. At its heart, Lilo & Stitch is just an old-fashioned story of a child and a pet. But this isn't the usual movie child, and it's definitely not the usual pet. The Hawaiian location and gorgeous visuals give it a fresh feeling. And instead of the usual waifish Disney heroine who's waiting to be saved, there's Nani, Lilo's older sister, who's struggling to grow up quickly so that she can care for Lilo the way her parents did.
Lilo is irresistibly adorable, and her relationship with her sister is a believable mixture of affection, resentment, and connection. Both are deeply affected by the loss of their parents, and their behavior and how they treat the people around them reflects the trauma and grief they're enduring. Ving Rhames adds just the right note of wry authority to his role as Cobra Bubbles, the social worker with a surprising past, and Jason Scott Lee is fine as Nani's friend who would like to be more.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how family is defined in Lilo & Stitch. As Lilo puts it: "No one gets left behind or forgotten." What does family mean to you?
Is this movie scarier than other Disney movies (or other cartoon movies in general)? Why, or why not?
Why didn't Stitch stay the destructive monster he was designed to be? Did anything surprise you in the scenes at the end that showed what happened to Lilo and Stitch and Nani?
How does Lilo show compassion to Stitch and her sister despite her behavior at the beginning of the movie?
How does Nani demonstrate courage and perseverance as she tries to keep her family together?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
