*** "LILO AND STITCH" Discussion Thread (3 Viewers)

[felix_suwarno]

i wont judge the movie before i see it. but most disney animation movies were too formulaic. no parents for the main characters is one. predictable ending is another.

the only one that was surprisingly different was emperor's new groove.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Miyamoto's not aiming for adults, he's aiming for a quality game.

Disney goes out of their way to make a movie child-friendly and more often than not dumbs it down in the process.

Porn movies are all aimed at adults. Not all animated movies are aimed at children. The analogy doesn't work.

My point was that Disney tries to hard to make movies child-friendly and it hinders my enjoyment of the film. They will stick in things that only children would find funny or will change something around so that children will like it. Adults just ignore these things and look at them as things that Disney needed to put in there. I look at them as distractions.

Back to the original topic, Lilo and Stitch felt too much like Disney didn't fully realize what they wanted to do. Overall, it's good, but the problems with the storyline and Stitch's character development, along with the fact that I couldn't like the characters are what made the movie a 2/5.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

Just got done watching Lilo and Stitch. I like it, but Disney is still going down the tubes. And it looks like Treasure Planet ain't going to help it either.

- Naturally, Stich commands every scene he's in. I watched this with a friend of mine (I'm 21, he's about 27, both with the maturity of 10 year olds) and found his antics to be hilarious. Unfortunately, he still comes off as a disappointment.

- I was expecting this film to be a spoof of other Disney films, but alas, I was disappointed. What was the whole point with the trailers and commericials involving characters from other Disney films?
I couldn't stand Lilo, end of story. She's way too unsympathetic. Her lack of maturity bugs the living s**t out of me. Of course, having said that, you wonder, "Wait a minute, you only have the maturity of a ten-year old". Well, I have my mature moments. Lilo has only one moment of maturity. Other times, she was a whiny little brat.
Overall, this film was funny, but it lacked the hilarity I was expecting.

 

[felix_suwarno]

"My point was that Disney tries to hard to make movies child-friendly and it hinders my enjoyment of the film. They will stick in things that only children would find funny or will change something around so that children will like it. Adults just ignore these things and look at them as things that Disney needed to put in there. I look at them as distractions. "

i told you that the movie was not for adults, not for you. if you dont like it, then it is natural. i dont drink beer, would you make me a judge in a beer making contest?

the point is, it is very unfair for people who is clearly not the target audience of the movie to judge the movie. if you were a ten year old, and dont like the movie, it makes sense to me.

it is true that celda was not made especially for kids, but how many people care? once they see how it looks like, their conclusion = "okay, this is for kids". compare it to "grave of the fireflies". the first five minutes were clear enough, this movie is not for kids. they really need to put this label on the package : "this game is not for kids even though it is cartoony" in order to tell people that the game is not for kids.

"Lilo and Stitch felt too much like Disney didn't fully realize what they wanted to do. "

what do you think they want to do? do you know what they want to do?

well i do think that most disney movies were too childish and too predictable, and too formulaic, but those things dont prevent me to enjoy them. simply because i could never forget how it is to be a kid.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

what do you think they want to do? do you know what they want to do?

I don't know what they wanted to do, but something about the movie made me feel like they didn't either.

No offense, but have you seen Lilo and Stitch?

 

[felix_suwarno]

"I can still give my opinion from my perspective. "

ok, i agree with that.

"The whole point of being a good movie is that everyone will like it."

now that i dont agree. nothing would appeal to everyone. that is why life is so interesting. nothing is fixed. star wars is the most popular movie series on the planet, but i dont expect everybody to like the movies.

"No offense, but have you seen Lilo and Stitch? "

i am not offended, morgan. i havent seen the movie. but i dont make it a habit to judge a movie before actually seeing it. thats why i didnt say anything bad about lilo and stitch. i am interested though. i will grab the dvd when it comes out.

thanks for the debate.

 

[Mike boettner]

All that I can say is that lilo's sister is one of the hottest Disney girls to come out in a long time!!!!

Oh, and the movie was "cute" a little bit funny but rather entertaining, so yes, I liked it. And so did my 2 girls.
Mike

 

[Morgan Jolley]

nothing would appeal to everyone

But nobody would go and try to make a movie and aim it at a small crowd. If adults are liking it, then I guess they did aim their film at a wider audience.

Some films that are usually aimed at a more artistic crowd aren't released in theaters nationwide simply because the common man won't get it. Others get small releases because the common man won't care. If a film does get a national release and its still very artsy or dramatic, then its because its not that complex, doesn't use too many big words, and it is made to appeal to the majority of people.

There probably will never be a movie that appeals to everyone, but a studio won't fund a movie that has a limited audience.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Judging by HTF members reviews, you either love this film or dislike it a lot.



Crawdaddy

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Judging by HTF members reviews, you either love this film or dislike it a lot

Crawdaddy, proceed at your own risk. You have been warned.
~Edwin

 

[Robert Crawford]

Not me brother, I'm playing it safe by passing on this one.
Crawdaddy

 

[Sarah Temple]

i personally liked the movie a lot. i have two younger siblings who are actually adopted from Cambodia (near vietnam) and some of the things they mentioned were really hitting home so to speak. if my brother wasnt a fan of destroying everything in his path, i think he could really learn a lot from this movie. i had a hard time believing that four year old kids could really understand what the movie was really trying to say, or at least what i thought it was trying to say. i did think that they did a good job trying to explain a complex and adult issue to small children. overall, i thought the movie was very well done. i did however get annoyed with the two aliens trying to get stitch back to their home planet.

