First time, I commented how "The Emperor's New Groove" was my favorite Disney movie of the last ten years, and how "Lilo & Stitch" had left me wanting for more.

How wrong I was then.

I gave it another chance. I went back to watch it with a couple of friends and their sons and daughters. What best atmosphere to enjoy a Disney flick?

And then, the scene were Stitch is alone, with "The Ugly Duckling" book, shouting "I'm lost!" (or at least that's what he was saying in spanish) made me change my mind. I suddenly became very identified with the main character's quest for belonging, and suddenly realized he was actually everyone I know - searching for approval, trying to be loved, longing for love. The watercolor drawings, the facial expression, the music, the mood - perfection, indeed. There are a couple of animated scenes that convey this kind of mood - the Ballroom Sequence in "Beauty and the Beast", Simba's dad being killed in "The Lion King", Jessie's song in "Toy Story 2" - and this one is one of the best I've ever seen. Such simplicity and beauty is strange to find.

When we walked out of the movie, my friend's kids were talking excitedly about the movie, when one of their mothers asked them what they enjoyed most about the movie. And one of the girls exclaimed "Ohana means family! And your family never forgets or abandons you!" (that's what is said in the spanish version of the movie).

Then I suddenly realized we need more movies like this.

Solid 9 / 10 for Lilo & Stitch.

There is a little Hawaiian girl named Lilo, she enjoys diving, surfing and folk dancing. And she desperately wants a friend, even not just a friend, she wants to have a soul mate. A flying saucer crashes near her house and a strange creature emerges. Actually it is a hostile alien whose the only aim is to destroy life on earth. Their paths cross. What happens when the little earth girl and the extra-terrestrial maniac meet? A funny, heart-warming story of friendship, love, family ties… To be frank I was not going to see this animated film considering it to be "little kids stuff". But when eventually I saw it I realized how wrong I was. Disney proves its reputation for making "family friendly" films because this is the film in which each family member, whether it be a child or a parent, can find something for him/herself to enjoy and think about. A couple of words about music. Since Lilo is a huge Elvis fan, the soundtrack contains a lot of his songs. It is a hard task to make songs written rather long ago fit in the modern film but the producers succeeded! Recommended to all!

I remember seeing this Disney movie when I was taken to see it at the cinema when I was younger, only bits and pieces stuck in my memory, so I was glad to watch it again when I was grown up and judge it properly. Basically in a galaxy far, far away, ruthless alien scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba (David Ogden Stiers) has been brought before the Grand Council of the Galactic Federation, having created an illegal potentially dangerous experiment, a strong, intelligent, nearly indestructible and aggressive being called Experiment #626 (Chris Sanders), its only weakness seems to be his high density body making swimming in water impossible. The scientist is sentenced to jail, while the experiment is to be transported to an prison asteroid, but it escapes from Captain Gantu (Kevin Michael Richardson) who was supposed to deliver him, in a stolen police cruiser the experimental creature crash lands on the planet Earth. Stranded in Hawaii, Experiment #626 cannot do much harm, as water surrounds the island, there are no big cities, and Dr. Jookiba and Earth expert Pleakley (Kevin McDonald) are hot on his trail. Experiment #626 impersonates a dog and finds himself in a pet shelter, he is adopted by little girl Lilo (Spirited Away's Daveigh Chase) and given the name "Stitch", as time goes by time with Lilo causes the creature to develop an emotional development. Lilo is part of a dysfunctional family, she lives with her older sister Nani (True Lies' Tia Carrere), they are about to be ripped apart by social worker Cobra Bubbles (Pulp Fiction's Ving Rhames) who is concerned Nani is not capable of caring for her younger sister. Dr. Jookiba and Pleakley are not able to get close to Stitch, as they have been warned that humans are not to be harmed and the Earth is full of endangered creatures, so Lilo continues to bond with Stitch as her pet, and her are slowly rekindled, with a little help from Nani's surfer boyfriend David Kawena (Jason Scott Lee). Eventually Stitch is discovered to be an alien creature by the humans, most of their immediate reaction is fear, and when Captain Gantu attempts to capture Stitch, Lilo is intentionally taken in his place, but Jumba and Pleakley help Stitch to save her. In the end the Grand Councilwoman (Zoe Caldwell) comes to Earth planning to take Stitch into custody, however Lilo proves that Stitch is her legal property, she therefore decrees that he will exiled to Earth, and she recognises Cobra as a former CIA agent from years ago, telling him to keep an eye of them, and Jumba and Pleakley become members of Lilo and Stitch's restored family as well. Youngster Lilo is likable, and the supporting characters are good too, but it is at first aggressive later cute and naughty extraterrestrial Stitch that obviously steals the show, accompanied by a catchy soundtrack, including Elvis Presley songs, and pushing messages of multicultural equality and tolerance this quirky film mixes the family drama, slapstick laughs and pacy action, the result is a fun and colourful animated science-fiction comedy. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Good!