History YMMV / LiloandStitch

*** Even though she is one of the more popular experiments in the franchise, becoming a major character a few years after her debut, there are ''Lilo & Stitch'' fans who do not like her because of her being either an underdeveloped, {{flat|Character}} DistaffCounterpart to Stitch who was only introduced [[SatelliteLoveInterest just to give him a love interest]] in ''The Series''. Her detractors say that she gets a lot of positive discrimination from much of the fanbase, comparable to WesternAnimation/LolaBunny. It can be argued that [[ExecutiveMeddling then-executive disapproval of her]], which prevented her from making any further appearances apart from "Snafu" and ''Leroy & Stitch'', negated any chances for her to develop further as a character in ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'', and the anime's producers tried to make up for that.

** While Stitch is one of Disney's most popular characters, with many having been won over by his cute charms and CharacterDevelopment, some viewers were very put off by his mischief and gross behavior. ''Forbes''[='=]s [[https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2018/10/03/will-disneys-live-action-lilo-and-stitch-remake-suffer-from-lilo-and-stitch-syndrome Scott Mendelson]] considers Stitch to be a major detriment to the film and distracting from Lilo and Nani's plights because Stitch "spends 99%" of the film causing the Pelekai sisters' lives to be worse than they already were.[[note]]Never mind the fact that Stitch [[HeelRealization eventually realizes what the consequences of his actions are in the film]], but Mendelson was so engrossed with the Pelekai sisters that he couldn't care about any other character in the film even though (as he pointed out) it ends on a happy ending.[[/note]] It got worse after Ride/StitchsGreatEscape opened to horrid reception with a poorly-received interpretation of Stitch, with many older Disney fans, especially a portion of American Ride/DisneyThemeParks fans who fondly remember [[Ride/ExtraTERRORestrialAlienEncounter SGE!'s predecessor]], holding a misplaced grudge against the character solely because of that ride. There's also a contingent of ''Lilo & Stitch'' fans who feel burned out by Stitch because they feel that [[ItsPopularNowItSucks he's become overexposed]] in [[TheMerch merchandise]] and [[WolverinePublicity marketing]], especially [[SpotlightStealingSquad at the expense of nearly every other character in the franchise]].

* CriticalBacklash: The Asian spin-offs have received a small bit of this. As a result of the huge backlash towards the ''Stitch!'' anime and ''Stitch & Ai'', both shows' fans have been defending and trying to rally support for them, accusing the ''Lilo & Stitch'' fans of being obnoxious with their hatred and FanonDiscontinuity toward the spin-offs. It helps that it's been years since either show ended and no new TV shows in the franchise have been made since the Chinese series. Results are mixed, though, since there are fans out there -- even [[https://uto-blog.com/stitch Japanese]] [[https://uto-blog.com/experiments2 fans]] -- who don't like those shows for reasons other than Lilo getting replaced.

** {{Bara|Genre}} Stitch / Himbo Stitch: "Anthrofied" versions of Stitch that trended in January and February 2021 within the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom, where furry artist [[https://twitter.com/MineDoo_/status/1352793322121809921 MineDoo's drawing]] of an anthropomorphic Stitch[[note]]in this case, since Stitch is technically an anthropomorphic creature to begin with, "anthropomorphic Stitch" refers to him getting a more humanoid body build; "anthro Stitch" has already been drawn by other artists well before the trend happened[[/note]] with a thick neck and a buff chest as if HeIsAllGrownUp inspired several other furry artists to draw their own anthro versions of him.

** As with most Disney franchises based on films in [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon the Animated Canon]], the original film is easily the most fondly remembered and the best-written part of the franchise. The sequel material were popular back in the franchise's heyday, but ([[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff outside of East Asia]]) [[{{Irony}} they have been mostly left behind and forgotten]] (save for [[BreakoutCharacter Angel]], considering all the merchandise and game appearances that she gets today).

** When ''Lilo & Stitch'' was added to ''VideoGame/DisneyMagicKingdoms'' (as limited-time content), the related content included elements taken from the sequel material (including Angel being added as a ''non-''premium character), which caused DAC and ''L&S'' purists to complain on the game's [[Website/{{Reddit}} subreddit]] and official Website/{{Facebook}} page. Same thing happened with Angel's inclusion in ''VideoGame/DisneyEmojiBlitz'' and especially ''VideoGame/DisneySpeedstorm''.

* FoeYayShipping: Despite the fact that Mertle canonically ''hates'' Lilo just for being weird and takes delight in bullying her, that hasn't stopped fans from [[ToyShip pairing the two together]].

* HilariousInHindsight: Let's see: it's a franchise about a [[ABoyAndHisX girl and her alien buddy]] in Hawaii, with said alien being the 626th of such creatures which the TV series [[GottaCatchEmAll is dedicated to capturing]], the creatures are tamed with ThePowerOfFriendship, and Japan utterly adores that alien. When news broke out that ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' would be set in Alola, a Hawaii counterpart, and that the plot would revolve around alien life-forms the likes of which the franchise has never seen before in the Ultra Beasts, it may as well have been free publicity for ''Lilo & Stitch''. (That is, if ''Lilo & Stitch'' was still producing stuff for more than just kids of specific countries.)

* LGBTFanbase: The heavy focus on [[FamilyOfChoice found family]] and embracing the things that make you unique, coupled with Pleakley being gender non-conforming has long resonated with the LGBT community. Even more when same-sex marriage was legalized in all fifty states on June 26, 2015, or 6/26, in line with Stitch's experiment number in MDY format, which has led to some members of the community adopting Stitch as something of a [[MovementMascot mascot]]. (More on all this below.)

*** Leather Daddy Stitch [[labelnote:Explanation]]During Disneyland's first ever Pride Nite in 2023, the Stitch costumed character [[https://twitter.com/Mullins_Andrew/status/1668981809588076558 wore a leather jacket and hat]] evoking the LGBTQIA+ community's "leather daddies". Note that unlike Muscle Stitch and Bara/Himbo Stitch, this was from an ''official Disney event''.[[/labelnote]]

* PopularWithFurries: Stitch's cute, animal-looking design makes him popular with furries. The same applies to some of the other experiments, such as Reuben and Angel. This is not without precedent either; Creator/ChrisSanders has ties with the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom, and when the original 2002 film won the Ursa Major Award[[note]]an annual award honoring the best of the furry fandom, similar to sci-fi and fantasy's UsefulNotes/{{Hugo Award}}s[[/note]] for Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture, Sanders accepted the certificate in person. This is not even getting into the anthro Stitch trend that blew up in January 2021.
* SacredCow: Lilo Pelekai is increasingly attaining this status thanks to her being neglected quite heavily in much of the franchise's marketing and due to the Eastern-produced shows that replace her,[[note]]Though the latter reason applies more towards the part of the fandom [[FanonDiscontinuity who do not approve of the Eastern spin-offs]].[[/note]] as well as finding her to have one of the most realistic depictions of emotional trauma in animation history. Fans even came up to Lilo's defense on Website/{{Tumblr}} and Website/{{Twitter}} in 2020 (causing the film to trend on the latter) after an animator called ''Lilo & Stitch'' one of Disney's "worst" films because of Lilo. Her status as this trope has only further increased with Disney's silent rebrand of the franchise, with merchandise and promotions that have been consisting downplaying her or excluding her altogether in favor of giving Stitch more and more of the already huge amount of attention he has.

* ShipsThatPassInTheNight: Nani and the lifeguard has become a surprisingly popular ship amongst the fandom. Despite the two barely interacting at all (only doing so once in the first film) and the former already having a LoveInterest in the form of David.

* ArchivePanic: ''Lilo & Stitch'' has been one of Disney's most active franchises since its 2002 debut. Between all the animated material released, there are four feature-length films, a short film, and 166 television episodes and specials in total.[[note]]65 episodes of ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'', 83 episodes of the ''Stitch!'' anime, five ''Stitch!'' specials (one for each of the three seasons plus the two post-series specials), and thirteen episodes of ''Stitch & Ai''.[[/note]] And there are printed media, too, including an alternate universe manga, and detective book series that follows the original film, and soon a whole new comic that will also be a sequel to the first film.

** This is stretching the trivia term quite a bit, but some fans add Lilo's surname (Pelekai) to Stitch's name to signify the closeness he has with his ''ʻohana'' and to portray him as being more like a brother to Lilo and Nani instead of just a pet like he's legally adopted as. (The franchise ''already'' portrays him as a brother figure to the Pelekai sisters through his interactions with them, primarily Lilo.) Even fewer fans surname some of the other experiments "Jookiba" after their creator (sometimes giving Stitch this surname as well).

* FanPreferredCouple:
** Despite that their canonical relationship is that of [[LikeBrotherAndSister sibling figures]], there are quite a lot of {{fanfic}}s and {{fan art}} that [[InterspeciesRomance pair Lilo up with Stitch]]. {{Squick}} or {{Squee}}.[[note]]Some fans try to get around the interspecies issue by having Lilo become an experiment herself (or, much more rarely, by having Stitch become human), which opens up a whole other can of worms that we won't discuss here.[[/note]] By comparison, Keoni Jameson (her crush in ''The Series'') has virtually no stories involving him in a happy relationship with Lilo, and Angel breaks up with or has already broken up with Stitch in some fics. (Though at least some Lilo/Stitch authors do have her maintain a good friendship with the main duo instead of completely rejecting them, probably because the rejection of family would go against the main theme of ''ʻohana'' and all that.) That said, as time has passed and Angel became nearly just as popular as Stitch, Lilo/Stitch is not quite as popular as it once was, but it still has plenty of support.
*** OneTrueThreesome: And yes, there's also a small niche out there for Lilo/Stitch/Angel. Again, {{Squick}} or {{Squee}}.
** Tying in with the above, Lilo/Stitch shippers usually pair Angel up with Reuben to form a BetaCouple [[ShipMates to go with the title duo]], even though it makes almost no sense based on how she acts around him in the official canon.[[note]]Reuben was more attracted to her for her looks, and she was completely unmoved by his advances towards her. She was also clearly not happy to see him when we saw her again in "Snafu" (despite his laziness, Reuben was an accomplice in her capture, being Gantu's sidekick and all that entails). The one time she did consider him in that same episode, singing her siren song backward hoping for a HeelFaceTurn, he revealed that he tricked her (he was created after her, so he's completely immune to the song), which most likely caused her opinion of him to worsen. There was the anime episode "Reuben 2.0", but that show's romance-obsessed characterization of her is significantly different compared to ''The Series'', and the events of the episode ended with Reuben going back to his true love: sandwiches.[[/note]] Again, this is not as prominent as it used to be due to Angel's increasingly popularity, and most fans now deciding that [[HoYay Gantu is a better romantic partner for Reuben]].

** Even though Stitch is canonically completely incapable of growing any taller or even aging, he has also been drawn with a humanoid/more anthropomorphic body shape of either an athletic young adult, a bodybuilder, or even a muscular yet slightly chubby "himbo", while still maintaining his overall alien genetic experiment looks (blue fur, claws, head, ''et cetera''). Some of the other experiments have also been drawn like this, but they're much rarer. Anthro interpretations of Stitch even became a trend on Twitter in January and February 2021 with a lot of FanArt of a "himbo" Stitch, with some Reuben and Leroy here and there, being made and shared by primarily UsefulNotes/FurryFandom artists.

* SmurfetteBreakout: Among the [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments experiments]], Angel. She isn't the only female experiment, but the vast majority of the known ones are male or presumed male. Yet, despite having appeared in only two episodes of the first TV series, she stood out due to her adorable Stitch-based design and her HeelFaceTurn in [[Recap/LiloAndStitchTheSeriesS1E30Angel her eponymous debut episode]]. This eventually led to her more frequent appearances in the anime, appearances as a costumed character at the Ride/DisneyThemeParks (and her costume got redesigned a few years later to better match up with the Stitch costume), several video game appearances (most notably ''VideoGame/DisneyMagicKingdoms'' and ''VideoGame/DisneySpeedstorm'', the latter which [[RoleReprise even brought back]] her [[Creator/TaraStrong original voice actress]]), and merchandise of her sold worldwide (even in the United States where the ''Stitch!'' anime didn't even last a week).

* ArchivePanic: ''Lilo & Stitch'' has been one of Disney's most active franchises since its 2002 debut. Between all the animated material released, there are four feature-length films, a short film, and 166 television episodes and specials in total.[[note]]65 episodes of ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'', 83 episodes of the ''Stitch!'' anime, five ''Stitch!'' specials (one for each of the three seasons plus the two post-series specials), and thirteen episodes of ''Stitch & Ai''.[[/note]] And there are comics, too, including an alternate universe manga.

*** The anime's interpretation of her was also base-breaking in its own right. Several fans did not like her newfound [[TookALevelInJerkass diva attitude]], avarice, and seeming lack of faith towards Stitch, the last one considering that she was wooed over by 627 in a human prince disguise in one episode and modified Reuben in another. However, other viewers, including WebVideo/{{Saberspark}}, actually like the changes given to her, giving legitimate flaws that fit her career of being a successful pop singer, and find her more entertaining in that show as a result. (Saberspark even enjoyed how Stitch was "down bad" with her.)
*** There are also those who dislike Angel's role as Stitch's love interest due to Stitch calling all the experiments his [[KissingCousins cousins]], which gives off uncomfortable squicky implications to many. This frustrates other fans who know and understand that the "cousins" thing is actually based on Hawaiian terminology--basically used in the same context as "friend", much like the British and Australian "mate"--and Angel is the only one of Stitch's predecessors who he does ''not'' consider a "cousin".
*** And finally, crossing over with FirstInstallmentWins, there's Angel's appearances in Disney's crossover video games, in particular ''VideoGame/DisneyMagicKingdoms'', ''VideoGame/DisneyEmojiBlitz'', and ''VideoGame/DisneySpeedstorm''. Fans of the franchise as a whole mostly love her addition to these games as these not only prove how she's become popular in her own right, they show how much of a positive impact ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' had on the whole franchise and even the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon itself. However, puristic fans have been angered by the fact that Disney is daring to acknowledge what these fans call [[FanonDiscontinuity "non-canon"]] TV sequels, years after they ended, and choosing to add a "pink girl Stitch" over other beloved characters from the first film. It got especially heated when Creator/{{Gameloft}}, the developer-publisher of ''Disney Magic Kingdoms'' and ''Disney Speedstorm'', teased (and later confirmed) her addition to the latter, causing a lot of dispute among ''Speedstorm'' fans over her being added as a Racer in that game instead of Pleakley or Nani (who were both made Crew Members instead).

** Some fans also got upset when a Disney fan site reported that it would not be coming to theaters, but rather it would supposedly be a direct-to-digital Creator/DisneyPlus Original instead with a budget around the $60 million range that the 2019 ''Film/{{Lady and the Tramp|2019}}'' remake on the service had, which is less than the $80 million budget for the original 2002 ''Lilo & Stitch'' film. (And unlike ''Lady and the Tramp'', a ''Lilo & Stitch'' LiveActionAdaptation would need a lot more CGI for the alien characters and environments than ''Lady and the Tramp''[='=]s talking animals, which some viewers thought had a creepy look.) Some fans do believe, however, that Disney+ is a great fit due to its popularity and that it's better suited for smaller films with a relatively lower stakes plot such as ''Lilo & Stitch''.

** The vulgar Tantalog phrase, "[[PardonMyKlingon Meega, nala kweesta!]]" supposedly meaning "I want to destroy!" is this. [[WordOfGod Chris Sanders himself]] {{Jossed}} this in the comments of [[https://www.tiktok.com/@chrissandersart/video/7062525036485299502 a TikTok video,]] saying that the actual meaning is ''much worse''.

** Despite that their canonical relationship is that of [[LikeBrotherAndSister sibling figures]], there are quite a lot of {{fanfic}}s and {{fan art}} that [[InterspeciesRomance pair Lilo up with Stitch]]. {{Squick}} or {{Squee}}[[note]]Some fans try to get around the interspecies issue by having Lilo become an experiment herself (or, much more rarely, by having Stitch become human), which opens up a whole other can of worms that we won't discuss here.[[/note]] By comparison, Keoni Jameson (her crush in ''The Series'') has virtually no stories involving him in a happy relationship with Lilo, and Angel breaks up with or has already broken up with Stitch in some fics. (Though at least some Lilo/Stitch authors do have her maintain a good friendship with the main duo instead of completely rejecting them, probably because the rejection of family would go against the main theme of ''ʻohana'' and all that.) That said, as time has passed and Angel became nearly just as popular as Stitch, Lilo/Stitch is not quite as popular as it once was, but it still has plenty of support.
** Tying in with the above, Lilo/Stitch shippers usually pair Angel up with Reuben to form a BetaCouple [[ShipMates to go with the title duo]], even though it makes almost no sense based on how she acts around him in the official canon.[[note]]Reuben was more attracted to her for her looks, and she was completely unmoved by his advances towards her. She was also clearly not happy to see him when we saw her again in "Snafu" (despite his laziness, Reuben was an accomplice in her capture, being Gantu's sidekick and all that entails). The one time she did consider him in that same episode, singing her siren song backward hoping for a HeelFaceTurn, he revealed that he tricked her (he was created after her, so he's completely immune to the song), which most likely caused her opinion of him to worsen. There was the anime episode "Reuben 2.0", but that show's romance-obsessed characterization of her is significantly different compared to ''The Series'', and the events of the episode ended with Reuben going back to his true love: sandwiches.[[/note]] Again, this is not as prominent in more recent years as Angel has remained increasingly popular, and most fans have since decided that [[HoYay Gantu is a better romantic partner for Reuben]].

** As with most Disney franchises based on films in [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon the Animated Canon]], the original film is easily the most fondly remembered and the best-written part of the franchise. The sequel material were popular back in the franchise's heyday, but ([[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff outside of East Asia]]) [[{{Irony}} they have been mostly left behind and forgotten]] (save for [[BreakoutCharacter Angel]], considering all the merchandise that she gets today).

** When ''Lilo & Stitch'' was added to ''VideoGame/DisneyMagicKingdoms'' (as limited-time content), the related content included elements taken from the sequel material (including Angel being added as a ''non-''premium character), which caused DAC and ''L&S'' purists to complain on the game's [[Website/{{Reddit}} subreddit]] and official Website/{{Facebook}} page.

** Japan '''loves''' Stitch. This really cannot be understated. Stitch often features more prominently than the likes of Mickey Mouse on Disney merchandise and publicity. The show is also so popular there that [[Anime/{{Stitch}} an anime spin-off]] was made and aired on over-the-air TV in Japan, unlike what happens to most Disney series.[[note]]Unlike their feature film output, most of Disney's shows wind up airing on cable in the country, which isn't very popular in Japan compared to most of the world. There have only been four other Disney shows that aired on terrestrial television: ''WesternAnimation/LittleEinsteins'', ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'', ''WesternAnimation/ElenaOfAvalor'' and ''WesternAnimation/MickeyAndTheRoadsterRacers'', all of which aired on TV Tokyo and targeted younger audiences than ''Stitch!'' did.[[/note]] (Although, some of them [[https://uto-blog.com/stitch supposedly do not]] [[https://uto-blog.com/experiments2 like that anime,]] either.) This hasn't stopped with that show either, as they got a version of Ride/TheEnchantedTikiRoom with Stitch in a lead role and [[Manga/StitchAndTheSamurai a 2020 manga spin-off featuring him]] where he somehow ends up in feudal Japan.

* LGBTFanbase: The heavy focus on [[FamilyOfChoice found family]] and embracing the things that make you unique, coupled with Pleakley being gender non-conforming has long resonated with the LGBT community. Even more when same-sex marriage was legalized in all fifty states on June 26, 2015, or 626, Stitch's experiment number, which has led to some members of the community adopting Stitch as something of a [[MovementMascot mascot]]. (More on all this below.)

* SmurfetteBreakout: Among the [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments experiments]], Angel. She isn't the only female experiment, but the vast majority of the known ones are male or presumed male. Yet, despite having appeared in only two episodes of the first TV series, she stood out due to her adorable Stitch-based design and her HeelFaceTurn in [[Recap/LiloAndStitchTheSeriesS1E30Angel her eponymous debut episode]]. This eventually led to her more frequent appearances in the anime, appearances as a costumed character at the Ride/DisneyThemeParks (and her costume got redesigned a few years later to better match up with the Stitch costume), several video game appearances (most notably ''VideoGame/DisneyMagicKingdoms''), and merchandise of her sold worldwide (even in the United States where the ''Stitch!'' anime didn't even last a week).

** Also with ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'', since it is also a Disney animated film set in Polynesia. Many fans are hoping for Auliʻi Cravalho to star in the role of Nani Pelekai in the reported live-action remake.

** DependingOnTheArtist, Stitch has been depicted with the ear notches in other spots (or sometimes without them at all), with round notches instead of his actual triangular ones, without the dark blue markings on the back of his ear tips, with a differently shaped or even colored back marking, with his aqua countershading missing between his lower lip and chin, with light blue paw pads instead of their proper dark blue ones, with only three toes on each foot instead of four, and so on.

** The new voice actors for the returning characters themselves (particularly Stitch and Jumba, who are voiced by Creator/BenDiskin and Creator/JessWinfield respectively in both shows) have either done such a good job replicating the characters' original voices that they should be rightfully seen as the new voice actors for those characters going forward (albeit, in Diskin's case, only if Sanders either is no longer capable of doing Stitch's voice or dies) or sound so off from the originals that Disney should drop them altogether and either bring back their original voice actors or look for new voice actors elsewhere (Jumba in particular actually having gotten a new official voice actor in Joel [=McCrary=] beginning with ''VideoGame/DisneySpeedstorm'').

->"This is crazy! [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgXDYiHhp5Y You guys are family!]] ''ʻOhana- ([[CatchphraseInterruptus gets kicked in the chin by Stitch being suplexed by Lilo]])'' OW!"
-->--'''Nani Pelekai''' attempting to stop a fight between Lilo and Stitch in ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch2StitchHasAGlitch''
----

** Lilo is also this as while most fans find her plights and eccentric personality endearing, some people such as film critic Owen Gleiberman don't like her due to her bratty behavior, claiming that she tends to cause almost as much trouble on her own as Stitch does and (in ''The Series'') often bothers a girl who honestly wants nothing to do with her (Mertle Edmonds). East Asia is probably the biggest case for her fitting this trope, considering how they replaced her in their shows with spirited, more idealistically portrayed local girls who cause less trouble on their shows.

** Tying in with the issues under ContestedSequel below, the experiments other than Stitch are also this. Many fans love all the unique and fun designs, abilities, and personalities of the experiments, expanding on the ''ʻohana'' that they've grown to love. Others (especially [[FirstInstallmentWins purists]]) dislike them because they believe that they make Stitch less unique of a character, they're "too ugly" and/or "{{flat|Character}}" to be worth supporting, and bloat the size of the ''ʻohana'' to unmanageable levels.[[note]]Even though ''Leroy & Stitch'' has a scene at the beginning showing Lilo checking up on the experiments, complete with a clipboard, to make sure if they are happy in their true places, showing that she has figured out a way to handle so many of them.[[/note]] The experiments' detractors thus tend to deem all the experiments other than Stitch FanonDiscontinuity, finding the whole concept of Jumba actually having successfully made 625 new lifeforms before Stitch came along to be too incredulous to work and going to the point of deeming Stitch the ''only'' experiment Jumba made. This "anti-experiment" mentality ticks off the experiments' supporters in turn, to which some call the detractors {{hypocrite}}s to [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind the inclusive message]] of ''[[FamilyOfChoice ʻohana]]''.

** The new voice actors for the returning characters themselves (particularly Stitch and Jumba, who are voiced by Creator/BenDiskin and Creator/JessWinfield respectively in both shows) have either done such a good job replicating the characters' original voices that they should be rightfully seen as the new voice actors for those characters going forward or sound so off from the originals that Disney should drop them altogether and either bring back their original voice actors or (especially in [[Creator/DavidOgdenStiers Jumba's]] case) look for new voice actors elsewhere.

*** And finally, crossing over with FirstInstallmentWins, there's Angel's appearances in Disney's crossover video games, in particular ''VideoGame/DisneyMagicKingdoms'', ''VideoGame/DisneyEmojiBlitz'', and ''VideoGame/DisneySpeedstorm''. Fans of the franchise as a whole mostly love her addition to these games as these not only prove how she's become popular in her own right, they show how much of a positive impact ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' had on the whole franchise and even the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon itself. However, puristic fans have been angered by the fact that Disney is daring to acknowledge what these fans call [[FanonDiscontinuity "non-canon"]] TV sequels, years after they ended, and choosing to add a "pink girl Stitch" over other beloved characters from the first film. It got especially heated when Creator/{{Gameloft}}, the developer-publisher of ''Disney Magic Kingdoms'' and ''Disney Speedstorm'', teased (and later confirmed) her addition to the latter, causing a lot of dispute among ''Speedstorm'' fans over her being added as a Racer in that game instead of Pleakley and Nani (who were both made Crew Members instead).

*** And finally, crossing over with FirstInstallmentWins, there's Angel's appearances in Disney's crossover video games, in particular ''VideoGame/DisneyMagicKingdoms'', ''VideoGame/DisneyEmojiBlitz'', and ''VideoGame/DisneySpeedstorm''. Fans of the franchise as a whole mostly love her addition to these games as these not only prove how she's become popular in her own right, they show how much of a positive impact ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' had on the whole franchise and even the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon itself. However, puristic fans have been angered by the fact that Disney is daring to acknowledge what these fans call [[FanonDiscontinuity "non-canon"]] TV sequels, years after they ended, and choosing to add a "pink girl Stitch" over other beloved characters from the first film.

*** Even though she is one of the more popular experiments in the franchise, becoming a major character a few years after her debut, there are ''Lilo & Stitch'' fans who do not like her because of her being either an underdeveloped, {{flat|Character}} DistaffCounterpart to Stitch who was only introduced [[SatelliteLoveInterest just to give him a love interest]] in ''The Series''. Her detractors say that she gets a lot of positive discrimination from much of the fanbase, comparable to WesternAnimation/LolaBunny. It can be argued that [[ExecutiveMeddling then-executive disapproval of her]], which prevented her from making any further appearances apart from "Snafu" and ''Leroy & Stitch'', negated any chances for her to develop further as a character in ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series''. and the anime's producers were trying to make up for that.

*** And finally, crossing over with FirstInstallmentWins, there's Angel's appearances in Disney's crossover video games, in particular ''VideoGame/DisneyMagicKingdoms'', ''VideoGame/DisneyEmojiBlitz'', and ''VideoGame/DisneySpeedstorm''. Fans of the franchise as a whole mostly love her addition to these games as these not only prove how she's become popular in her own right, they show how much of a positive impact ''Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' had on the whole franchise and even the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon itself. However, puristic fans have been angered by the fact that Disney is daring to acknowledge what these fans call [[FanonDiscontinuity "non-canon"]] TV sequels, years after they ended, and choosing to add a "pink girl Stitch" over other evolved characters from the first film.

** Angel. Even though she is one of the more popular experiments in the franchise, becoming a major character a few years after her debut, there are ''Lilo & Stitch'' fans who do not like her because of her being either an underdeveloped, {{flat|Character}} DistaffCounterpart to Stitch who was only introduced [[SatelliteLoveInterest just to give him a love interest]] in ''The Series'', or a [[TookALevelInJerkass badly-developed]] {{jerk|ass}} of a love interest to him in the ''Stitch!'' anime. Her detractors say that she gets a lot of positive discrimination from much of the fanbase, comparable to WesternAnimation/LolaBunny. It can be argued that ''The Series''[='=] producers didn't really know what else to do with her ([[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter as with a lot of other characters, especially most of the experiments]]) in terms of characterization,[[note]]although Angel's limited appearances in ''The Series'' was mainly because [[ExecutiveMeddling the execs didn't like her and wanted her removed by the end of her episode]], thus negating any chances for her to develop further as a character; it's possible that the writers wanted to use her more often but couldn't because of their higher-ups' disapproval of her[[/note]] and the anime's producers were trying to give her some flaws but overdid them. There are also those who dislike Angel's role as Stitch's love interest due to Stitch calling all the experiments his [[KissingCousins cousins]], which gives off uncomfortable squicky implications to many (even though the "cousins" thing is actually based on Hawaiian terminology--basically used in the same context as "friend", much like the British and Australian "mate"--and Angel is the only one of Stitch's predecessors who he does ''not'' consider a "cousin"). And then there are those who don't know who this "girl Stitch" is and are simply uninterested in her.

** It got worse when a Disney fan site reported that it would not be coming to theaters, but rather it would supposedly be a direct-to-digital Creator/DisneyPlus Original instead with a budget around the $60 million range that the 2019 ''Film/{{Lady and the Tramp|2019}}'' remake on the service had, which is less than the $80 million budget for the original 2002 ''Lilo & Stitch'' film. (And unlike ''Lady and the Tramp'', a ''Lilo & Stitch'' LiveActionAdaptation would need a lot more CGI for the alien characters and environments than ''Lady and the Tramp''[='=]s talking animals, which some viewers thought had a creepy look.) Some fans do believe, however, that Disney+ is a great fit due to its popularity and that it's better suited for smaller films with a relatively lower stakes plot such as ''Lilo & Stitch''. That all being said, ''Variety'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and later ''Deadline'' have all reported that Disney has yet to make a decision on its release format.

* MemeticBystander: The attractive, blonde lifeguard Nani tries to apply for in the first film. While she didn't quite gain the RecurringExtra status of the Sunburned Ice Cream Tourist, her being the most willing of Nani's potential employers to give her a chance before Stitch ruins the mood, combined with her highly sexualized character model has garnered her quite a fanbase.

