that's lee-lo, not lee-loo and certainly not ligh-low

"What in the world are you talking about?"

Oh, that's funny that you should say that! "What in the world..." Hahaha! This scifi Disney even starts with the Magic Castle taking off like a rocket ship! That lets you know from the very get-go that this will not be one of their usual stories.

"Science fiction? From the land of princesses???"

Yep! And not a single royal chica in sight, either. Just a little girl with her doll, Scrump, that she made. Very different.

"Then why were you watching it?"

Hey, it's not like this is the first time I've never gone for the rough and tumble animated flicks. Right? Still, this one was off my radar. All I really knew about it was that my first niece really loved "Lilo And Stitch" and I had wondered what draw it held for her. That's why I chose it for my first 1-Dollar Weekend Movie this month. The theme is animated movies never seen.

"And have you figured out why she loves it so?"

Well, I thought I had. After seeing it the first time, I noticed it was released the year after Mama died. Its mantra is "Ohana means family, which means no one gets left behind... or forgotten." It also has a sister trying to get custody of her little sister via the foster care system, and the troubles with doing that. So, I thought those were the reasons.

"That sounds very logical. But those weren't the attraction?"

Nope. I was more on target when I texted her this evening with two photos from the movie. I then had gone on about the two reasons I thought she liked it. She set me straight! She missed it when it first came out, but recalled seeing the movie "since Miyah. Or possibly just b4", she said.

"Oh, that puts it into perspective!"

Right? So I quipped, "Little monster, and the alien, too, made me immediately think of Miyah!", being funny, right? She knew at once I was referring to the little girl! "Yep," she replied, "cute and crazy." 

"For sure! Let's hope Chloe is getting better role models now that she is in school."

I do hope so, but that'll take time. I've seen with Leila and Alyssa that they have definitely become their own selves now that they've been in school for several years. I'm so glad schools have the policy of placing twins in different classes from each other!

"I definitely like that, too. Now, tell me about this movie. Did you like it?"

It was... okay... the first time. It isn't a musical and isn't something that really appealed to me. Still, the setting in Hawaii and all the surfing made it seem like a good choice, given that I've recently seen "Point Break" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". Right place, right time coincidence, you know.

"Heard."

Its saving grace is the abundance of Elvis' music throughout. Like, seriously heavy rotation! Almost the entire soundtrack is comprised of his hits! And, when the social worker says the little girl's "dog" needs to become a "model citizen", I found it delightful that she chose Elvis Presley, her idol, as the one for him to emulate.

"Could you tell me about the movie? Just wondering how Elvis figured in."

Well, let's start from the top, shall we? There's Lilo with her doll, hoping to play with the other little girls, but shunned. She goes home to sing along with "Heartbreak Hotel", while her sister is trying to get in the locked house and, of course, the social worker - voiced by Ving Rhames and named Mr. Bubbles! - is waiting to check out the living situation.

Those monthly visits are something Christina has lived with for almost two decades!

Okay, back to the story.

The sister decides that Lilo needs a dog to keep her company, so off the the pound they go the next morning. The alien - Experiment 626 - has crash landed and been taken to the pound. Shape-shifting it becomes a 'dog', which Lilo sees and immediately wants, naming it "Stitch"... and, paying the two-dollar fee, she now has a pet.

The thing is, here's the thing: he's programmed as a destroyer. Gee, that's something they have in common! But she asks him to create something instead of breaking all her stuff. Justthatfast, he builds a model of San Francisco!!! Then immediately he goes into full-tilt-boogie Godzilla mode and wrecks it! Very funny!

Not acceptable by Mr. Bubbles. So, that's when she teaches Stitch to be like Elvis: to dance like him, play guitar like him, move like him, dress like him! And all around town they go, as her sister tries to find a new job... and they keep wrecking her chances. That's because, on top of his destructive tendencies, the alien doesn't like to get wet (even if it's an accident), has a short fuse, abhors bright lights (such as flashes on cameras taking photos), and now has other aliens trying to capture him to return him to planet Turo.

What a hectic time!

It's beginning to look bleak for Lilo and her sister.

Then the little girl is kidnapped and taken off in a rocket ship! Stitch manages to get free, as he's a bit of an escape artist. Then he gets to the big sister, who gathers others, and they manage to rescue Lilo from the aliens!

But Mr. Bubbles is displeased, as that's too much turmoil for a little girl to endure.

 

All ends well, with the aliens granting custody of Stitch back to Lilo, since she has a legitimate bill of sale for him. Moreover, the alien in charge declares that Lilo, Stitch, and the big sister stay together forever, something that even a social worker couldn't dismantle.

The end!

 

"Marvelous! And there's music from the King of Rock and Roll, too!"

 

Indeed! Plus, I get to watch it one more time, which I'll do tomorrow.

(smile!)