Released the year after Disney's 2002 animated feature, "Lilo & Stitch", this was the first of the direct-to-video sequels to that film, but it takes place after the third installment in the movie franchise, 2005's "Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch". "Stitch! The Movie" also came out just before the beginning of the spin off TV series, "Lilo & Stitch: The Series", which I haven't seen any episodes of (I've only seen a clip of one episode, featuring a guest voice provided by "Weird Al" Yankovic). I finally saw "Stitch Has a Glitch" just this month and it was basically a mixed blessing to me, unsurprisingly not as good as the original, which I thought was great when I first saw it and pretty good the second time. After seeing this 2003 "Lilo & Stitch" movie (the second one in order of release), I would say it is slightly weaker than the 2005 one.
Dr. Jumba Jookiba, Agent Pleakley, and Stitch are all extraterrestrials now living on Earth with Lilo and Nani in Hawaii. However, Stitch was Jookiba's Experiment 626, which means that the evil scientist made 625 genetic experiments before him, and he happens to be secretly keeping them deactivated in a container! Gantu has been sent to Earth by Dr. Jacques Von Hämsterviel, Jookiba's quick-tempered former lab partner who is very rodent-like in appearance, to capture the experiments, so the ex-captain arrives in Hawaii, abducts Jookiba from the planet, and takes him to Von Hämsterviel for interrogation, so he will tell them where these experiments are! On Earth, Lilo and Stitch activate Experiment 221 in their attempts to save the captured scientist, but this creature escapes and starts going around Hawaii and causing power surges! Meanwhile, Experiment 625 has been taken with Dr. Jookiba, and is activated during his creator's interrogation. He proves to be a lot like 626, but is lazier and loves sandwiches.
Even though I've never watched the "Lilo & Stitch" TV show, it appears some consider this direct-to-video release to be more like a pilot to that series, and I can believe that. Even though it has the word "movie" in the title, it feels more like a long episode of a children's cartoon show, and not very effective to me. There's lots of humour in this first "Lilo & Stitch" sequel, but I didn't usually find it very funny, and that includes the antics of Agent Pleakley for the most part, even though he certainly did make me laugh at times in the first film. It also appears that Dr. Jacques Von Hämsterviel is supposed be a comic relief, but he is even less funny here than Pleakley is, and the running gag with characters mispronouncing his name and another one with some comparing him to a gerbil instead of a hamster, both of which make him angry, are basically other examples of failed attempts at laughs in the film. The humour here is far from terrible, but it isn't usually above mediocre. The plot didn't seem to do much for me, either, even if it does get a little exciting near the end. Unlike the film which started the franchise, I didn't find any parts of "Stitch! The Movie" that touching.
As another direct-to-video sequel to a Disney animated feature (one of the many which have been made since 1994's "The Return of Jafar", the first sequel to 1992's "Aladdin" and the first of Disney's direct-to-video sequel releases), it probably shouldn't surprise viewers if they find it to be bland compared to the theatrical original. Many fans of the 2002 traditionally animated Disney film could easily be disappointed by this first sequel to it, which can probably also be said about "Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch", even if it is a bit better than this middle film of the three. I haven't seen 2006's "Leroy & Stitch", so I don't know how that film compares, but I can certainly believe that it's also inferior to the original "Lilo & Stitch", just like the two films that came in between. Overall, "Stitch! The Movie" is basically harmless fluff which many kids could enjoy, but probably not as many adult Disney fans would like it.
Dr. Jumba Jookiba, Agent Pleakley, and Stitch are all extraterrestrials now living on Earth with Lilo and Nani in Hawaii. However, Stitch was Jookiba's Experiment 626, which means that the evil scientist made 625 genetic experiments before him, and he happens to be secretly keeping them deactivated in a container! Gantu has been sent to Earth by Dr. Jacques Von Hämsterviel, Jookiba's quick-tempered former lab partner who is very rodent-like in appearance, to capture the experiments, so the ex-captain arrives in Hawaii, abducts Jookiba from the planet, and takes him to Von Hämsterviel for interrogation, so he will tell them where these experiments are! On Earth, Lilo and Stitch activate Experiment 221 in their attempts to save the captured scientist, but this creature escapes and starts going around Hawaii and causing power surges! Meanwhile, Experiment 625 has been taken with Dr. Jookiba, and is activated during his creator's interrogation. He proves to be a lot like 626, but is lazier and loves sandwiches.
Even though I've never watched the "Lilo & Stitch" TV show, it appears some consider this direct-to-video release to be more like a pilot to that series, and I can believe that. Even though it has the word "movie" in the title, it feels more like a long episode of a children's cartoon show, and not very effective to me. There's lots of humour in this first "Lilo & Stitch" sequel, but I didn't usually find it very funny, and that includes the antics of Agent Pleakley for the most part, even though he certainly did make me laugh at times in the first film. It also appears that Dr. Jacques Von Hämsterviel is supposed be a comic relief, but he is even less funny here than Pleakley is, and the running gag with characters mispronouncing his name and another one with some comparing him to a gerbil instead of a hamster, both of which make him angry, are basically other examples of failed attempts at laughs in the film. The humour here is far from terrible, but it isn't usually above mediocre. The plot didn't seem to do much for me, either, even if it does get a little exciting near the end. Unlike the film which started the franchise, I didn't find any parts of "Stitch! The Movie" that touching.
As another direct-to-video sequel to a Disney animated feature (one of the many which have been made since 1994's "The Return of Jafar", the first sequel to 1992's "Aladdin" and the first of Disney's direct-to-video sequel releases), it probably shouldn't surprise viewers if they find it to be bland compared to the theatrical original. Many fans of the 2002 traditionally animated Disney film could easily be disappointed by this first sequel to it, which can probably also be said about "Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch", even if it is a bit better than this middle film of the three. I haven't seen 2006's "Leroy & Stitch", so I don't know how that film compares, but I can certainly believe that it's also inferior to the original "Lilo & Stitch", just like the two films that came in between. Overall, "Stitch! The Movie" is basically harmless fluff which many kids could enjoy, but probably not as many adult Disney fans would like it.