Problems in Paradise?

When people think of Hawaii, they usually picture a warm, sunny paradise. They think of beautiful beaches and beautiful people. Lilo and Stitch is a movie that takes place in Hawaii, and it shows the reality of life in Hawaii. It is about two sisters, Lilo and Nani, who lost their parents and are struggling to make it on their own. Lilo is the younger sister and seems to get into a lot of trouble. Nani, the older sister, has to work and take care of the house and keep Lilo out of trouble. There is a man that stops by regularly to make sure Lilo is being taken care of and is safe, which puts more pressure on Nani. Then, a weird little alien comes into their lives and complicates things even more. Lilo adores the alien, Stitch, and takes him everywhere. There are quite a few incidents, both major and minor, that cause problems. In the end tough, they are able to work everything out and are all happy.

The most popular line from this movie is, “Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.” This movie emphasizes the importance of family in a very obvious way. Lilo has a picture of her family before her parents died that she keeps under her pillow and looks at a lot. This movie shows the struggles of life for children that do not have parents. It is almost like Nani is a single mother.

I think an implied message in this movie is that life isn’t as perfect or easy as people tend to think it is. The girls struggle to get along. Nani has to work a lot to make ends meet. Lilo doesn’t fit in and gets picked on by other girls for being weird. And, they are having to teach an alien monster to act civilized.

This movie has very strong emotional appeals. There is a scene where Nani is holding Lilo and singing to her because she thinks that Lilo is going to be taken away the next day. It is very emotional because you can see how hard Nani is working to be able to provide a safe home for Lilo and how much she loves her. There is also a scene where Lilo thinks she sees a falling star and makes a wish. She wishes that she could find someone that would be her friend. Lilo has a hard time fitting in because she is different than the other girls her age. Everyone has felt like they don’t fit in at some point in their lives, so they know how hard this can be.

Nani and Lilo do not look like most of the typical Disney female characters. They are portrayed with a more normal body type. Lilo could even be considered slightly chubby. This helps with the ethos of the movie. I think that breaking away from the super skinny, super girly mold gives the movie more credibility. It makes the movie more realistic.

Overall, this is a cute Disney movie that teaches good lessons and does not leave kids thinking they need to be skinny and have expensive things to be happy. I give this movie 3 out of 3.