41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The definitive version of "Lilo & Stitch" to own on DVD. The Big Wave Edition is packed with special features!, March 23, 2009
A heartwarming, moving and beautifully animated Walt Disney film get its special DVD treatment in a brand new 2-Disc Big Wave Edition.
In 2002, Walt Disney's 42nd animated feature from the Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida studio would become a commercial success with over $35 million in its first weekend and eventually would make over $273 million worldwide. Since 2002, the animated film has received several direct-to-video film releases and even a cartoon series.
With the original DVD release back in 2002, in 2003 a 2-disc DVD release was announced but was delayed. Fans of the film have waited for the 2-disc version for years and the question many who own the original DVD may be asking, is this 2-disc release worth it?
If you are a big fan of the animated film, then the answer is a resounding...YES!!!
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"Lilo & Stitch" is a beautiful, animated film that takes place in Hawaii. So, this animated film definitely showcases a variety of colors of the island and the Hawaiian clothing and lush lands and beautiful beach. Personally, I would love to see a Blu-ray Disc treatment of this film because it's a type of film that would benefit in 1080p. But overall, the picture quality of the DVD is vibrant with colors and the animation had a distinct character designs and overall, beautiful to look at.
The video is presented with an aspect ratio of (1:66:1) and is enhanced for 16×9 televisions.
As for the audio, audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and also includes French and Spanish language tracks. The audio utilizes the rear channels during the action segments and also musically, the music plays a big part in the film. Although not a musical but a dialogue-based film, overall, "Lilo & Stitch" utilizes the speaker channels with the front channel showcasing the dialogue and musical tracks with the rear channels utilizing various background sounds, ambient sounds and also booms and crashes during the action scenes.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
This is where the 2-Disc Big Wave Edition of "Lilo & Stitch" shines. There are tons of special features on disc 1 and a length documentary and deleted/edited scenes in disc 2. Included are:
Disc 1:
* Audio Commentary - Commentary featuring producer Clark Spencer and directors/writers Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. A very informative commentary as Sanders and DeBlois talked about how there were some major changes from the original storyline and the final cut. Discussions of going to Hawaii, meeting with talent like Tia Carrere and how Hawaiian music came to play in the film and also the ending flight chase scenes and how it was changed due to 9/11. A lot of informative tid-bits on the creation of the film. Cool commentary!
* Deleted Scenes - This featurette features how the storyboard artists and artists teaching the viewer how to draw Po and each member of the Furious Five via sketching the characters one-by-one. For example, with Po, the artist would start off with two circles and explain by detail of drawing the rest of the body and features. Each segment varies in time but most are around 6 minutes long. Very informative.
* Your "Ohana" Music Video featuring the Hawaiian Chorus - A two minute music video featuring segments from the film and the Hawaiian Chorus singing "Ohana".
* Lilo & Stitch Island Adventure Games - An adventure game narrated by David and people can play three "Lilo & Stitch" games which include Gecko Race, Hamsterviel's Coconut Shell Game and Hamsterviel's Experiment Match Game.
* A Stitch in Time: Follow Stitch through the Disney Years - This three minute featurette showcases classic Disney films and how Stitch was in those films and how Stitch has shaken things up at Disney by trying to be part of the classic Walt Disney films but unfortunately he wasn't up to par for parts in those films and didn't make the final cut.
* "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" music video performed by A-Teens - A short music video of a cover of the popular Elvis Presley song sung by A-Teens.
* Create Your Own Alien Experiment Game - A quiz based video game using your DVD remote.
* DisneyPedia: Hawaii - The Islands of Aloha: Explore the Hawaiian Islands - A featurette which Nani and Lilo explain what Hawaii is and the various islands and information on Molokai, Lana'i, Oahu, Kauai and Maui. Selecting an island showcases a video of the island featuring information on luau's, pineapples and whales in the warm waters, Captain Cook, King Kamehameha and more.
* Hula Lesson - A three minute featurette on how to learn hula.
* Burning Love - Behind the Scenes with Wynonna - Nearly two minutes long, a behind-the-scenes look at Wynonna Judd recording "Burning Love".
* Animating the Hula - A three minute featurette and Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois wanting to get the hula dances correctly in the animation, so they filmed the hula dancers and then their art department using the video to make sure they get the action and timing of the hula dance correctly by viewing the video.
* "Inter-Stitch-ials" Theatrical Trailers - Fun trailers for "Lilo & Stitch" but how Stitch was integrated in commercials utilizing "Beauty & the Beast", "Aladdin", "The Little Mermaid" and "The Lion King".
