Ohana means family about “Lilo and Stich”.
Recently, I realized how often since I become a parent I watched Disney's old productions over the years. I did not realize just how much pleasure I have seeing ”Mulan", "Lilo and Stich" or other films. That's why I decided to devote a few posts to my favorite productions, so my private choice starts with aliens in Hawaii.
"Lilo and Stich", even though I watched this movie 30 times, I still think that it is phenomenal.
As you probably know, Lilo and Stich are one of those Disney movies that have been changed many times from the original idea to the final product. In the case of this production, everything has changed. Initially, the film was supposed to take place not in Hawaii but in Kansas, Stich was not supposed to be a genetic experiment but a gang leader, Lilo herself had to have a much more secondary role. In addition, after the first shows, a few scenes were changed (a scene between Lilo and Nani which tells us early that both girls are sisters, the audience was certain that Nani is the mother of Lilo), after September 11 it was considered necessary to change the final movie sequence where Stich kidnapped the plane. In other words - the final version was the result of many changes and alterations - which usually does not go for good. This time, however, it turned out that the fixes did not spoil the movie, which sometimes happened in the world of Disney (and Pixar).
Let's start with two issues. Lilo and Stitch is a lovely story, taking place in Hawaii and concentrating above all else - on family values and love between its members, especially siblings. There is no princess here, no one falls in love with anyone (the only candidate to the heart is far from the stereotype - about him further) and it is most important that the family stay together (even if it is enlarged by one mutant alien). I pay attention to it, because today Disney sells more or less the same elements, but advertising them as an amazing novelty. In Frozen, sister love is more important than romantic love? It's nice, but Lilo and Stich are not only the first but also devote much less space to heartbeats than do Frozen. Moana uses elements of a different culture than European or American? It is very nice, but it can not be hidden that Lilo and Stich are definitely more embedded in authentic Hawaiian culture (as we know it nowadays) than Moana, who was long ago. What makes this representation much more interesting. The issue is that whenever Disney does something new, it behaves as if it almost belonged to a peaceful Nobel. Instead of just making an animation about a girl from Polynesia, we have "Oh my God, we made an animation about a girl from Polynesia or are delighted with how much we use the diversity in our films, how we are incredibly progressive. Not that we would do exactly the same 15 years ago, only better. " I must admit that at some point I'm getting tired of it. Because if I'm not completely convinced, it's definitely about introducing diversity and representation for animation. I mean, the idea is to treat the representation normally and not to use it mainly as a marketing grab.
In Lilo and Stitch, a juxtaposition of the Hawaiians world with the world of people visiting Hawaii as tourists is shown in a way that I would not suspect of Disney in 2002. We have two parallel worlds. In one Lilo and Nani live in a not very nice, messy house. Lilo learns traditional dances and songs - far from the eyes of tourists - among his peers and people from the island. In addition, you can see that there is not much work outside tourism on the island, although the community is nice and close. The second world - this one on a tourist-filled beach is completely different. First of all, everyone on the beach is whiter than the heroine (this one makes them pretty good photos) and the Hawaiian culture appears only in a pub for tourists, where there is no authenticity in it - it is about to entertain people with something to a chops. Initially, the screenwriters planned to unambiguously put together these two worlds (Lilo was supposed to be accosted by tourists on the beach) but they gave up on that. Maybe it's better because the movie would be disturbingly real. At the same time it is worth noting that we also managed to avoid another stereotype - in the group of girls learning to dance together with Lilo, a few are clearly brighter and one is red-haired. This simple procedure suggests that being a native Hawaiian does not necessarily have to have a characteristic appearance. So many small thoughtful details in the background. Those who, on the one hand, set the action in a specific culture very much on the other have so much decency to refer to the fact that it is a culture exploited and perceived mainly through the prism of what can be shown to tourists.
These are matters that are on the second or third plan, but they caught my eye as an adult viewer. However, this is not all. I will even dare to say that Lilo and Stich is the best Disney movie when it comes to showing the way of thinking and the logic of a young child. Especially one of the first sequences in which Lilo talks about how she necessarily had to go to feed the fish with a peanut butter sandwich. The logic of her statement, but also the commitment and certainty with which it leads sounds exactly like something straight from the mind of a child of several years. Besides, Lilo is all written in such a wonderful way - from time to time it seems quite big and understanding, but there are scenes in which we can see how small and helpless a child is. Plus it has this amazing ability to approach the most bizarre events with calmness. And at the same time it is such a wonderfully written heroine - a bit strange, but in total kind, good, loving. We managed to write a perfect movie child who educates an alien in one scene, in the other enjoys a ride on a merry-go-round in the third throws a toy (to recover after a while) and in the fourth seriously uses the provisions of voo-doo to punish his unpleasant friends from class. This is a childish mix that makes the film look like a handkerchief every few minutes because the man is moved. At the same time, I have the impression that her attempts to the Stich - focused on the destruction, full of aggression and creation - are like attempts to overcome her own frustration and anger towards the world. The feeling that you are not a good child but you do not know what to do about it. I may exaggerate a little but it seems to me that looking at Stich as personalizing Lilo's problems with aggression (we see them in the first scene, they are also understandable in the case of a child who is in a traumatic situation) would be quite right.
