Back Shelf Beauties
by Willie Waffle
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Lilo And Stitch 2:
Stitch Has A Glitch
You have to hand it to little Dakota Fanning. She has worked with some of
the biggest names in Hollywood like Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Kurt Russell,
Mike Myers and Sean Penn (Brittany Murphy INTENTIONALLY left off the list),
but this movie requires everybody's favorite little girl to share the screen
with one of Disney's biggest stars, Stitch. He's going to be a handful if
he starts jumping up and down on the couch.
In this direct to DVD and video release, Stitch (grunts/voice by Chris Sanders)
is suffering from a series of bad dreams. Lately, he has been acting out
and causing trouble, but he's not sure why. At the same time, Lilo (voice
by Fanning) is having some troubles of her own. She wants to compete in a
local May Day hula contest (so Hawaiian and Communist all in one), but can't
find the inspiration to come up with an original dance. As she practices
and tries to win the contest, just like her deceased mother did when she
was young (I can feel the tears starting to well up in my eyes), Stitch's
problems are growing out of control.
Will Lilo figure out what is wrong with her little buddy? Can he be cured?
After a rough start, Lilo and Stitch 2
finally finds its story to become an emotional and entertaining film. By
the time they start to play the Elvis music, I was hooked (The King can solve
all of the world's problems, just listen closely, then TCB). Directors/co-writers
Michael LaBash and Anthony Leondis sometimes strain to work in all of the
subplots which include relationship problems for Lilo's sister, Nani (Tia
Carrere), and David (Jason Scott Lee) as well as forced reasons to include
two aliens from the first movie, Agent Pleakley (Kevin McDonald) and Jumba
(David Ogden Stiers). This results in a busy movie, where more focus is needed
on Lilo and Stitch's sweeter, more compelling story, but most of it comes
together at the end as they build to a very emotional climax that will require
parents to have some frank discussions with their kids about the differences
between movies and real life. LaBash and Leondis, along with additional
co-writers Alexa Junge and Eddie Guzelian, sometimes provide great dialogue
exchanges between Lilo and Stitch, which left me wanting more and more, but
they can't get too complex or they would alienate the main audience (kids
under 10 years old).
Lilo and Stitch 2 has plenty of silly
stuff for the kids, and that powerful ending for adults.
Movie: 2 ½ Waffles (Out Of
4)
Extras
DVD fanatics and parents will be disappointed with the additional materials
on the Lilo and Stitch 2 DVD. First,
we have a lame music video and song from a fake, over-styled Disney Radio-style
band, Jump5. These kids make you long for the days of New Kids on the Block
(which is a horrifying idea in itself). Second, Disney includes a new animated
feature, The Origins of Stitch, which
seems redundant and pointless to anyone who saw the first movie,
Lilo and Stitch. Finally, Disney has
two interactive games for kids to play, but the responses to wrong answers
felt a little too insulting if you ask me, and if I'm insulted (a 33-year
old man in a business and love life full of rejection) how long will it take
your precious, angelic 5-year old daughter to squirt some tears?
Extras: ½ Waffle (Out Of 4)
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