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MovieMeditation presents...
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
279 .......................... 334
__________________________
December 1st
—— 2002 ——
Lilo & Stitch
—— animation ——
DISNEY CLASSIC no.42
REWATCH
"Ohana"
means family...
To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of this frantic kiddy-friendly creature feature the first time I saw it, though strangely enough, I remember quite liking the long-running tv-show. I was more involved this time around, but still not completely invested in what is going on, and I still have a feeling that something isn’t quite right. There are times when I feel rather alienated from the film, ironically, and the emotion that it wants to put forward as well. It reminds me of ‘The Emperor's New Groove’ with its hectic, foolish and fragmented attitude. But admittedly, this film does indeed deliver the emotional punch a bit better, which is something that has been mostly absent from the last few Disney films...
What ‘Lilo & Stitch’ does really well is the fundamental layer of emotion combined with evolved character arcs. Even though the film is very surfaced and energetic overall, everything underneath is what really impacts you. There is the sister, who struggles to raise her smaller sister on her own; balancing a job and her private life on a very thin and uneven basis. You truly feel for her and how frustrated she becomes, how broken she is inside and so on. Lilo is also a character easily paralleled to the real world, with her different personality and clear signs of loneliness, search for comfort and a calmer, easier and more ordinary life.
But unfortunately, all this is taking place under the surface and occasionally comes across as very subtle, while the superficial science-fiction spectacle is both action-packed, odd, overwhelming, wicked and just downright mad. The story is shattered all over the grounded themes of the film and when you pick the pieces up throughout, it’s like a cracked kaleidoscope of chaos; different impressions, styles and ideas, but somehow still fitting together in the end. I agree with one critic, who said the movie felt “like a television show or shorter ideas developed into a full-length feature.” The humor is a hit or miss for me too, but thankfully the movie looks great – once again a different new style, utilizing wonderful water-colored backgrounds... I totally get if you love this, but somehow, I can’t completely connect with it… something is just off… but that might as well be the point of it I guess.
+
__________________________
Going on LAST MONTH of my film diary
and the LAST 25 FILMS of that year!
HIS FILM DIARY 2015
total movie count ........... viewing day count
279 .......................... 334
__________________________
December 1st
—— 2002 ——
Lilo & Stitch
—— animation ——
DISNEY CLASSIC no.42
REWATCH
"Ohana"
means family...
To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of this frantic kiddy-friendly creature feature the first time I saw it, though strangely enough, I remember quite liking the long-running tv-show. I was more involved this time around, but still not completely invested in what is going on, and I still have a feeling that something isn’t quite right. There are times when I feel rather alienated from the film, ironically, and the emotion that it wants to put forward as well. It reminds me of ‘The Emperor's New Groove’ with its hectic, foolish and fragmented attitude. But admittedly, this film does indeed deliver the emotional punch a bit better, which is something that has been mostly absent from the last few Disney films...
What ‘Lilo & Stitch’ does really well is the fundamental layer of emotion combined with evolved character arcs. Even though the film is very surfaced and energetic overall, everything underneath is what really impacts you. There is the sister, who struggles to raise her smaller sister on her own; balancing a job and her private life on a very thin and uneven basis. You truly feel for her and how frustrated she becomes, how broken she is inside and so on. Lilo is also a character easily paralleled to the real world, with her different personality and clear signs of loneliness, search for comfort and a calmer, easier and more ordinary life.
But unfortunately, all this is taking place under the surface and occasionally comes across as very subtle, while the superficial science-fiction spectacle is both action-packed, odd, overwhelming, wicked and just downright mad. The story is shattered all over the grounded themes of the film and when you pick the pieces up throughout, it’s like a cracked kaleidoscope of chaos; different impressions, styles and ideas, but somehow still fitting together in the end. I agree with one critic, who said the movie felt “like a television show or shorter ideas developed into a full-length feature.” The humor is a hit or miss for me too, but thankfully the movie looks great – once again a different new style, utilizing wonderful water-colored backgrounds... I totally get if you love this, but somehow, I can’t completely connect with it… something is just off… but that might as well be the point of it I guess.
+
__________________________
Going on LAST MONTH of my film diary
and the LAST 25 FILMS of that year!