Line #42 Fridge/LiloAndStitch


1	[[foldercontrol]]
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3	[[folder:Fridge Brilliance]]
4	!!The 2002 Film
5	* During Jumba's trial, Stitch is asked to provide some proof that he isn't all bad and, instead, gives a [[PardonMyKlingon string of words]] so terrible it causes one of the council members to throw up. Jumba protests that ''he'' didn't teach him that. He's speaking the truth, though -- the sequel shows that he was arrested almost directly after creating Stitch, and the only people he was in the company of would be the policemen. Since the phrase means "I will destroy," it actually could make sense if he learned it from them -- provided aliens aren't immune to PoliceBrutality.
6	* The words Stitch says, "''Meega nala kweesta''," are treated as especially foul language, even by Jumba. Fans commonly believed that the phrase meant "I want to destroy" (although that definition was {{Jossed}} by Creator/ChrisSanders), which the council members might find appalling, but which should hardly shock Jumba. Looking at RealLife languages, including English, it becomes apparent that there are plenty of, shall we say, less than polite ways of saying, for example, that something is nonsense, or that it is ruined. Thus, "''kweesta''" is probably seen by fans as a far more pungent way of saying "destroy", whose translation was {{Bowdlerize}}d to make it suitable for kids.
7	* Much is made of Stitch's "molecular density" being too great for him to survive in water, but technically, ''most'' things have a molecular density greater than water, i.e. they tend to sink rather than float. Water is rare everywhere else in the galaxy except Earth, which is defined as "the blue planet" for being mostly covered in water. The aliens think he won't survive because they're not familiar enough with water to understand what swimming is.
8	** Granted, Stitch ''can't'' swim, but when he's accidentally dumped off the surfboard later, he still manages to dog-paddle to shore. Stitch was created to be super-intelligent and capable of surviving in many harsh environments, so he figured out swimming!
9	* The art style (as mentioned on the main page) is pretty different from most of Disney's animated features, which makes people and places look sorta weird if one is in a 'Disney' frame of mind. The aliens and outer space locations are the closest thing to the Disney style. This, coupled with the fact that we start with the outer space plotline and frame of reference, suggests that ''the humans and Earth'' are the true aliens in this movie, not Stitch or Jumba or any of those characters.
10	* The first time we see Lilo, she's running late to practice for her hula dance because she's feeding Pudge the fish. Her justification is "Pudge controls the weather." Later, when she's telling Stitch about her parents, she mentions that it was raining when they were in the car accident that killed them. The rain contributed to the accident. Knowing Lilo, she's probably afraid that something bad like that could happen again. That's why the weather-controlling fish is so important to her.
11	** Adding to that, if you pay attention to all of the adults' reactions once she tells them this, they all seem to look at each other and make this connection.
12	** Take a look at the background during the opening credit sequences as Lilo pops out of the sea and runs across the beach. The sky is overcast and dark when she leaves the water, but by the time she reaches dance class, it's sunny and bright. Pudge ''does'' control the weather!
13	** In the ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' episode "[[GreenAesop Ploot]]", it partially revolves around Lilo trying to clean up the bay where Pudge lives. This becomes meaningful as an allegory about how pollution can affect weather negatively. (The Greenhouse Effect, for one instance.) In other words, Lilo is worried that the pollution (of Pudge's home) will worsen the greenhouse effect.
14	* The name 'Cobra Bubbles' sounds pretty ridiculous, not just because it combines a badass given name with EmbarrassingLastName, but also because ''no one in the real world'' would actually be named that. However, there's a simple explanation: [[CodeName it probably isn't his real name]]. Since we know he used to be part of the [=CIA=] and has dealt with aliens before, it's likely that he's using a fake identity now that he has a new job as a social worker. Most likely, someone gave him an AtrociousAlias as a joke.
