(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing clips from Lilo & Stitch: The Series)
Doug (vo): Well, I've seen everything else Lilo & Stitch, why not watch the series? I think this is it. I think I've finally seen everything Lilo & Stitch-related. (The poster for the Japanese anime called Stitch! is shown) Oh, come on, there's an anime? No, screw it! I'm stopping here! That's not to say at all I didn't have a lot of fun watching this show. In fact, everything Lilo & Stitch has really, really grown on me, and this is already coming from a place of love because I like the movie. And though that was a modest success when it came out, it's grown quite the following over the years, resulting in sequels, a series, hell, like I said, even an anime, and tons of merchandise. And honestly, I can see why. These are very, very, very charming characters.
Premise[]
Doug (vo): Taking place in-between the Lilo & Stitch sequels...yeah, like I said, I'm kind of watching this out of order...a ton of experiments have been unleashed. And an intergalactic criminal named Hämsterviel...or is it Hamsterwheel? They kind of go back and forth...is using his forcibly retired henchman Gantu to capture them all and use them as weapons. Lilo and Stitch, naturally, don't want them to be used as weapons, and instead try to capture them to, well, set them free, give them a place that they can call home.
Review[]
Doug (vo): Yeah, it's kind of like Disney's Pokémon. Every week, there's a new creature that can do a new power, but I actually kind of like the idea that they're not capturing them to use them as weapons. If anything, I feel like the Pokémon trainers would be seen as villains in this world. They're kind of more like the Crocodile Hunter. They capture them, but then they try to take them to a place where they can be safe, and I like that. You don't usually see that in kids' shows. If something's trying to kill you, you just...kill it right back or stop it in some way. Here, they just try to find the right place where they belong. And that's kind of the attitude of the whole show: nice and laidback. So many Disney shows, hell, just so many kids' shows in general are trying to be the next big thing, really action-packed and saying cool phrases, and they all look beautiful and wear the latest fashions, you know the drill. And while I like some shows that do that, like Kim Possible, especially 'cause I felt like they utilized that into the joke, Lilo & Stitch has much more of an innocent quality. It's kind of like a mix of the adventure elements from Miyazaki films and the relaxed elements of Winnie the Pooh, and they surprisingly work really well together.
(Several clips focusing on the animation are shown)
Doug (vo): Even the animation isn't anything groundbreaking, but it's decent and non-threatening. I really like that they still use water-color backgrounds. Whenever a violent moment does work its way into the show, it's usually done with a lot of creativity and, again, a lot of comedy.
(Clips focusing on the characters are shown)
Doug (vo): And so much of the comedy comes from the voice actors. I really like that they used the original cast all throughout this series. Daveigh Chase, David Ogden Stiers, Tia Carrere, Kevin Michael Richardson, all of them are so funny. And even the newcomers are great, with Jeff Bennett as Hämsterviel and Rob Paulsen as Reuben, this sidekick alien who's obsessed with sandwiches. Yeah, doesn't sound that funny, but he uses that Bill Burr voice that just cracks me the hell up, and I love it.
(Various clips resume showing, some of them focusing on the setting and a running gag involving Pleakley)
Doug (vo): I feel like they really take advantage of the fact that this takes place in Hawaii, 'cause everyone is just so chill. No one even really cares that there's aliens walking around, they just kind of accept it at this point. And, yeah, you know how Disney's been on this ethical preachy high-horse recently, like everything they talk about has to have some sort of social self-righteousness to it? (The poster for Secret Society of Second-Born Royals is shown) There's literally a cross-dressing alien in this, and it feels totally natural. It starts off as kind of a joke, you know, he's dressing up like the wife and the other alien is dressing up like the husband, but he just seems to like it, and nobody has a problem with it. And there's no special episode where they're wagging their finger at you, that kids always seem to hate and adults seem to hate, for that matter. He just likes to wear dresses, and nobody cares. Kick-ass, man. You do you. Speaking of lessons, there are quite a few in this show, and they're usually the ones you'd expect, the value of friendship, being confident, believing in yourself, all that stuff. It's nothing that mind-blowing, but I don't think it's supposed to be in a show like this.
(Clips focusing on the episodes where the characters meet up with characters from other Disney animated shows are shown)
Doug (vo): Sometimes, even characters from other shows pop up to enforce that lesson. Yeah...there's a lot of crossovers in this. If there was an animated Disney show on at the time, chances are, it made its way onto Lilo & Stitch. You name it, The Proud Family, Kim Possible, Jake Long, even Recess somehow worked its way in there. I wouldn't mind too much, except they all kind of seem really scrunched together, like every other episode felt like a crossover episode, at least in season 2. But again, if the show had great characters, it was nice to see them interact with these great characters as well.
(Several clips focusing on the show's intro are shown)
Doug (vo): If I had one problem with this show, and this is a really odd thing to critique, I'd actually say it's the intro. I mean, yeah, the song's fine, and it looks cute and everything, but...I'll just say it. There's something bizarrely creepy about this scene.
(One part of the intro shows Stitch and some Hawaiian tikis, with Stitch saying some alien phrases and the tikis repeating those phrases. The animation on Stitch and the tikis creeps Doug out)
Doug (vo: groaning in disgust): I don't know if you're trying to kiss me or eat me, but I don't like it! It even holds on the title uncomfortably long.
(The show's title is shown, with the title characters on either side of it)
Stitch: Bye!
(The title is shown for a bit of time)
Doug (vo): CUT!
Final thought[]
Doug (vo): But, yeah, if the intro is the biggest complaint I can have about this show, I think it's doing a lot of things right. Like I said, I don't think this is one of the great shows or anything, but it's a nice, smaller show, and you know what? We need those. I feel like we take them for granted, and they actually play a bigger part than sometimes we give them credit for. I especially like how it got me more into the alien stuff. In the original film, I like the stuff with the sisters, but the aliens were just kind of generic to me. But the show actually made them really funny, and I like seeing these different creations, and they were weird and imaginative, and I liked seeing how they had a different solution for every one, and how they were gonna interact with these great characters. So if you're a Lilo & Stitch fan, definitely check it out. Even if you're not, I still might recommend it. If you're just in the mood to watch something laidback and extremely cute, Lilo & Stitch have got you covered.
(A scene showing Lilo, Stitch, Jumba, and Pleakley watching as the whole setting they're standing on is covered by butterflies, and they end up being transported to a plain white background, is shown)