Review of Lilo & Stitch (2002) by Shannon R — 01 Dec 2018

This film shows how a broken family can eventually be repaired and how the term Ohana is an ongoing theme that both Lilo and Nani stand by. Stitch not only manages to bring the two sisters together by the end of the film, but he also earns a spot within the family as well.

After the sister's parents died, Nani is forced the take on the position of both caretaker and breadwinner which puts added stress on the already broken family since Lilo does not have the right support and attention a young child in school needs due to Nani being at work trying to support them.

This causes even more friction between the two and with Stitch being another responsibility, Nani is unable to keep her job due to her being fired from Stitch and has to search for another one. This shows the lower class status of this family, especially when CPS comes to take Lilo away from Nani for not being a proper guardian since this generally does not occur with upper class citizens.

It was not until Lilo was rescued by Stitch from an alien kidnap that the family truly gets mended back together and Stitch no longer has to worry about being an outsider. This film points to the relational dimension of a family and how one does not need to be biologically related to be considered family.