Walt Disney Home Video presents

Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005)

"Wake up, Stitch!"- Lilo (Dakota Fanning)

Stars: Tia Carrere, Dakota Fanning, Chris Sanders
Other Stars: Holliston Coleman, Kevin McDonald, David Ogden Stiers
Director: Michael LaBash, Anthony Leondis

MPAA Rating: PG for (some mild action)
Run Time: 01h:08m:04s
Release Date: 2005-08-30
Genre: animation

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B	B	A	B+	C

 

DVD Review

Lilo & Stitch was one of the Disney's better efforts over the last decade or so. It also seems like it might be one of the last, since hand-drawn animation just isn't as popular as it used to be. That doesn't stop the House of Mouse from taking their hand-drawn animated classics (not that Lilo & Stitch is a classic) and making direct-to-DVD sequels to them, though. In this case, despite the "2" in the title, we have Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, the second direct-to-DVD sequel in the series, and the follow-up to 2003's Stitch: The Movie.

This time, everyone's favorite indecipherable alien, Stitch (Chris Sanders, the same voice audiences know and love), learns that he was never fully charged when he was created, and has been feeling the effects of this recently. Not only do his eyes turn green when he starts going loopy, if Lilo and the gang can't find out what's wrong with him and fix it, the damage could be permanent. Lilo has some big-time multitasking to do, though, as she not only has to deal with Stitch's problems, but she is also trying to decide on a theme for her big hula performance at the local competition.

This story actually takes place between the the first two films, and all of kids' favorite characters are back for more fun. Most of the same actors lend their voices as well to the characters of Lilo's older sister, Nani (Tia Carrere), Dr. Jumba (David Ogden Stiers), Pleakley (Kevin McDonald), and the aforementioned Sanders, who plays Stitch. The major new voice talent is the ever-present Dakota Fanning, who takes over the voice of Lilo, and does a fine job at that. In fact, the high quality voice acting almost singlehandedly makes Lilo & Stitch 2 seem like a higher-quality, bigger-budgeted production than it actually is.

Elvis fans will be happy to hear that The King makes his presence felt in Lilo & Stitch 2, which isn't exactly a departure from the earlier films. He's actually featured a bit more here, and is more of an integral factor in the plot than before. I love Stitch and consider him one of Disney's funniest characters in recent years, but the Elvis bits have grown extremely old and tiresome. I guess it might help if I was a bigger Elvis fan, but Stitch's obsession with him takes away some of the fun of the little crazy-talking alien during the rest of the movie. Too much Elvis still can't take away the fall-out-of-your-seat hilarity when Stitch is rambling indecipherably like an alien version of Animal from The Muppet Show.

So, even though it doesn't quite reach the overall charm and comedy of the original film, Lilo & Stitch 2 is one of the better direct-to-DVD efforts that Disney has produced to date. There's basically never going to be a break in the release of these sequels, unless, by some miracle of the box-office gods, hand-drawn Disney animated features make a sudden financial splash at theaters. Apparently, this series isn't going to stop here either, as there is a preview for yet another film, Leroy & Stitch, coming to DVD in 2006. Needless to say, brace yourselves.

Rating for Style: B
Rating for Substance: B

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.78:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	yes

Image Transfer Review: Another gorgeous transfer from Disney comes to us in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Nearly as bright and colorful as their theatrical films, Lilo & Stitch 2 also benefits from sharp images, down to the intricate details of an individual animated image. There's not even a trace of dirt, grain, or any other problems that would have distracted from the overall presentation.

Image Transfer Grade: A
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
Dolby Digital 5.1	English, French, Spanish	yes
DTS	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: There is the option to listen to the film in either Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1, with the latter getting the slight edge due to a bit wider dynamic range. Most of the action stays up front for both mixes, but there is a place for the surrounds during the action-heavy sequences and music montages. The dialogue never falters either, blending in well with the rest of the sound.

Audio Transfer Grade: B+ 

Disc Extras

Animated menu with music
Scene Access with 12 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
7 Other Trailer(s) featuring Cinderella: 2-Disc Special Edition, Leroy & Stitch, Toy Story: 10th Anniversary, Kronk's New Groove, Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest, My Scene Goes Hollywood: The Movie, Kim Possible
Packaging: Keep Case
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Music & More "Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride" - Music Video by Jump5
2. Bonus Short "The Origin of Stitch"
3. Where's Pleakley? - Interactive set-top game
4. Jumba's Experiment Profiler - Interactive set-top game

Extras Review: The minimal collection of extras includes "Sneak Peeks" for other Disney DVD releases, as well as a music video for the song Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride by Jump 5.

There's also The Origin of Stitch, a brief animated piece that chronicles how Stitch was created.

Two interactive games are also included, and in Where's Peakley? the job is to help Jumba find Peakley by picking him out of a large crowd, Where's Waldo style. The object of the other game, Jumba's Experiment Profiler, is to use your knowledge of the 625 experiments to answer questions about them, in order to help Jumba fix his database.

Extras Grade: C
 

Final Comments

Disney dips back into their talent pool once again with the direct-to-DVD sequel, Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch. While not even close to being as good as the original project, there are enough positive elements to make this at least a worthwhile rental. Disney delivers yet again in the audio and video departments, and continues to scale down the amount of extra features, including a few that warrant a look.

Chuck Aliaga 2005-08-31