15	* As mentioned on the main page, Cobra Bubbles said he's the one the social workers call when things go wrong. As was mentioned, in real life, Lilo would have been taken away first -- Cobra probably fudged the paperwork because he heard about what happened to them, and really did not want to separate Lilo and Nani. If you know enough social workers in real life, you'd know that the TraumaCongaLine of young kids losing one or more family members in a car accident of some kind only to get put in foster care away from the rest of your family simply because they can't take care of you. He probably fudged paperwork so that he didn't have to take away Lilo unless he absolutely ''had'' to, since Lilo and Nani went through ''enough'' in a little while.
16	* When Lilo makes her wish, she asks for an angel. While Stitch most definitely is NOT an angel, the markings on his back and occiput (back of the head) kind of look like (snow) angels.
17	* Why is the shuttle Stitch stole glowing green and on fire when Nani and Lilo see it before it crash lands? Because it burned up as it came through the atmosphere. Stitch only survived because he is fireproof, as Jumba confirmed earlier.
18	** Plus, it could also be burning fuel not common on Earth.
19	* One might think that Stitch acting very un-dog-like while trying to blend in with the dogs was just standard Disney humor. But, up to that point, Stitch had only been around intelligent aliens. Multiple species that vary wildly in appearance, but are all capable of reasonable thought. The concept that some species aren't mentally/emotionally intelligent is completely new to him.
20	* At first glance, it seems that Nani's response to Lilo's lobster comment is just a quick, nonsensical answer that an adult would tell their kid to shut them up. But when you really stop to think about it, it makes sense. Lilo has never responded to "normal" answers. From the extreme largeness of Scrump's head to the sudden loss of her parents, it's clear that she always needs things to be outside of the box to make sense. Nani, growing up with Lilo, would understand this better than anyone. So Nani wasn't just using a silly reason to keep Lilo quiet — she was answering Lilo in a way that Lilo would understand. Lilo wouldn't quite grasp the concept if Nani said that a lobster was too expensive, or wouldn't survive out of water, or was just plain weird; but the idea that they have to get a dog because it's a ''dog'' door, not a ''lobster'' door, would, to Lilo, make perfect sense.
21	* When Nani stops the lady at the pound from saying "Stitch" isn't a real name, she ends up saying that it isn't in Iceland. She's actually right. Iceland has very strict naming laws. "Stitch" wouldn't qualify.
22	* Most if not all of Pleakley's human disguises throughout the film, and the franchise, involve him wearing dresses. While it's heavily implied that [[WholesomeCrossdresser he actually enjoys wearing women's clothing]], there's also a pragmatic reason behind it. Pleakley [[BizarreAlienBiology has three legs]], meaning he can't wear human pants that only have two legs. Dresses and skirts are the only things that he can actually fit into, and can easily conceal his third leg from humans.
23	* Lilo wants to show off her new dog's new trick she just discovered -- he can emulate a record player. What song does she pick to demonstrate? "Suspicious Minds".
24	* At first, Cobra Bubbles' introduction to Stitch seems rather odd. He sees a blue creature walking on two legs, but apparently buys that it's a puppy, and then asks for the puppy to be taught how to be a "model citizen". [[spoiler:At the end of the movie though, we see that he already knew about the existence of aliens. Chances are, he recognized Stitch as something alien... which is why he ordered that Stitch be taught to be a model citizen, as opposed to ordering Nani to have it better trained or restrained.]]
25	* A minor one for fans of ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'' who were further introduced to Polynesian culture via that film: the necklace David wears? That's Maui's fishhook, a sacred symbol in Polynesian culture.
26	* Just before the climax, Nani runs off with David to secure a job opening. She runs down the stairs, obviously in a hurry, right past the blue Volkswagen Beetle in the garage ([[spoiler:which Stitch later beats the crap out of Jumba with]]). At first, you wonder why she didn't take the car if she was in such a hurry, then you remember that their parents were recently killed in a car accident. Lilo at the very least probably isn't very comfortable around cars at this point and Nani would be used to walking in order to accommodate that if she doesn't have a phobia herself.
