I just rewatched the original Lilo and Stitch movie and honestly was not expecting to find out that Stitch has to be one of the biggest victims of a decade long flanderization.
I also forgot, and honestly I think most people, that stitch has so much character like he’s not just a ball of chaos, he's also very much a smart ass and makes jokes. And is angry and curious and a little bit of an asshole. You just don’t really get that in the live action or really most iterations of him. He’s reverted back to one.
Like Stitch in the movie is really smart. And he doesn’t just make noises as they will have you believe it’s actually pretty implied that he’s bilingual and was actively learning English (and not talking because Dog cover) and that’s why it was all stilted and kind of broken and unsure. He sounds much smoother and natural speaking in his alien language that Jumba understands. I don’t think the live action movie really got this.
And through out the movie he is not unstoppably causing chaos he’s just angry, confused, and curious and not gentle with things and so things just go wrong around him. The only thing he actively destroys out of a want to destroy is the mini San Fransisco he built and that was copying a movie scene he saw. Stitch destroys things because it’s how he knows to interact with the world around him by the end of the movie he does very little destruction and more just general goofing off (granted with a true lack of understanding on like property damage)
Hell Jumba goes good because he’s been observing Stitch and his struggles to become more than he was made to be. How stitch reacts in a situation where he can no longer perform his primary objective. Jumba pities him like a robot without a job but Stitch evolves to more than he was meant to be and it’s that evolution that flaw in his programming that allows Jumba to switch sides (even if it is played for laughs and never mind that despite his creations Jumba honestly was never even that bad a guy to begin with I mean obviously it’s a kids show but when Jumba lists Stitches objectives they are are inconveniences at best frustrating and mild property damage at worst)
But like the idea that like Stitch is actually just another burden that Nani would need to take care of is laughable when by the end of the movie it is explicitly shown him doing household chores. He makes their lunches escorts Lilo to the bus, bakes her birthday cake, does the laundry and does it well. Hell he practically even has a job. Never mind that Jumba and Pleakly are also there and also pitch in. Plus Cobra. Nani had so much support by the end of the movie that ofcourse she could continue to raise Lilo she wasn’t doing it alone.
The new ending just feels like the makers didn’t have faith in the original concept like they didn’t believe that anyone would believe that Lilo would be okay in the care of aliens we have to replace them with people or else it doesn’t make sense. It’s just weird like they didn’t trust the audience to garps that these silly little aliens are not in fact children that also need supervision but beings capable of taking care of lilo and contributing to the family. And honestly I don’t blame them because people did accept it. And it’s so fucking sad.
We’ve talked a lot about Nani, Lilo and Jumba and their blatant mischaracterization . But not enough about the flanderization of stitch and it’s just sad honestly.
gracieabrams
origamiaround
baratheonpilled
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