Disc 2:
* Documentary - Around 2 hours and five minutes long is a documentary from the beginning in 1997 (planning stages) up to the end of premiering at Cannes Film Festival and it's nationwide premiere in 2002. This documentary was great! Many interviews with the producer Clark Spencer, directors/writers Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, Disney Chairman Roy E. Disney, Disney President Tom Schumaker, Executive Vice President Pam Coats, Animating Supervisor Alex Kundershchmidt, Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Giland, the voice talent, crew behind-the-scenes and much more. Years of footage of what took place during the planning stages of "Lilo & Stitch", recording audio, animating, changing scenes because of what transpired in 9/11, marketing including the "Lilo & Stitch" toys, the McDonalds Happy Meals toys and more.
* Documentary Footnotes: Aside from the documentary and deleted/early version scenes, the documentary footnotes includes more bonus footage such as scene that Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois worked on for "Mulan" titled "Mulan's Decision", Walking is Falling: Joe Grant in Conversation with Dean DeBlois, Chris' Pitch Book, Chris' Photo Gallery, Treatise on Stich, Andreas Deja's sketches of Lilo, Fishing with Ric, Ric Slutter Interviews Maurice Noble, Dumbo: The Train Arrives, Chalk Talk: Alex Kupershmidt on Stitch, Chalk Talk: Andreas Deja on Lilo, The Sanders Style book and the Disney "Lilo & Stitch" trailers.
* Deleted Scenes and Early Version Scenes - There were considerable amount of changes during "Lilo & Stitch" from its original treatment to the final cut. The deleted scenes include the airplane through the city scene which was scrapped due to the events that happened on 9/11 and thus the crew changing the chase scene to two space crafts in air. The following deleted scenes are featured: Stitch's Trail, Gantu's Challenge, The Untimely Death of Pudge the Fish, Bedtime Story, The 747 Sequence and three early version scenes: Model Citizen- Mayhem on the Beach, Jumba Attacks and The 747 Sequence with Stitch's Gang.
JUDGMENT CALL:
"Lilo and Stitch" was a wonderful animated film and who can't deny the cuteness and the wit of the latest duo from Disney, Hawaiian girl Lilo and her little alien pet Stitch. These two characters are so unlike any Disney characters with Lilo who comes from literally a broken home, her older sister Nani trying to make ends meet as the guardian of Lilo after the death of their parents and just to watch how their life has been personally affected. Stitch is unlike any Disney character that we have seen. He is quite mischievous and eats his snot, how crazy is that?
The character of Lilo is full of vitality but because her parents are deceased and having to stay at home while her sister works and the family not exactly having a lot of money, she wants to fit in with the other girls but it just doesn't happen that easily.
And the relationship between Lilo & Stitch was just enjoyable to watch. Stitch brings joy into her life despite being a bit troublesome, but Lilo is somewhat similar and thus starts to grow up now that she has the responsibility of taking care of her pet. As for Stitch, being raised to be this weapon of destruction, he learns from Lilo that being part of a family is very important and like the story of "Ugly Duckling", Lilo embraces him with open arms and he learns how relationships mean to him. Love rather than destruction.
Combined with a beautiful, colorful and lush setting of Hawaii, the art and animation department did a great job capturing Hawaii all the way up to the movements of the hulu dancing. Overall, this film was just fun to watch and it's also great to watch this film again and watching a Disney animated film that were hand drawn using CGI but a film not entirely 3D which many of the animated Disney films are of late.
When "Lilo & Stitch" was released into theaters, I have to admit that I was very happy because America would get a second animated film from Disney that would feature a lead and supporting character that is Asian. "Mulan" was fun but it was a period film taking place during the Chinese Dynasty, "Lilo & Stich" on the other hand, this is an entirely different animated film with it's own style thanks to the characters and the overall setting. This is just an enjoyably fun and entertaining film...
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lovely tribute to the Islands!, November 3, 2004
There have been some fine Disney animated features over the years, but this is the one that I watch over and over again. For my money, this stands head and shoulders above the rest of the animated movies I've seen (and I try to see them all).
ANIMATION - A+: In the opening scene of the hula dancers, observe the reflections of the dancers on the wood floor. Wow!
PRODUCTION VALUES - A+: The movie is visually stunning. The backgrounds look like watercolor paintings and are extremely colorful. The backgrounds completely capture the look, colors, and flavor of living in a small town in Hawaii.
CHARACTER DESIGN - A+: The directors took great pains to design the look of the characters. Unlike most Disney women characters, the older sister has some meat on her bones and looks athletic, not anemic. Hallelujah! A more realistic approach to portraying women.
Lilo reminds me so much of my Hawaiian nieces in the way she moves and speaks! And the feistiness of her! Some people have said she does not present a good role model for children! I would say that she is a much more realistic child than usually shown in movies. I LOVE her spunk and strong personality!
My heart was completely captured by Stitch! What a roly poly, cute character he is. Chris Sanders, the director, provided the temporary voice of Stitch, but did such a great job that they kept his voice in the final movie. I can't imagine Stitch sounding any other way.