27	** Or it could have just been that the place was right down the street.
28	** Or it could be that, considering their current financial situation, Nani couldn't afford petrol.
29	*** TruthInTelevision -- fuel is ''very'' expensive (by US standards) in Hawaii.
30	** Nani didn't want thieves to think she wasn't home, because they would come in and endanger Lilo.
31	** Or it could have been the case that the car just didn't run period and Nani obviously doesn't have the money for a mechanic.
32	** Or she doesn't know how to drive, or how to drive ''well''. I'd bet it's a combination of all of the above.
33	** Nani was only about 18 when her parents died. On a small island like Kauai she may never have bothered learning to drive since she was likely going to go off to college and her school and job were within walking distance. When her parents died she may have still been learning to drive or hadn't even started yet and being alone with Lilo she doesn't have time to learn to drive.
34	** The sequel answers all of this, it breaks down constantly and isn't normally worth the trouble.
35	* Why was Jumba so easily convinced to help save Lilo? We know from the way Stitch used the word ''ih'' in response to Nani's question that it means "yes". All Stitch did was tell Jumba that yes, he expected them to help rescue Lilo. That's not exactly very persuasive. But, if you think about it, Jumba didn't NEED much persuading. We know he has a grudge against the Council, and given his reaction to being fired, he really doesn't like being on a leash. He agreed because he wanted to get back at Gantu and the Grand Councilwoman.
36	* The Grand Councilwoman recognizes Cobra Bubbles, who took part in the incident in 1973 that lead to Earth being designated as a mosquito reserve, yet she didn't recall anything about Earth when Stitch escaped. Seems like a plot hole, but we're not told in what capacity the Grand Councilwoman took part in the incident, and a career in galactic politics spanning a possible 30 years can make you forget details about a planet that is so remote and inconsequential.
37	* It seems strange that Bubbles would say mosquitoes are an endangered species on Earth considering the planet has plenty of species which actually are endangered, until you remember the lengths Pleakley goes through to ensure that humans are left alone based on the flimsy excuse that they're part of the mosquito food chain. Mosquitoes feed off everything with blood, so by claiming that mosquitoes need protection, Bubbles effectively made every animal (well, mammalian) species on Earth protected.
38	* Jumba and Pleakley join Lilo's family because, like Stitch, they are also misfits. Jumba is an 'evil genius' [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold with a heart of gold]]. Pleakley is more fascinated with Earth and its culture than any other alien.
39	* It seems strange that the galactic council are so quick to dismiss Stitch as an abomination when he doesn't really look that different from some of the other, stranger aliens there. But consider that most of the aliens we see in the first movie primarily resemble aquatic creatures, such as Captain Gantu resembling a whale and Jumba resembling a hippopotamus, or reptiles (the velociraptor-like police officers). Stitch, by comparison, is far more mammalian, with fur and claws, to the point where he resembles a dog or a koala more than anything, so many of his traits would likely be seen as unsettling by the standards of the council.
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41	!!Other Material
42	* Look at the way Lilo names the other aliens. She gives them all names that have something to do with what their particular power is. With all this ThemeNaming, Stitch seems like the odd one out. Except, look at what he does. He says that the family is broken. When he comes to Earth, he brings Jumba and Pleakley, who become apart of the family. Stitch pulls a family together.
43	** Lilo's own name is Hawaiian for "lost". ''The movie's title is "Lost and pulled together".''
44	*** Or to simply things further, ''"Lost and Found"''. Lilo and Nani lost their family and found a new one, while Stitch lost a reason to live (the will to destroy) and found a better one (to protect his new family). (In fact, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTJV-SB7ldc one of the TV spots for the film]] before it was released in theaters had an announcer start off with ''"Alien lost, paradise found."'')
