| Stitch! The Movie | |
|---|---|
| File:Stitchthemovie.jpg Cover art for the Stitch! The Movie DVD | |
| Directed by | Tony Craig Robert Gannaway |
| Written by | Robert Gannaway Jess Winfield |
| Produced by | Tony Craig Jess Winfield Robert Gannaway |
| Starring | Daveigh Chase Chris Sanders Tia Carrere David Ogden Stiers Kevin McDonald Kevin Michael Richardson |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Home Entertainment |
Release dates | August 26, 2003 |
Running time | 64 min. |
| Language | English |
Stitch! The Movie is a direct-to-video animated spinoff of Lilo & Stitch, released on August 26, 2003. It is often considered more of a pilot for the spinoff series Lilo & Stitch: The Series rather than a sequel to the original film.
Story
Template:Spoiler The story is an introduction to Dr. Jumba Jookiba's 625 experiments, which he created with the financing of Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel.
The film starts out with ex-Captain Gantu being hired by Hämsterviel to retrieve the experiments. The intro shows that, presumably, Gantu acquired a new ship of a later model after his old one blew up in the first film.
Meanwhile, down on Earth, Stitch is still not fitting in. Lilo tries to encourage him by saying he's one-of-a-kind, comparing him to Frankenstein. However, that just makes him feel worse. Suddenly, a crash is heard from below. Running downstairs, the pair encounters Gantu, breaking into their home.
While Stitch quickly defeats the "big dummy," Jumba is carrying an oblong object under a cloth. Without warning, Gantu rips open the roof and Jumba hides the object. After Gantu threatens Jumba for the experiments, he finds one blue ball with the number "625" on it. Putting it on his person, Gantu proceeds to kidnap Jumba for interrogation.
Lilo and Stitch hot-wire Jumba's ship to chase Gantu into space, resulting in a brief space battle reminiscent of the previous film. When he hits his opponents' ship with a powerful blast, Gantu makes the leap into hyperspace, leaving Lilo and Stitch with power failing, falling back towards Earth.
Upon getting back to the house, Lilo and Stitch talk with ex-Agent Pleakley, now also part of their family. He finds the object Jumba hid and opens it. Within is a double-helix of small balls similar to the one Gantu took. Pleakley decides that these are the other experiments, in dehydrated form. He warns them not to tell anyone, or put the experiments in water.
Deliberately disobeying Pleakley, Stitch and Lilo get the container while their alien guardian is on the phone trying to contact Jumba. Choosing Experiment 221, an electricity producer, to charge the ship, they drop it into a tub full of water (it is later revealed that this was excessive, and that a single drop is all it takes). The creature rehydrates, blows their power, and escapes.
Meanwhile, Jumba is being held captive on Hämsterviel's ship. Hämsterviel himself is shown in person for the first time. Suspense builds up, only to reveal that he is a gerbil/poodle/rabbit like alien, who is quite short. When he ceases to be able to strike fear in his former partner, he activates Experiment 625 to attack him. Fortunately for Jumba, while 625 has all of Stitch's powers, he's too lazy to use them, but he can only make sandwiches. Clearly Jumba's "panic" at the mention of 625 was just a put-on in order to make fools of Hämsterviel and Gantu.
Calling one last number, Pleakley just happens to get Hämsterviel's ship. Hämsterviel tells Pleakley that he wants a ransom of the 624 other experiments. When Pleakley informs the other family members what the ransom is, Nani proceeds to call Cobra Bubbles while Lilo and Stitch go out to find 221 (whose absence has still gone unnoticed by Pleakley).
When Cobra arrives the next morning, he seems to already know of the entire proceedings. Lilo and Stitch continue their search for the runaway experiment. After a semi-lengthy montage, they finally catch him at a hotel. Back at the house, while Lilo makes a badness-level chart for their captive and compares that to the chart she had made for Stitch, Stitch realizes how much he has in common with what he calls his "cousin."
The rendezvous time arrives and Pleakley and Cobra show up with the container (which still contains only 623 experiments). Pleakley is quite perplexed when he sees how short Hämsterviel really is. However, Hämsterviel makes up for his size by threatening Jumba with a plasma-blaster, which he's allergic to.
Pleakley hands the container over to Hämsterviel, who is shocked to find that one is missing. As he shouts out several threats in his high-pitched voice, Lilo shows up with 221 in a glass vase. Announcing that she has named it Sparky, she says that he is part of Stitch's, and thus her, ohana. Hamsterviel tells her that she either gives him the experiment, or Jumba dies.
After several moments of thinking and hearing Cobra, Pleakley, Jumba, and Hämsterviel persuading them, Lilo and Stitch set Sparky free and break Jumba from his bonds. Despite the fact that he has lost one experiment, Hämsterviel rejoices in obtaining all the others. Suddenly, on Cobra's signal, the Grand Councilwoman's ship rises out of the nearby ocean and aims several guns at Hämsterviel. Lilo protests, saying that Hämsterviel has the other experiments, and Sparky overhears, thinking heavily, showing his first signs of emotion.
As Sparky uses his electrical abilities to blow the power on the Councilwoman's ship, Hämsterviel and Gantu climb back aboard their own ship, with the experiments. In a last attempt to stop Hämsterviel, Lilo and Stitch barely climb onto the ramp of the ship as it closes. Following them, Sparky pushes himself through an exterior socket.
Barging in on Hämsterviel's celebration of getting the container, Lilo and Stitch swipe it. As Stitch opens a window, Lilo throws the container out it. Gantu lunges for the container, grabbing it outside. However, he accidentally presses a button, releasing the dehydrated pods to rain down on Hawaii.
Having captured the heroes, Hämsterviel tells his plans (in 1950s villains' style) to clone Stitch a thousand times over, and orders Gantu to do what he wants with Lilo. While Gantu puts Lilo in a teleportation pod to send to an intergalactic zoo, Stitch is strapped to a weight just heavier than he can lift. Hämsterviel stands over him and says that Stitch will have to be cut in half for the cloning process.
Watching as a laser is getting closer and closer to doing great harm to Stitch, Sparky does more thinking and, showing that he has rehabilitated, causes the cloning machine to short-circuit. He then breaks Stitch free, and the cousins strap Hämsterviel to the device. Stitch then follows Lilo's beckoning calls for help.
Cutting through the ventilation system, Stitch bursts in and sees a teleporter filled with smoke, and nearly breaks it open. However, it is successful and turns out that was teleporting a shopping list and Lilo is on the other end of the room. This time, he breaks her out.
Having locked Hämsterviel in handcuffs, Lilo, Stitch, and Sparky short-circuit Gantu's ship, causing it to crash near a waterfall on Kauai. Gracefully landing Hämsterviel's ship back at the rendezvous point, they give Sparky a new home: powering the old lighthouse which hasn't been running in years. They then persuade the Grand Councilwoman to let them do the same for the other 623. Then the Councilwoman places Hämsterviel under arrest, and Jumba whispers to Pleakley that he has plans for making Experiment 627.
Trivia
- The film's original title was going to be Lilo & Stitch: A New Ohana. At some point, there was a decision to only have Stitch's name in the titles of both the movie and the subsequent series, which was planned to be called Stitch! The Series. Eventually, this was abolished, resulting in both this film and the series having mismatched names.
- After the credits roll, Pleakley hopefully says to Jumba, "Hey! Maybe the Grand Councilwoman will let us go home with her this time!" Only to be disappointed by hearing her ship launch. He then leaves disappointed, saying "I'll go get the wig."