 

[Brook K]

I liked it quite a bit. Lilo was a very convincing character, the relationship with Stitch touching, and the family dynamic was certainly not the usual Disney game. And the film itself was a nice attempt at going lower budget and simplifying things. The animation looked very good, their animators are learning from Studio Ghibli.

And the surfing scene rocked!!

There's a lot of Lilo in my own daughter. Maturity only comes out in certain areas, she loves to dance, draw, paint, play with dolls, and all the usual activites we associate with little girls, but she can also be jealous, selfish, mean, and yes, violent, even with friends. When my daughter first started preschool I was worried about bullies, to my embarrassment, my daughter was the bully!

 

[Randy Tennison]

I finally saw Lilo and Stitch. I enjoyed it. My wife hated it. (and if you are married, you know how hard it is to enjoy a film while your wife sitting right beside you is hating it!)

I enjoyed the realistic relationship of Lilo and her sister. My favorite line was "I like you better as a sister than as a mom"
Stitch was kinda predictible, and not as much fun as I thought he would be. I was kinda expecting a "Genie" type character, who gets into trouble, but is a lot of fun when he does it. Stitch was just bad and destructive, although the San Francisco bit was funny. But then, in true Disney fashion, Stitch sees the error of his ways. And I agree that the ending was very predictible, and yes, very sudden.

My wife hated the film because she thought it was not a Disney film. There were no characters that she felt attached to. A little girl who hits and bites, an alien who destroys things, no true villain, etc.

I feel that this was something new for Disney, but it just didn't quite make it. I admire them for trying, and I will definately buy it on DVD, but more so for keeping my collection complete, rather than watching it 100 times, as I do with most of the other films.

 

[Chuck L]

People keep saying that the film was predictable...can someone point out to me the last Disney movie, or any movie in general that truly was a shock at the end? And please, keep this in the line of general mainstream cinema.

 

[Ross Williams]

I really enjoyed the film. I'm glad to see that Disney is breaking away from their animated movie formula. While not as funny as the Emperor's New Groove, I thought it was better than the rest of their films since the Lion King. (Pixar's don't count.)

No singing, thank you, only that one musical sequence. I thought the main characters were well developed. Lilo was a great little girl, dealing with a very tough childhood. Stitch was funny, I thought his conflicted actions were very appropriate. He was built to destroy large cities, there weren't any, so he wasn't quite sure what to do. Plus he was trying to fit in, while fighting his destructive nature. You have to remember that he was extremely intelligent. I also loved that the people actually looked like people. No Barbie doll women and muscle-builder men. I also liked that there was no out-and-out villian. That Disney staple is growing stale.

While the film is no where near classic status (unlike Iron Giant which explored many of the same themes), it is a great way for kids or kids-at-heart to waste 80 min. While the message of family is pounded in a bit to much at the end, it is a great message, and actually warmed this cynic's heart.

And I have to say that I really loved L&S ad campaign. It was Disney's way of saying that this film is the black-sheep in their family. It never made me think that they were actually going to spoof all their other films in this one.

 

[Matthew_Millheiser]

Ah yes. Lilo and Stitch... hmm...
I'd start of by saying I absolutely adored the character animation on Lilo. Not only an absolutely adorable little girl, but she seemed like a real, breathing character, rather than some two-dimensional caricature given life via 24 fps and a vocal soundtrack. Wonderful!
The character animation on the elder sister (DAMN, was she hot or what?! I'm such a pig...) and the supporting characters were also well done. The watercolor backgrounds were breathtaking.
I really liked the look of this film. I even liked the cartoonish design given to the sci-fi aspects of the film (the starships, "ray-guns", aliens, etc..). A beautiful looking film.
But...
As much as I loved so much of this film, I couldn't care less about the story. There was a sweet and moral message in there, but there were no big laughs (only a few mild chuckles), inconsistent pacing and slow spots, and a terminally uninteresting character in STITCH. Many of the attempts at slapstick were forced and unfunny, especially compared to inspired lunacy of 2000's The Emperor's New Groove.... OK, I did like the running gag with the Farmer Tan Man and his ice cream cone, but that's about it.
Attempts at action and suspense were workmanlike and unmoving. Yeah, I watched a bunch of zippy chase scenes but none of them really registered like they did in, say, Tarzan (a film I didn't care much for) or Atlantis (a film I still believe is criminally underrated).
Now I don't dislike the movie. It's a decent film, but not a classic or even very memorable. Good for children, perhaps a matinee, but doesn't stand up to some other recent and more daring animated movies. I preferred Spirit, but not by that much.

 

[Derek Miner]

Wow, I am amazed at how different people percieve humor in this film. I laughed so hard during Lilo and Stitch that I was covering my mouth to stop from bothering the other people in the theater.

Not as a criticism, but rather out of curiosity, if you didn't think Lilo and Stitch was funny, what is funny to you? Personally, I think the following are funny:

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
The Tick (animated series)
The Simpsons
South Park
The Daily Show
Mr. Show with Bob & David
certain aspects of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Derek-

To tell the truth, we agree on what is funny.

But I didn't find all of L&S funny. Some of the really childish jokes that were stupid and simple for children didn't do it for me, but some other things did.

 

[Matthew_Millheiser]

Derek,
With the exception of Mr. Show, I find everything on your list to be quite funny.
But the humor of Lilo & Stitch just didn't do it for me. I smiled a lot, but didn't really laugh all that much, and when I did it was a mild chuckle rather than a belly guffaw.