45	* In ''The Series'', there is an experiment known as 'Babyfier' with the ability to make people and other creatures such as experiments into babies. Now the cure of his powers is coffee beans, applesauce, milk and bananas. Now why would an alien need Earth-based food for ingredients? Well, if they were activated on other planets, this experiment would be unstoppable since these are all Earth products. So that is genius on Jumba's part.
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48	[[folder:Fridge Heartwarming]]
49	* An obvious and poetic one, but one that needed to be said. Early on, Lilo asks a shooting star for a friend, indeed, that ''"[[RuleOfSymbolism star]]"'' would [[PlatonicLifePartners grant her wish]].
50	* If all the above assumptions about Lilo are correct, then the entire series could be considered her attempt to [[EarnYourHappyEnding earn her own happy ending]]. And she did it.
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53	[[folder:Fridge Horror]]
54	!!The 2002 Film
55	* In Lilo's character design notes by Creator/ChrisSanders, he specifically mentions to put heavy emphasis on the lower eyelid, giving the eye a folded-look; in real life, prominent lower eyelids can either be from genetics, or a combination of stress and lack of sleep. It's likely that Lilo has been losing copious amounts of sleep from the trauma of her parents' death.
56	* At the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'', Lilo is seen feeding Pudge the fish a peanut butter sandwich because he "controls the weather". One thinks this is just a device to show how weird Lilo is until you find out that [[spoiler: her parents were killed in a car crash when they drove in the rain]] and realize that Lilo is attempting to appease the hungry god [[spoiler: that killed her parents]] so nothing like that ever happens to anyone else she loves! It's also an example of OCD, which makes it all the more depressing.
57	** Well it's not horrifying at all when you factor in the fact that just like every other place on Earth, Hawaii has numerous beliefs/superstitions that pertain to showing respect towards ancestors, and the native Polynesian gods. In other words, since Lilo believes that Pudge controls the weather[[note]]If you watch the background carefully during the opening credit sequences, as Lilo pops out of the sea and runs across the beach, you'll notice that the sky is overcast and dark when she leaves the water, but by the time she reaches dance class, it's sunny and bright. Pudge really ''does'' control the weather;[[/note]] she believes that by giving him a peanut butter sandwich each day, she's protecting her family against the weather; which is reminiscent to the idea that to protect oneself and one's family from the lava flow, you have to pay your respects to Pele by visiting her at Halemaʻumaʻu crater and leaving her offerings of food, flowers, or gin.
58	* "The man they call when things go wrong." Cobra is a ''former CIA member'' -- exactly ''how'' wrong have things gotten for him to step in? Perhaps we're lucky Nani is merely overtaxed and dealing with alien intervention, rather than legitimately abusive...
59	** If it helps, he could just mean that he's quite a bit more assertive than your average social worker, and more able to handle the responsibility of potentially breaking up families if the situation calls for it. As former CIA, he's likely been in much more physically and emotionally stressful situations and can cope much better than a fresh-out-of-college psych major with good intentions.
60	** Also, look at the expression he makes when he is asked if he had ever killed someone by Lilo. Has he ever killed anyone?
61	* You can't expect six-year-olds to know this but caffeine is poisonous to dogs in real life. If Stitch had been an actual dog instead of an alien [[ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare it's likely she would have accidentally killed him]]. Think of how even more traumatized Lilo would have been.[[note]] Then again, since this is a Disney film, maybe he would have been okay anyway. [[/note]]
62	** As noted on that page, it already proves Nani was too overwhelmed by her situation to provide proper supervision to either her sister or the new "dog"'s diet.
63	* Lilo believes Stitch has {{Flashback Nightmare}}s about his family, saying:
64	-->'''Lilo:''' I hear you cry at night. Do you dream about them?
65	** This isn't the case since Stitch never had a family in the first place. But that raises the question: what DID happen that could give Experiment 626 nightmares?
