Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (August 30, 2005)

This is the third film in the Lilo & Stitch franchise but the second chronologically (set before Stitch! The Movie). Lilo is attempting to win the May day hula competition to make her mother (who died when she was younger) proud. This is because she is shown a picture of her when she was Lilo’s age winning the competition. While focused on this pursuit, Stitch start to revert back to his old evil way because, back when he was created by Dr. Jumba, he was not fully charged. Now he is starting to run out of power down and, if a remedy cannot be found, he will shut down forever. This is such a cool and unique concept and I think it is generally executed well, especially with the continued usage of Elvis, this time as inspiration for her hula routine. However, I feel Lilo overreacts to Stitch ruining her plans for winning the hula competition. After everything they went through in the first film, after he tried so hard to become good and was doing so well, why would she think he would suddenly revert back to his old state for no reason? His eyes turn green for crying out loud! This is a minor grievance, but I think it would have been better if Lilo was trying to help fix Stitch instead of shunning him. She does eventually come around, but it takes too long for her to realize that Stitch has a glitch. When she does, near the end, the film really comes into its own and taps into the heart that is the best part of the franchise: Lilo & Stitch’s friendship. Additionally, there is a side plot of David trying seemingly savage his new relationship with Nani, Lilo’s older sister, which is cute but unnecessary. Overall Stitch Has a Glitch has some genuinely nice moments, but it is, generally, lackluster with an ending that does not feel earned after the prior events and some side plots that are superfluous. Additionally, the characterization seems simplified from the complexity of the first film. The concept was good, but it was poorly executed.

Final Rating: 5/10