Stitch Has A Glitch

''Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch'' is a 2005 American direct-to-video animated science fiction comedy-drama film produced by the Australian office of Disneytoon Studios. It was directed by Tony Leondis and Michael LaBash, both of whom co-wrote the film with Eddie Guzelian and Alexa Junge. It is the third film released in the ''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise and the second film in the franchise's animated chronology, taking place between the events of ''Lilo & Stitch'' (2002) and '' Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' pilot film ''Stitch! The Movie'' (2003), serving mainly as a direct sequel to the former. The film premiered at Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku, Hawaii on August 15, 2005, and was released on DVD and VHS on August 30, 2005.

Plot

Between the events of the first film and Jumba's other experiments being scattered across Hawaii, Stitch awakens from a nightmare about reverting to his former programming and attacking Earth, including assaulting Lilo. After consoling Stitch by reminding him that she knows he would never harm her, Lilo tests his goodness level by having him do a few good deeds. They then use a hovercraft to get to her hula class.

At class, Lilo's teacher Moses announces that the class will be performing at the local May Day festival, with each student being required to create an original dance. Lilo is inspired when Moses tells her about and hands a photo of her mother at her age winning the festival competition. After class, Mertle spites Lilo about following in her mother's footsteps, leading to her physically retaliating. As a result of this, Moses thinks that Lilo is not ready for the competition, but she refutes that claim and vows to better herself.

While preparing for the competition, Lilo and Stitch have a hard time coming up with ideas. One night, the latter unexpectedly experiences some seizures, which causes him to go berserk in the house. It is revealed that following Stitch's creation, Jumba failed to fully charge his molecular structure due to the process being botched during his arrest. At first, the malfunction causes Stitch to revert to his former programming against his will, but he will ultimately die from it if Jumba cannot rectify the charging process before Stitch's life energy depletes.

The malfunction causes friction between Lilo and Stitch, threatening to ruin the former's chances for success at the hula competition. The duo try to be inspired for their hula, but Stitch's condition continuously persists. Since Lilo is so concerned about winning the competition, she fails to notice said condition; she presumes that Stitch's new behavior is deliberate and begins to neglect him, much to his chagrin and eventual distress. Elsewhere, Nani's on-and-off boyfriend David believes she is losing interest in him, so Pleakley tries to revitalize their relationship.

Eventually, Lilo and Stitch devise a hula based on the legend of Hiʻiaka, but Lilo gets increasingly furious at Stitch as his condition ruins their practice sessions, getting her expelled from the hula school. All the while, Jumba is experiencing complications while creating a charging machine due to lacking the proper technology to do so and must resort to using mere household objects. On the day of the competition, Stitch attempts to wish Lilo luck, but when he suffers from another malfunction, a confused Lilo becomes concerned about his well-being, whereupon he inadvertently assaults her. Knowing that he would never do that intentionally, Lilo finally becomes aware of Stitch's condition and tries to ask, but the latter, greatly horrified and ashamed of what he had done, decides to run away, now believing himself to be lethal.

Lilo ultimately forfeits the competition mid-performance and runs off to help Stitch, during which she, Nani and David learn about the crisis from Jumba and Pleakley. As Stitch attempts to leave Earth in Jumba's spaceship, Lilo and the rest of the family desperately try to have him reconsider so his life can be saved. While taking off as he declines, Stitch violently and painfully malfunctions one last time, which causes him to lose control and crash the ship in the mountains. Lilo flies their hovercraft to the crash site and hurriedly attempts to get Stitch into Jumba's now-completed charging machine, but it is too late as Stitch apologizes to Lilo before seemingly dying. A remorseful Lilo apologizes to Stitch for her ungrateful treatment towards him, having finally understood that while she kept insisting that she needed him, ''he'' needed ''her'' more before declaring that she will always love him. After a brief period of grieving, Stitch miraculously returns to life, much to everyone's happiness. Although Pleakley is confused by the miracle, Jumba ascertains that Lilo's love for Stitch is what saved his life.