Nani is also excellent, as a 19-year-old sister of the heroine, who after her parent's death deals with her sister. The threat of taking away her right to care for Lilo is not bemused, because the life of the girls is not really simple. We see that Nani does not know how to properly take care for her sister, that good intentions and family love are not enough to run a well-maintained, well-functioning home in which someone would always wait for Lilo after classes. Nani, moreover, does not know much about raising her sister, which is not surprising. Both of them clearly miss the time when they could be just siblings - not to act as a parent and child. Frustration Nani, who can not control her sister, is probably known to every parent and the film does not go back to show us how adolescent she is in a situation where she found herself. At the same time, Nani, from the very fact of taking care of her sister, does not immediately become mature and very wise. Like any teenager who is facing a problem she cannot solve (no job, probably take her sister), instead of sitting and worrying, for a moment, they go to the beach and try to forget about problems when surfing the waves. At the same time, the film in no way tries to convince us that the adventure together will make the lives of both sisters easy. Discreetly assigns them just carers who will make sure that the girls can live together. I like this approach to the subject - no amount of cosmic adventures will change the fact that teenagers find it difficult to raise a little sister. The fact that the film does not try to convince us is a serious treatment of the heroine's life situation.
Another thing is this romantic, not romantic theme. David - a local boy who is in love with Nani (actually wanting to invite her on a date) already in the first dialogue is informed that the dating is not a chance - Nani must deal with her sister. After this information, David does not change his attitude towards Nani or Lilo - he comforts them, he spends a nice afternoon on the beach. Always my heart softens when I see a hero who is happy not only with a girl which he likes but also with her younger sister. David is a beautiful figure - a boy who stoically approaches even the appearance of aliens. I think that there should be definitely more such heroes. It means sympathetic, even attractive, maybe somewhere there are potentially romantic but above all nice and obliging. Those who do not have a big conflict and just want to be sympathetic to the girl they like and her sisters. Sometimes I get the impression that too often in animations to protect the heroine from a romance they simply throw out male characters, or make them idiots, or turn out to be bad. Meanwhile, the usual "no sorry, its not a good time for a romance” sounds more lifelike. Ultimately, at any time, whether Nani will have a boyfriend or not, is not important for the action.
Lilo and Stich is a movie that over the years has gained the status of iconic and very popular, although initially it did not seem like it will. It seems to me that his "iconic” is due to the fact that it is different. The way of plotting is quite bold for Disney. We have a lot before the action (the whole process and Stich's escape), the center of the film is mainly filled with family problems. In addition, there are many elements woven into the story that are cool on the one hand, and a bit from another world on the other. Like, for example, Lilo's love for Elvis Presley. Presley obviously is associated with Hawaii, but the fact that a little girl loves him so much is a bit of a different story. We used to attribute such expressions of creativity or independence to the makers to Pixar movies, but in Lilo and Stich there are plenty of them. It is also one of those films that adults and children look a bit differently but still as if from the time before the "Shrek effect". Shrek effect is what I call after the success of that animated films - references to films or other pop-culture creatures that children can not know but are meant to amuse their parents. In the case of Lilo and Stich, for the difference in perception, it is not so much understanding of references to pop culture that the difference in the perception of certain issues from the perspective of an adult and a child. The child will see a lot more stories about the girl and her "dog", an adult about the problems that arise when the two sisters are orphaned and live in a real and not a magical world.
I am also a fan of the very good end, in which I managed to avoid the classic "we defeated the evil, who probably fell from a great height". Well, the charm of Lilo and Stich is that there is no evil here. Potentially bad film is after all his charming hero who has a problem with his own identity (when Stich says "I'm Lost" I swallow tears). Bad does not turn out to be a social welfare representative, or a crazy scientist, even a confident captain of a space ship is not bad. Ultimately, the film chooses the enemy much more ambiguous - a sense of loneliness, lack of belonging, and identity - this is an opponent to overcome. The film provides a good ending because ultimately our abandoned heroines get confirmation that someone will take care of them, and Stich has a family. Nobody had to be dropped from a tall building. This is a moving ending because it's basically based on a fairly common need to see our good intentions and problems and help. At the same time, however, there is some sadness in this, because there are such Lilo and Nani that a cosmic mutant does not get and which nobody will notice and take care of.
I must say that just as often, returning to well-liked animated films after many years may fail (its how Beauty and the Beast has aged in these years), in the case of Lilo and Stitch there is no question of feeling that the animation is obsolete. They are responsible for two things. The first - the use of the technique of painting background painted with watercolors dropped after Dumbo. The technique was considered outdated and more demanding, but in the case of landscape and color of Hawaii, these watercolor backgrounds make that from the very first stages we know very well where we are and what role the nature surrounding heroes play. The second thing is a specific line of animation - everything in Lilo and Stich is so wonderfully round, heaving, charming and calm. At the same time there is something that combines Disney candy with a very individual style. However, I like the way the character is animated the most. Mainly because for the first time in a long time I saw a movie in which heroes had bellies (behaving like bellies) and most importantly - legs that look like legs (you can see that they have to be thicker). Generally, everyone in this movie has great drawn silhouettes. And little Lilo is simply the most charming character that I have seen on the screen. And it is so wonderfully childish - without having to concentrate only on very large eyes.
An original, somewhat crazy, completely out of space idea - but because of this intriguing story about an alien who is hiding at the home of a little girl in Hawaii, films become iconic. There is something in it that can not immediately translate into a great success, but it stays in memory and after 15 years, you still watch it with equal emotion and amusement. Although who knows maybe even more.
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