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LILO & STITCH 2: STITCH HAS A GLITCH
Review by Ed Nguyen
Voices:
Tia Carrere, Dakota Fanning, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, Chris Sanders
Director: Michael LaBash
Audio: English DTS 5.1 or Dolby Digital 5.1, French, Spanish
Subtitles: English Close-captioning
Video: Color, anamorphic widescreen
Studio: Walt Disney
Features: "The Origin Of Stitch" cartoon, music video, "Where's
Pleakley?" game, Jumba's Experiment Profiler, trailers
Length: 68 minutes
Release Date: August 30, 2005
"There
won't be any trouble! I promise
promise! I triple promise!"
Film
*** ˝
The
traditional animated film is quickly becoming an endangered species in the movie
theaters. Aside from Japanese animé,
the trend towards flashier CG-animation has threatened to banish cel animation
to the dust bins of cinema past. Even
Disney, once the proud practitioner of old school animation, is veering towards
completely CG-animation for its future "animated" offerings.
So,
it is ironic that one of Disney's last, truly successful in-house animated
efforts was the traditional cel-animated film Lilo & Stitch (2002). A
surprisingly sweet and tender tale about family and acceptance (albeit with a
heavy dose of zany space aliens), Lilo
& Stitch won over audiences because it had heart, the one key trait
nearly absent in all CG-animated efforts save for the Pixar films.
Lilo
& Stitch
led to a somewhat inferior, straight-to-video (and out-sourced) sequel, Stitch!
the Movie, followed by a television series. Lilo & Stitch 2:
Stitch Has a Glitch, however, represents an in-house sequel to the original
theatrical film and more importantly a return to form, too.
All the favorite characters are back - sisters Nani and Lilo, the
mischievous "experiment 626" Stitch, mad space scientist Dr. Jumba
Jookiba, and his one eye-balled tag-along, Pleakley.
All the original voice actors are back as well with the exception of
Dakota Fanning as the voice of Lilo (replacing Daveigh Chase).
To
quickly recap the story thus far, in the first film, destructive little Stitch
flees to Earth as a space refugee, crash-landing in Hawaii.
Adopted by orphaned sisters Nani and Lilo, Stitch intrepidly dodges his
comic pursuers Dr. Jumba Jookiba and Agent Pleakley until he eventually
discovers the true value of friendship and family.
Thus enlightened, Stitch transforms into a kinder, gentler alien and is
allowed to remain with his new Earth family, Nani and Lilo.
So,
we come to Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has
a Glitch, which picks up the storyline from this point.
Stitch has acclimated quite well to the bright sunlight and warm, relaxed
environs of Hawaii (who wouldn't?). However,
not much else has changed. Exasperated
bigger sister Nani is still struggling to rein in Lilo's occasional, wild-child
temperamental ways. Roly-poly Dr.
Jumba Jookiba has forsaken his madcap experiments for madcap crop circle
creations instead, whereas the comically effeminate Pleakley studies talk shows,
fashion magazines, tabloids, etc., in a daily pursuit to grasp the essence of
human nature.
While
family life for Lilo, Nani, and Stitch remains as chaotic as ever, at least Lilo
has found a new avenue for her boundless energies - a hula contest for the
upcoming annual May Day Festival. Lilo's
mother once won this same competition many moons ago, so Lilo hopes to continue
the family tradition. She enlists
Stitch's help as hula partner to pick a suitable theme for her hula dance (with
predictably comical and far-fetched results).
True to the spirit of the original film, Lilo eventually selects the
theme of friendship for her dance.
However,
as the film's title suggests, Stitch mysteriously begins to manifest little
glitches in his behavior. For short
intervals without warning, he reverts to his formerly destructive tendencies,
despite his earnest efforts to remain a good little alien.
At the most inopportune moments, he trashes several of Lilo's costumes
and rehearsals. There is even a
sense of urgency when Dr. Jumba determines that Stitch has a potentially
terminal "illness" associated with his strange antics.
Clearly, something is wrong with our favorite little alien experiment!
So, before the May Day celebrations are ruined, Dr. Jumba must figure out
how to cure Stitch of his crazy mood swings.
Okay,
this is a Disney cartoon, so everything does turn out okay in the end.
Nevertheless, the inclusion in Lilo
& Stitch 2 of a simplistic concept of "death" along with
happier themes such as family and friendship does give the film a note of
poignancy that elevates it beyond the typical straight-to-video fare.
Parents need not worry - Lilo &
Stitch 2 is barrels of fun for the children and hardly a sad film.
Its relatively short length also means that parents can expect to see
this film played over and over again (children like repetition, after all).
Still, if Disney can continue to make more enjoyable and delightful
animated films like Lilo & Stitch 2,
then the tradition of cel animation will always find a receptive audience.
Video
*** ˝
Lilo
& Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch
is shown in a widescreen color format. The
colors are bold and vivid, with animation surprisingly equal to that seen in Lilo
& Stitch. As a new
direct-to-DVD release, the condition of this print is obviously pristine.
The bit transfer rate for this dual-layer DVD-9 disc averages about 7
Mbps.
Audio
****
There
are four audio options for the film - English DTS 5.1, English Dolby Digital
5.1, French, or Spanish. The
dynamic DTS track is the ideal choice, but all the audio tracks are fine.
Also, what Hawaiian-themed movie would be complete without an Elvis tune
or two? Lilo is a big Elvis Presley
fan, so naturally some of the King's tunes have made it upon the soundtrack.
Features
**
This
DVD is "enhanced" with "FastPlay," which is a kiddy-friendly
way of playing the DVD. Just start
up the disc, and it will automatically cycle through a bunch of trailers, the
movie itself, more trailers, and lastly a couple of the bonus features.
Allow the DVD player to sit idly for a few minutes, and the whole
procedure starts again. The "FastPlay"
feature will prove most handy for young viewers (or older viewers who have
misplaced their remote control). There
are promos for Disney's Cinderella, The Greatest Game Ever Played, a Shaggy Dog remake, and yet another Lilo & Stitch sequel - Leroy
& Stitch! Elsewhere on the
DVD, more trailers are included for a revamped Toy
Story, Kronk's New Groove, Bambi
and the Great Prince of the Forest, the Kim
Possible cable show, and "myscene"
Goes Hollywood: the Movie.
This
DVD is obviously aimed at children, as can be quickly ascertained by a
precursory glance over the remaining bonus features. First up is the animated short "The Origin Of
Stitch," in which Stitch activates a secret file by Dr. Jumba Jookiba
revealing Stitch's creation. The
cartoon ends with an obvious lead-in to the television show.
Next,
there is a music video, "Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride," performed by Jump5.
This is a pop-lite version of a song from Lilo & Stitch 2. The
music video is mediocre, though.
"Where's
Pleakley?" is a "Where's Waldo"-style puzzler.
Locate the bug-eyed alien in various settings against time or another
player. Be forewarned, this game is
played more easily with a mouse than with a remote control!
Lastly,
there is "Jumba's Experiment Profiler." Stitch was but one of 626 little fuzzy aliens created by
Jumba, and this multiple-choice trivia game asks viewers to select the right
"experiment" from Jumba's clues.
Clips from the television show accompany each choice and show the various
"experiments" in action. The
congratulatory message at the conclusion of the game is possibly a thinly
disguised lead-in to Leroy & Stitch.
Summary: