REEL CRITIC -- DeAndra Rich

I laughed, I cried, and if I had a child I would not take her to see

this movie. The tag line, “There’s one in every family,” offers little

insight to what Disney’s newest animated feature film, “Lilo and Stitch,”

is really about.

With a different style of drawing and watercolor-looking backgrounds,

Disney took an obscenely big step in trying something unusual. Stitch was

created as a small yet vicious machine of destruction. Red flag No. 1:

violent creature that kids love.

When he is found too dangerous to exist, he is banished. Stitch ends

up in Hawaii, where he is thought to be some sort of animal and is

adopted by Lilo. This is where the story takes an interesting turn.

Lilo’s only parent is her sister, Nani, who is being watched by social

services and is in jeopardy of losing her little sister. Red flag No. 2:

explaining social services to a child.

Disney did do a good job of portraying the stereotypical nature of a

parentless child -- confused, tormented and sometimes violent -- which

gives us red flag No. 3: Not only is Stitch violent, so is his

counterpart, Lilo. Ultimately, exposing a 6-year-old to the whole

situation is not my idea of “wholesome” entertainment.

Although Lilo and Stitch somewhat turn from their violent ways, we

never get a clear picture of why. Still, it is endearing, as the story

shows it does not take the conventional form of a family to make one.

Lines like, “This is my family. It’s broken, but it’s good,” can bring

tears to mature eyes.

It seems to have a good message, but sent in the wrong way. So if your

kids really want to see it, do a little preview action before you take

the little ones to the theater.

“Lilo and Stitch” is rated PG for mild sci-fi action.

* DEANDRA RICH is a novice screenplay writer in Costa Mesa who hopes

to one day turn Ebert and Roeper into Ebert and Rich.