That night, the family and David perform Lilo's hula dance as Nani informs Lilo that their mother would be proud of her; a star in the sky twinkles to justify the claim.

Cast

* Chris Sanders as Stitch, a koala-like illegal genetic experiment (of which he is Experiment 626) from the planet Turo who finds his place as part of an extended family on Earth, but begins suffering from a malfunction due to his molecular structure not being completely charged following his creation.
* Dakota Fanning as Lilo Pelekai, a young Hawaiian girl who adopted Stitch and is determined to win a hula competition that her late mother previously won while being oblivious to Stitch's condition. Fanning took over for Daveigh Chase as she was busy voicing the character in '' Lilo & Stitch: The Series''.
* Tia Carrere as Nani Pelekai, Lilo's older sister and legal guardian, who carries the burden of supporting herself, Lilo and now Stitch both financially and parentally.
* David Ogden Stiers as Doctor Jumba Jookiba, a Kweltikwan mad scientist formerly employed by Galaxy Defense Industries and Stitch's creator, who now watches over him with the family they made on Earth. When Stitch begins malfunctioning as a result of his botched molecular charging process, Jumba tries to save his creation before he dies from his condition.
* Kevin McDonald as Agent Wendy Pleakley, a Plorgonarian agent formerly employed by the United Galactic Federation, who assigned him as Jumba's assistant on Earth, who now lives with him there along with Stitch and the Pelekais. He assists Jumba in saving Stitch's life while also trying to mend David and Nani's supposedly faltering relationship by pretending to be David's new boyfriend to make her jealous (which she can easily see right through, to her and David's chagrin).
* Jason Scott Lee as David Kawena, Nani's surfer boyfriend who gets unwittingly involved in Pleakley's attempts to mend his and Nani's relationship. Lee reprises his role from the first film.
* Liliana Mumy as Mertle Edmonds, a young girl who is one of Lilo's classmates and her main rival.
* Kunewa Mook as Moses Puloki (credited as "Kumu"), Lilo's hula teacher.

Additional voices include William J. Caparella, Holliston Coleman, Matt Corboy, Jennifer Hale, Jillian Henry, Emily Osment and Paul C. Vogt. Among them, Coleman voices Teresa, a girl with wavy hair in Lilo's hula class and Mertle's posse who Moses calls "Aleka" in this film, Henry voices Elena, the blonde-haired girl in said class and posse (reprising her voice role from ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series''), and Vogt voices the leader of a trio of the United Galactic Federation's troopers (called the "Intergalactic Police" in this film) sent to arrest Jumba in the flashback detailing Stitch's creation.

Production

Cast and recording

This is the only animated film in the series without actress Daveigh Chase who voices Lilo in all other animated ''Lilo & Stitch'' films. According to Disney Animation Studios, Chase was so busy working on '' Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' that she suggested renowned child actress and good friend Dakota Fanning play her. Chris Sanders, the writer/director of the first film, did not participate fully. The film also became Disney's first and only direct-to-video animated film to be rated PG by the MPAA for some mild action. Jason Scott Lee, who voiced David in the first film, reprised his role, making it the final time he voiced the character.

Animation

The animation was produced by Walt Disney Animation (Australia) Inc., Australis Productions, and A. Film A/S, although those animation studios were never credited, except for Australis Productions.

''The Origin of Stitch'' short film

''The Origin of Stitch'' is an animated short film included on the DVD release of ''Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch''. The short has a total running time of 4:35 minutes and serves as a bridge between ''Stitch Has a Glitch'' and ''Stitch! The Movie'' (as well as '' Lilo & Stitch: The Series''). In the short, Stitch discovers Jumba's secret computer that reveals what creatures Jumba had used to create Stitch and also hints at the rest of his experiments. Stitch is scared to find out what a monster he is, only for Jumba to come and explain how he found love when he met Lilo. The short was directed by Mike Disa and co-directed by Tony Bancroft.

Toonacious Family Entertainment produced the short with coloring done by Powerhouse Animation of Austin, Texas.

