Lilo & Stitch and Sisterhood

I Met Chris Sanders And I can Die in Peace

I’m not crying, these are tears from all the salt water I accidentally ingested from crying.

For some reason, Lilo & Stitch just hits differently as an adult. The emotional value, the depth of characters and development of each one from Stitch to Lilo to even Plekely and Jamba is something to be reckoned with.

Watching it as a kid, of course you’d be enthralled by the idea of adopting an alien dog and having an adventure in Hawai’i. I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s fun in a way that we all want as children and even as adults: mystery, intrigue, fun nonsense as mellow as the summer days.

All of it sugarcoating on the bigger dramatic themes of growing up (perhaps too soon), being an adult, yet somehow staying true to yourself.

This movie hurts. Nani and Lilo’s relationship is so painfully believable. They fight and they yell but they always come back together in a hug. While Lilo is struggling to fit in and make Stitch into a “model citizen” as Mr. Bubbles says and Stitch is trying to avoid capture and Jamba and Plekely are hunting Stitch down, Nani is trying to find a job so Lilo doesn’t go into the fucking foster system.

Everything that happens flows at a good pace within each other and each person’s story and conflict come together to flow and interrupt Nani’s main goal. Though she isn’t the titular character, she is the one who’s goals are most negatively impacted when Stich and his fiasco light up the night sky like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

The pacing is great, the story is great, the love between sisters is something that cannot be replaced.

Watching it as a kid, I loved it. And as an adult, I love it even more with an appreciation I didn’t know I could have.

Themes

You could dissect this movie under a microscope and be left with multiple layers and never ending things to study and admire about how this story about family in the face of adversity is amazing.

There is the character dynamics and relationships that liven the animation values on every level. The wonderful storytelling interweaving in each of their lives as each one’s goals come into conflict with one another. Themes that stress and make the movie that much better.

Growing up Too Fast

Nani has taken it upon herself to be the breadwinner, the caregiver, the older sister, and the mother of her younger sister Lilo. While Nani is the mirror reflection of Lilo in terms of themes, but aged up, Nani has to do so much to make sure her little family can stay together.

That means getting a job, not going to college, providing as best as she can in the way that she can.

Look at all the trophies on Nani’s bedstand. I saw this on Reddit before, but Nani had hopes and dreams before taking it upon herself to care for her younger sister. It wasn’t forced on her.

Nobody forces her to take care of Lilo. Maybe it is her way of trying to keep a semblance of her past life together, but realistically it’s because she loves Lilo. Whatever that means: maybe because Nani doesn’t want to lose the only family she has left; maybe because she thinks this is what her parents would have wanted; maybe because to not do so is simply unthinkable.

Whatever her reasons, Nani has to become the hard-headed and hard-working adult in the relationship, so much so that Lilo even has a line where she says “I like you better as a sister than a mom.”

It’s a difficult relationship because there is so much love and it is so strained because of all these outside factors taking away from them just being sisters.

In her own way, Lilo also understands what Nani is trying to do, but doesn’t full grasp the seriousness of it or the consequences if things don’t work out. As much as Lilo is a child, she sees the world a little differently because of her family situation and how she is ostracized by other kids her age.

There is no way a child can grow up in these circumstances and not grow up a little too fast. The childhood they should have received is a façade they’ll never truly experience.

Being Weird

Stitch was such a mood throughout the first half of the film. He hated everybody, IMMEDIATELY became addicted to caffeine, and wanted to destroy everything. So relatable.

There’s no doubt about it.

Lilo is weird as heck. She has scrump. She adopts Stitch out of all the dogs in the animal shelter. She also has a strange obsession with Elvis. She practices voodoo against her so-called friends. She takes unflattering photos of people at the beach.

Lilo lets her freak flag fly high, high in the sky and no one is going to stop her. Despite how obstinate her character can be sometimes, she does the absolute most in keeping true to herself.

Despite being ostracized in society and looked down on and treated as an other, Lilo doesn’t care.

[Or maybe she doesn’t care because she’s used to it. Which is still really sad.]

Stitch is also weird. He’s moonlighting as a dog but does a terrible job of it. He can’t destroy anything because he’s on a little island in the middle of the ocean with no large cities so he can’t do the one thing he’s programmed to do.

Don’t even get me started on Plekely and Jumba. I’m so certain that Plekely has realized something about his gender and/or sexuality and I am here for him figuring that out. Jumba doesn’t bat a single eyeball (and he has 4 of them), but this misshapen cast of characters truly embodies being weird and not giving a rat’s ass about what others may say or see them doing.

They’re proud of who they are and will continue doing whatever they are doing.

Ohana

What a beautiful family.

Love and family are themes that cannot be ignored in this movie. It is so integral to the story that any sort of rendition that doesn’t fully capture these elements will always fall short.

The family aspect of building from a broken one, of choosing your loved ones and making something work when everything won’t is a beautiful message to send.

Nani and Lilo create a beautiful family together with Stitch and their assorted alien friends. It’s very much by necessity that they end up living together, but it’s deep-rooted affection and love that keeps them showing up for each other, day in and day out.

This love is beautiful because it’s unconditional and familiar. It surrounds us in our daily lives and reminds us that there are people who care for us in our weirdest and at our worst, and they will always be there for you like Nani is for Lilo.

For an animated film about aliens and sisters, this love is the clearest and most memorable thing I have taken away from it, 20 years down the line.

The emotions evoked feel older, but the memories are still the same.

Until we meet again~