Leroy and Stitch

(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing clips from Leroy and Stitch)

Doug (vo): Jesus, what is this now? The fourth Lilo and Stitch movie? This is getting crazy. Well, thankfully, Leroy and Stitch is the last of these films, and I say thankfully, because it actually kind of goes out on a good note...that is to say, for what it is. I'm finding out more and more some of these direct-to-DVD sequels have to be taken for what they are. For example, I'm gonna judge something like Lion King II, which is a direct sequel, differently than I am Tarzan and Jane, which is obviously just supposed to be a pilot for a TV show. And at the beginning of this one, you can very quickly see what it's supposed to be. Not a pilot for the TV show, but the ending of the TV show. Now keep in mind, I didn't watch the cartoon show, but I got the general gist. Lilo and Stitch are going around, trying to collect all the other experiments, turn them good, and stop the bad aliens from collecting them and taking over the universe.

Story
Doug (vo): Well, that's exactly where this movie starts off. Lilo and her friends are being rewarded by the intergalactic council. They're all given chances to do what they've always wanted to do, whether it be go back to their evil lab or be captain of their own spaceship, but Lilo admits that she's really gonna miss them and doesn't want them to leave. They decide to stay behind, but she realizes she may have forced them to make the wrong choice, and thus, she finally says goodbye. They all go their separate ways, but Hamsterwheel, the villain of the last...um...kind of sequel...and the villain of the show, escapes and makes a clone of Stitch. An evil clone, of course, which makes a clone of that clone and a clone of that clone, and soon, there's an army of Leroys that want to collect all the experiments that were set free, destroy them all, and, of course, get back to their evil plans of conquering the universe.

Review
Doug (vo): Much like the movie pilot Stitch, this film focuses again on the aliens, which are, once again, very funny. Lilo is once again given a smaller role, but I feel they actually do have the emotional connection there. For example, I really like that she becomes friends with Experiment 625, or as she now names him, Reuben. I like seeing these two work off each other. I also really like seeing Hamsterwheel and the captain of the guards still work off each other. They're still really funny.

(Scenes focusing on the movie's climax are shown)

Doug (vo): And unlike a lot of the Disney sequels, it actually builds up to a good climax. You think it's gonna be another one of those abrupt happy endings, where it's not really that big of a climax, it's just kind of a tiny one, because, hey, they don't have much of a budget. But, no. They whip out all of the clones of Leroy and have them battle all of the experiments I'm pretty sure that were in the show. And all of them look different, sound different, and have all these unique powers. Yeah, it's really creative. It's funny, it's energized, it's a lot of fun. Now, granted, what ends up saving the day might be a little too silly, I don't know. It's Lilo and Stitch, I get it, kidsy stuff. But the battle before was so much fun, I kind of wished it would just keep going that direction. But that's nitpicky. For what is basically a series finale to a show, it seems like it wraps up everything pretty damn good.

(Various clips resume showing)

Doug (vo): The original voice actress of Lilo is back, again, I'm not really sure why they switched them out, but it's great hearing her voice again. The humorous scenes are generally humorous, and even the emotional scenes are kind of well done. There's a really nice scene where everyone is saying goodbye, kind of going their separate ways, and then, when Lilo has to say goodbye to Stitch, all you see is him looking at the Ugly Duckling book, putting it away, and they just kind of sit there in silence. That's...actually kind of profound. It's simple, but it works.

Final thought
Doug (vo): And maybe that's the best way to describe this. Simple, but it works. You can tell from the animation that this isn't gonna be the same cinematic quality of the first film or Lilo and Stitch 2, where they put a lot more money into it. But honestly, for the budget they had, I think they did a really good job. Does it have the emotion of the first film? No. Is it gonna be remembered as much as the first film? No. But again, I don't think that's what it was meant to be. It's supposed to be a wrap-up of Lilo and Stitch, yes, but more the TV show than the films. And truth be told, this is a really fun send-off. I can't act like it's phenomenal, but for what they had to do, I'd say it's pretty nicely accomplished. Again, it's one of the nice things of being forced to watch some of these movies. I'm a Lilo and Stitch fan, but I never would have checked out the sequels or these TV pilots if I didn't have to do this for a job. But because I have to, I'm glad I checked them out. While none of them quite capture the freshness and the emotion of the first one, they come pretty close sometimes. I mean, they're definitely entertaining throughout the majority of them. Whether you enjoy the cinematic side or the television side, it's nice to know that either way, Lilo and Stitch go out on top.

(The final scene, showing Lilo putting her photo of herself, Stitch, Nani, David, Mertle, Jumba, Pleakley, and every single experiment, into her picture book called "Cousins", is shown)