AGW Entertainment reporter Lynn B. saw a new animated family film and attended the party after! Here are her thoughts on....

LILO AND STITCH

Walt Disney Pictures

According to Disney representatives, early screenings of Lilo and Stitch were wildly popular with kids but not so much with parents because Stitch is a wild little renegade delinquent who does everything from trash cars to barf up his food if he doesn't like it but he's got endearing qualities too. The little fellow looks like one of those Gremlins with a Koala Bear face. What's not to love??

On the planet Turo, a mad scientist named Jumba (David Ogden Stiers) is scolded for doing genetic experiments that create a bullet-proof, strong little alien whose only mission in life is destruction. When the alien escapes while being sent into exile and crashes on Earth, Jumba and alien Earth expert Pleakley (Kevin McDonald) are sent to bring him home. Meanwhile, on Earth, lonely, misfit, outcast young Lilo and her teen sister Nani (Tia Carrere) struggle to stay together as a family after their parents' death. Lilo wishes for a friend, finds the lost alien in the dog pound, names him "Stitch" and adopts him. Stitch's evil and mischievous nature wrecks Lilo's house, causes her sister to lose her job and a social worker to threaten to place Lilo in another home unless the "dog" gets trained and Nani gets a job.

With Jumba and Pleakley always on his tail, Stitch is still able to learn the true meaning of family. Since his personality has changed, he is allowed by the Grand Councilwoman of Turo (Zoe Caldwell) to stay on earth with his new family. Nani gets a job with the help of her boyfriend David (Jason Scott Lee) and the social worker Cobra Bubbles (Ving Rhames) lets Lilo stay with her sis.

This animated adventure is one of Disney's most edgy and original efforts yet. The "family" in the film consists of an older sister and her boyfriend, a younger sis and the family "dog" which happens to be an alien. As Lilo says "He used to be a Collie till he got ran over". The bad guy (at least for the first part of the film) is the social worker who might take Lilo away from her sister. Not typical Disney family faire. Chubby little Lilo is, at times, a brat who takes pictures of overweight, Anglo tourists on the beach as a hobby, listens to Elvis records constantly and bites the mean girls who torment her. Stitch curses (in alien), spits out half-eaten food and chews on everybody. I love these guys!

The lesson, that any diverse group of beings can comprise a family if there is love, is a terrific one for our current society. As Stitch describes his newfound family group "It's little and broken but still good". The story is very simple. I would have liked to have seen more about the adventures of Lilo and Stitch and less of the bumbling mad scientist and silly side-kick sent to capture the little alien. However, a wild chase near the film's end is very creative and includes several spaceships, a tanker truck, an exploding volcano and there's some really fun surfing action.

In the age of computer-created characters and backgrounds, it's refreshing to see that "traditional" animation can still entertain and pluck at a heartstring or two. Lilo and Stitch and the recent Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron couldn't be more different but both convince us that there is still room in modern animated entertainment for a guy (or gal) with a pencil and paper!

"Lilo's" Hawaiian water-color backgrounds are beautiful! It's also great to see that the characters aren't all figure-perfect Barbie dolls. Lilo and her sis are round and even a bit pudgy….like real people and Lilo's tormentors at school are of all races…some with, some without glasses.

Also fun and a mold-breaker is the music, for once not Lion King, Broadway musical style tunes but lots of Elvis with a Hawaiian kicker. All-in-all, a refreshing film. Like a fuzzy fungus, Stitch grows on you.

4 out of 5 stars for slightly warped family fun!

Rated PG
Official website: www.disney.com/stitch

HAWAIIAN BEACH PARTY!

Our entertainment reporter and a pal got to see Lilo and Stitch at the famous El Capitan theater in Hollywood. Next door is a special Hawaiian adventure beach party that includes three levels of fun. If you live in California or will soon visit you've gotta check it out. In The Big Kahuna area you can see a very special Elvis exhibit straight from Graceland. There are tons of costumes and other memorabilia. Across the hall you can play Stitch's Rocket Rescue Challenge.. a cute game that involves getting a spaceship from point "A" to "B" without dropping a ball.

On the Surf's Up level you can catch a live show and learn how to hula, play some film-related carnival games, have your picture taken in front of a mock-up of Graceland, surf for points in Paradise Cove and eat Krispy Kreme donuts. On the Beach level, you can make a Hawaiian lei and create your own Elvis look as well as sing Karaoke-style Elvis songs with you pals and play the new Lilo and Stitch video game.

All throughout the adventure are photo spots where a camera will take a pic of you that you can send to yourself and download via e-mail!

All-in-all, a cool, off the hook way to spend an afternoon! If you visit Hollywood…drop by.