Stitch! The Movie (August 26, 2003)

This is the first sequel released to Lilo & Stitch, but it is the third film chronologically in the franchise, behind the original film and the 2005 direct-to-video sequel Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch. This film also serves as a backdoor pilot of the spin-off sequel series Lilo & Stitch: The Series. The movie primarily serves as an introduction to the other 625 failed experiments created prior to Stitch by Dr. Jumba Jookiba. Dr. Jumba is kidnapped by his old partner, Dr Hämsterviel, who wants the rest of the experiments (which Jumba has left on Earth at Lilo’s house) in order to conquer the galaxy. Thus, Lilo, Stitch and Pleakley journey to save him and, in the process, release/ activate numerous of the experiments on Earth- which sets up the premise for the TV show. The three notable new characters are the aforementioned Dr Hämsterviel- a tiny and cute, but immensely evil rodent-like creature, Reuben, aka experiment 625, who has all the powers of Stitch but is lazy and cowardly (and likes to make sandwiches!), and Sparky, aka experiment 221, who can control electricity- sometimes shorting circuits. This film, while a home release, has extremely faithful animation with only a slight decrease in quality from the original. The voice actors from the original all reprise their roles (?) which adds to its authenticity. The plot, while short (the runtime is a brisk 62 minutes) is very entertaining, while managing to fit in some heart with the addition of Stitch’s ‘cousins’ or the other experiments. Overall, Stitch! The Movie is a very solid sequel, one of Disney’s best, direct-to-video or otherwise and it serves as a great setup for the equally solid Television series.

Final Rating: 6.5/10