I rediscovered the film Lilo and Stitch and the different themes it deals with

Even if I hadn’t seen it lillo and point For years I have been very attached to this film for various reasons. Having grown up alone with my mother, and be on the lookout for representations of cultures other than the West being mixed race in a southwestern village, this film was a breath of fresh air. So, as my twentieth birthday approached, I gave myself a little surprise and saw this masterpiece of Disney studios.

For those who haven’t had a chance to see it here is a quick rundown without it spoiler. In another galaxy than ours, a mad scientist named Jumba develops a genetic experiment soberly called 6.2.6. A specimen of a new species “shockproof, fireproof, thinks faster than a supercomputer, can see in the dark and lift objects 3,000 times heavier than itself”. It was created with an instinct of destruction ”.

Sentenced to exile on an asteroid, experiment 6.2.6 manages to escape and lands on planet Earth and more precisely on the island of Hawaii. Once there, 6.2.6 pretends to be a dog and is adopted by Lilo and Nani, two sisters who have just lost their parents tragically. Lilo a very imaginative girl then renames it Stitch!

Where things get complicated is that the council responsible for his exile entrusts one of their members as well as the evil genius responsible for his creation to bring it back to their galaxy. Of course Stitch won’t be easy to catch … With Lilo and Nani it will also begin to develop feelings and emotions. For their part, the two sistersthey struggle to be together as a family, against the advice of social services.

The family as the central theme of the film

As you may have guessed, this film raises many questions that still resonate twenty years later. The most important remains the notion of family. Furthermore, the sisters’ motto, instilled by their father and which remains one of the most famous quotes in the film is:

“Ohana means family. Family means that no one is to be abandoned or forgotten.”

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It is one of the first Disney films that portrays a family without parents, and made up of two sisters, who must learning to live without deceased parents again in a car accident, all in Hawaii today.

For the first time, this is not an orphan in a medieval universe forced to do housework or fall in love with a prince. But rather of Nani who must put his life aside, to get a food job that will allow him to raise his sister the youngest Lilo, who feels extremely lonely since the death of her parents.

Because what Lilo and Stitch arouse too is the mourning of loved ones, how to continue living after their departure, without references. For Lilo, who is still very young, it’s about building herself without someone who teaches her certain social codes but also reassures her.

Although he has already integrated the notion of good and evil well, loneliness in the family home weighs on him … His classmates do nothing to make things right. They seem to show a complete lack of empathy towards Lilo and constantly reject her when she tries to make a move towards them.

“It’s me again, I need a friend, someone who will never leave me. I don’t know send me an angel … The most beautiful angel in the world. “

Lilo makes a prayer in front of what she believes to be a shooting star

Learn to accept others

It is in this rather dramatic climate that Stitch comes into the girls’ lives, to escape his captors. Lilo sees in him an opportunity not to be alone anymore, but she soon realizes that Stitch isn’t doing his part … Under the threat of his educator that he cannot keep his pet, he decides to make him a model citizen, like his idol Elvis Presley.

Which raises another issue: the rejection of others. Just like Lilo, Stitch tries to blend in with the landscape to be accepted by the world around him.. Despite their efforts, their goodwill and their questions, they cannot. Also, others don’t miss a single opportunity to remind them that they are strange, different or ugly. In short, they do not fit into the patterns defined by a “well-meaning” company.

“No matter how hard we try, sometimes things don’t go our way. Because sometimes things have to change … And sometimes it’s even better … “

Nani tries to comfort Lilo

In contact with Lilo, Stitch will become aware of the concept of family, and that it is not made up only of people of the same blood. It can be made up of beings who love and accept us with our qualities and defects.. Being harmful to one person does not mean that you will be harmful to everyone. Lilo was also drawn to Stitch’s differences and brought out the best in him.

“It’s my family, I found it alone without anyone’s help. It’s small and broken, but it’s fine with me.

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Lilo and Stitch was the first of its kind for Disney

In addition, this film highlights many other themes, in particular ethnocentrism of which I would like to say a few words. From the first images of the film it is easy to observe that one of Lilo’s passions is that photograph stereotyped tourists.

Mostly whites who let themselves burn on the beach until sunburnt, who taste beyond all reason processed foods and possess a westernized lifestyle. Obviously, as a child, this hobby seemed strange to me, today it seems very interesting to me. For once it is the locals who are usually photographed, who take the photos.

It is a criticism of tourists who go to the other side of the world without knowing how to take advantage of the cultural diversity their destination has to offer. In lillo and point are often ridiculed, which adds situational comedy to the whole.

So you will have understood, if you have not seen it yet, hurry up to log into your Disney + account. This film turns 20 this year, and it still makes me laugh and cry today. These characters are all endearing as they are and you can easily identify with them. As for Stitch, he has become, in record time, an indispensable and appreciated permanent in the Disney galaxy.

If you are passionate about the universe of lillo and pointbe aware that there is also sew the film, lilo and point 2 in addition to two series: Lilo and Stitch the seriesAnd Leroy and Stitch.