MUSIC = A+: Wow! The choral music sung by Hawaiian children is wonderfully moving! And of course, the King (Elvis)! Very appropriate as he was extremely popular in Hawaii.
TARGET AUDIENCE = B: The movie is SO entertaining for adults that I rather wonder if it isn't more enjoyable for adults than kids. I know that my three-year old niece wouldn't watch it because she thought the beginning was too "scary." Whereas, I've watched it maybe 5 or 6 times and laughed each time at the Elvis jokes and some of the other jokes that I think might go over the heads of children.
And just between you and me (nobody else is reading this, right?), there are a few moments when Stitch reads the story of the Ugly Duckling, realizing that he too is separated from any family, and when he prepares to leave Lilo that always make me cry. How a little furry animated character can show dignity and nobility I don't know, but he does.
I find the movie a delight visually, musically, emotionally, and it makes me laugh!
DVD EXTRAS = A+: I thought the extras on the DVD were quite nice. A great documentary on how the animators "got" the hula by attending a hula school, and a nice piece on the main animators and on the children's choir that sang the Hawaiian-style choral music in the film. Also lots of information on the Hawaiian islands.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So original - I just wish I could have seen it when I was 8!, December 1, 2002
First of all, please forgive me for going on in this review like I'm writing a college essay - the film is light and fun, and I don't want you to get the impression that it is anything less. I just want to answer the charge that no thought has gone into the issues covered in the film, or that the film indulges in meanness for the sake of a cheap laugh. This is not an attack on the reviewer that made the review I disagree with, but an explanation of why I disagree with the reviewer's points. I've never answered a review directly before, but I liked this film, and feel that the review by "storyboarder" elsewhere on this review page (who no doubt makes points that others agree with) was a little unfair, and that maybe the reviewer and others aren't reading between the lines as well as they should if they're truly choosing to hold this film to its apparent themes as rigorously as they claim.
The film did indeed take on a weighty subject as the reviewer says, but I don't agree it was handled lightly - grief is implied, not ignored. We don't need to be shown in a Disney film how people react to grief, and to expect Disney to explain the concept of the death of a parent to children is unfair... Disney is in the business of giving us and our children entertainment. Penny in "The Rescuers" was an orphan, but I don't remember anyone expecting a detailed study of how being an orphan affected her present or future life!
The true theme of the story is, in my view, isolation and loneliness, feelings probably experienced and understood by many children at some point in their lives. Stitch was supplied as a different perspective to the same pain - where Lilo and Nani have lost their family, Stitch never had one. Bringing Lilo and Stitch together combines two characters who are natural companions because they both understand what it is to be lonely and isolated, and almost by definition only have each other as true companions, even if they don't realise it.
The film is light in places - it couldn't be "sad" all the way through otherwise it would grind on and on, either sending children to sleep or into tears. The characters relieve the tension with plenty of fun moments, such as training Stitch to be more like Elvis, or "frolicking on the beach". Who cares where the little Elvis costume came from! I've seen kids on television impersonating Elvis... maybe Lilo bought it from the same place as they did! The fun and companionship in the surfing scene is also a necessary element for Stitch to witness, not just an excuse for a surfing scene, as it shows him what he is rejecting when he fights Lilo's attempts to make him part of her family.
As for meanness in the story or jokes in the film being mean-spirited - well, part of the theme of the film is the redemption of Stitch, just as it is for Ebeneezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol", a character who is similarly mean-spirited, and also a parody of himself. As with Scrooge, Stitch's redemption would have no value if he weren't really bad to begin with! The greater the bad, the greater the value of the change to good at the end, and also the greater the goodness of the good characters for putting up with and persisting with the bad one!
"Lilo and Stitch" is one of the best animated films I've seen in many a long year. It isn't out to force-feed anyone's view of family morality, but is instead a true-to-modern-life story that many, many children will identify with, and also a nice redemption story in it's own right... if it has a fault, it's that the Disney mould for running time is too short for such an original and therefore valuable story, and perhaps it also ends a little too suddenly at the end, as if a better idea for an ending was abandoned at the last minute in favour of a more compact ending.
Chris Sanders, the voice of Stitch, is the person who came up with the idea of the story, did the original design drawings, contributed to the writing of the story, and also co-directed it along with Dean DeBlois. It is my hope that here is another great like Don Bluth in the making (and perhaps a Gary Goldman in Dean DeBlois). I will be watching out for their names in the future.
Well done Disney... I'm only sorry I wasn't able to see this film when I was 8, and had it to enjoy as a childhood memory throughout my life. I'll bet it's a while before we see the like of this film from Disney again. "Lilo and Stitch"'s unexpected popularity will probably cause it to be seen as a 'winning formula', and see it milked for all its worth, but I hope this first film of any future series manages to stay looking as fresh and original as it is now forever!
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