* MemeticBystander: The attractive, blonde lifeguard Nani speaks tries to apply for in the first film. While she didn't quite gain the RecurringExtra status of the Sunburned Ice Cream Tourist, her being the most willing of Nani's potential employers to give her a chance before Stitch ruins the mood, combined with her highly sexualized character model has garnered her quite a fanbase.

* ''YMMV/LiloAndStitch2HamstervielHavoc''

** Muscle Stitch [[labelnote:Explanation]]FanArt of Stitch drawn with a muscular build, with an accompanying screencap of a Google search suggestion entry for "muscle Stitch" that shows a drawing of a muscular Stitch next to stock photos of people experiencing pain on their sides (i.e. a side cramp).[[/labelnote]]

* MagnificentBastard: A heroic example; [[TheStoic Cobra Bubbles]] is a stern, unflappable agent of [[TheMenInBlack a mysterious organization that deals in extraterrestrial affairs]], and masks his true colors beneath a public guise of social work. Spending [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch the first film]] concerned for young Lilo's safety and astutely picking out all the ways she's being neglected, Cobra eventually works to keep her family together by using aliens' love for rules to keep Stitch free from capture and reunited with Lilo. Having once convinced an invading alien force to spare Earth via lying that mosquitoes were an endangered species, Cobra also sets a solid trap for the diabolical Hämsterviel in [[WesternAnimation/StitchTheMovie the first released/second chronological sequel film]], almost destroying the villain even at the cost of endangering Stitch's fellow experiments. Cobra's ruthlessness and ingenuity continue into [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries the television series]], where he utilizes the experiments as espionage tools and schemes to keep the public unaware of an approaching apocalypse so as to preserve peace while he spirits away key people to safety. Always cool and rarely caught off-guard, Cobra stood out in the zany cast as a deadly serious protector of Earth.

** The franchise is also quite popular in Russia, with a decent FanArt scene for the experiments other than Stitch (arguably more so compared to the Anglosphere). Tellingly, there is a Russian ''Lilo & Stitch'' [[https://liloandstitch.fandom.com/ru wiki over on Fandom]] (the only language other than English with such a wiki on there), and the Russian version of [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom WikiFur]] has [[https://ru.wikifur.com/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE_%D0%B8_%D0%A1%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87 several articles relating to franchise-related topics,]] whereas the English [=WikiFur=] currently has just two.

* PopCultureHoliday: The ''Lilo & Stitch'' fandom celebrates June 26 as "Stitch Day", because the date corresponds with Stitch's experiment number (626) in month-day format (6/26). Disney has acknowledged the day at times with a few promotions.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: While the reception was divisive for Nani's and David's actors, fans were absolutely livid upon the announcement [[EnsembleDarkhorse Cobra Bubbles]] would be entirely replaced.

** Angel. Even though she is one of the more popular experiments in the franchise, becoming a major character a few years after her debut, there are ''Lilo & Stitch'' fans who do not like her because of her being either an underdeveloped, {{flat|Character}} DistaffCounterpart to Stitch who was only introduced [[SatelliteLoveInterest just to give him a love interest]] in ''The Series'', or a [[TookALevelInJerkass badly-developed]] {{jerk|ass}} of a love interest to him in the ''Stitch!'' anime. Her detractors say that she gets a lot of positive discrimination from much of the fanbase, comparable to WesternAnimation/LolaBunny. It can be argued that ''The Series''[='=] producers didn't really know what else to do with her ([[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter as with a lot of other characters, especially most of the experiments]]) in terms of characterization,[[note]]although Angel's limited appearances in ''The Series'' was mainly because [[ExecutiveMeddling the execs didn't like her and wanted her removed by the end of her episode]], thus negating any chances for her to develop further as a character; it's possible that the writers wanted to use her more often but couldn't because of their higher-ups' disapproval of her[[/note]] and the anime's producers were trying to give her some flaws but overdid them. There are also those who dislike Angel's role as Stitch's love interest due to Stitch calling all the experiments his [[KissingCousins cousins]], which gives off uncomfortable squicky implications to many (even though the "cousins" thing is actually based on Hawaiian terminology, and Angel is the only one of Stitch's predecessors who he does ''not'' consider a "cousin").