Soundtrack

''Disney's Lilo & Stitch Island Favorites Featuring Songs from Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch'' is the soundtrack album to ''Lilo & Stitch 2''. The soundtrack is partly an updated repackaging of another album also titled ''Disney's Lilo & Stitch: Island Favorites'' that was released in November 2002, reusing some of the same songs that appeared on that album. The song "He Mele No Lilo" had been included in the first film, ''Lilo & Stitch''. "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride", also from the original film, appears in two versions; a cover of the song by Jump5 (who performed the '' Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' theme song "Aloha, E Komo Mai") and a remixed version of the original performed by Mark Kealii Hoomalu and the Kamehameha Schools Children's Chorus. The soundtrack also includes Tia Carrere's (the voice of Nani) version of "Aloha ʻOe" as performed in the original film, but with additional backing instrumentation. It was released by Walt Disney Records on August 30, 2005.

Charts

Release

Although originally slated for a theatrical release (like ''Return to Never Land)'', it was released to DVD and VHS on August 30, 2005, due to the poor reception of ''The Jungle Book 2''. Nevertheless, the film received a premiere showing fifteen days prior on August 15 at Turtle Bay Resort on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. This is the last ''Lilo & Stitch'' film to have a VHS release; the fourth film, ''Leroy & Stitch'', released in 2006, would later be only released on DVD.

The DVD extras include ''The Origin of Stitch'' short film, a music video for the song "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" performed by Jump5, and two games ("Jumba's Experiment Profiler" and "Where's Pleakley?" - similar to '' Where's Waldo?'').

Critical reception

On critical response aggregation website, Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 40%, and an average score of 5.5 out of 10 based on 10 reviews.

Hi-Def Digest said, "The humor in the second movie is juvenile, and lacking in the wit that makes the first so distinctive. The characterizations are heavily simplified, to the point where some of the characters feel dumbed down. Also, a lame subplot involving one of Lilo's peers feels silly and has a poor resolution. Even worse is the false sentimentality of the climax, which feels like cheap heartstring-tugging". ReelFilm gave a 2.5 out of 5 star rating, saying "''Lilo & Stitch 2'' is cute enough - there are a few genuinely funny moments here, while the voice acting is surprisingly effective - although the film does eventually wear out its welcome".

In a 2019 list of direct-to-video sequels, prequels, and "mid-quels" to Disney animated films, Petrana Radulovic of ''Polygon'' ranked ''Lilo & Stitch 2'' first out of twenty-six films on the list, appreciating its faithfulness to the original film's tone. She stated, "The other two ''Lilo & Stitch'' sequels were just fine, but they didn’t capture the essence of what made the original special, choosing instead to focus on aliens. ''Stitch Has a Glitch'', however, manages to balance the alien story with the human one. ..Overall, the movie verges on being cheesy, but it is a satisfying, heartwarming type of goo, with very funny moments and gags." In a similar list in 2020, Lisa Wehrstedt of ''Insider'' ranked ''Lilo & Stitch 2'' second out of twenty-five films on her list, behind '' The Lion King II: Simba's Pride''. Werhstedt, who considered the film "heartwarming" and "sweet", wrote that the film "manages to keep the perfect mix of cute and wacky that made the first one so charming."

At the 33rd Annie Awards, ''Lilo & Stitch 2'' won the Annie Award for Best Animated Home Entertainment Production.

Notes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilo and Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch
2005 films
2005 American animated direct-to-video films
2005 children's films
American children's animated comic science fiction films
American children's animated comedy films
American children's animated drama films
American films with live action and animation
American sequel films
Animated films about friendship
Children's comedy-drama films
Annie Award–winning films
Direct-to-video sequel films
Direct-to-video prequel films
Disney direct-to-video animated films
DisneyToon Studios animated films
Films scored by Joel McNeely
Animated films about children
Films about competitions
Animated films set in Hawaii
Lilo & Stitch (franchise) films
Films directed by Tony Leondis
Films with screenplays by Tony Leondis
2005 directorial debut films
2000s children's animated films
2000s English-language films