66	*** The [[WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch2StitchHasAGlitch sequel]] sheds light on this. Jumba was arrested just minutes after creating Stitch. Despite Jumba's dysfunctional behaviour, he already showed seeds of [[PapaWolf fatherly attachment]] towards Stitch. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero And then the Space Police showed up, forcibly separating the newborn Stitch from his creator]]. [[AllInTheManual And according to the DVD commentary for the first movie]], two months pass while Jumba and Stitch are locked up in solitary confinement — away from each other — before facing trial.]] BadassAdorable or not, Stitch must have been traumatized in some way from that experience.
67	* After he and Lilo were caught by Gantu, Stitch was able to squeeze out through a seam in Gantu's capsule, which means it's not airtight. It's strapped to the back of his ship, rather than placed inside. [[NightmareFuel Lilo would have died the minute Gantu broke atmosphere]].
68	** The capsule might have had a ''Franchise/StarTrek''-style force field protecting it from atmospheric loss. Considering Gantu was planning to return Stitch to the Council alive, it's not likely he'd overlook such an obvious flaw.
69	*** He was in charge the first time Stitch escaped -- if anything, he's just ridiculously ineffectual.
70	*** Captain Gantu simply underestimates Stitch in their first encounter (quite understandably -- during the trial, Stitch only stops behaving like a rabid animal to be vulgar to the council); Stitch outsmarts the onboard weapons system and then simply evades Gantu until he can completely disable the electronics of the ship and steal a cruiser, very little of which is actually Gantu's fault. He would've succeeded the second time if Stitch hadn't [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands suddenly gained the ability to squash and stretch]] through airtight spaces.
71	** Only Stitch had to be alive, and no one said he can't survive in space. Perhaps Gantu was trying to kill Lilo,to destroy Stitch's hope of having a family. Make him less of a comic relief.
72	*** Actually they kind of do in a roundabout way. Stitch's biggest weakness is that he absolutely cannot swim. And he almost drowns while surfing in the film, which strongly implies he needs to breathe.
73	** I always thought he somehow ghosted through it, as he has a random bunch of powers.
74	** If you look closely, while Stitch's body compresses some, the "glass" and metal of the container itself also visibly deform. ''He's just so strong he was able to grab onto a tiny seam and nearly rip the thing apart.'' On the other hand, if he damaged the container in the process of doing this, his escape could have inadvertently doomed Lilo if he hadn't rescued her.
75	* The Grand Councilwoman allows Stitch to stay with Lilo because Lilo owns him and has the paperwork to prove it. Stitch is an intelligent being, so the Galactic Federation would seem to tolerate slavery.
76	** I'd say this is a bit of a stretch. She is clearly aware of the delicate emotional situation of all involved so she just bended the rules by accepting the paperwork as an excuse. After all, she is visibly sorry when she has to take Stitch away and her expression when she allows him to stay and sees Lilo and Stitch being overjoyed is one of the rare moments where she actually seems happy.
77	** Adding to that, when she first meets Stitch, she's hoping that, despite being made with evil intentions, he has the capability for good. At the end, post-character development, he does, and that's why she let him stay.
78	** It could also be that the United Galactic Federation has to obey local laws of planets not part of the Federation.
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80	!!Other Material
81	* In the flashback scene seen in ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch2StitchHasAGlitch'', the Intergalactic Police suddenly burst into Jumba's lab unexpectedly to detain him and Experiment 626 (Stitch) before the latter could be fully charged. In ''WesternAnimation/StitchTheMovie'', Jumba mentions that Hämsterviel finked on him, while Hämsterviel says to Gantu that he was interested in getting all the experiments ''except'' for 626. Thus, it could be said that the Jumba broke away from Hämsterviel after 625 (Reuben)'s creation, and Hämsterviel took revenge by revealing Jumba's work and location to the Galactic Federation while Jumba was working on 626. Considering that Stitch was supposedly the first experiment Jumba made without Hämsterviel's funding, it can also be assumed that not only did Hämsterviel want the experiments he funded back, but also wanted to ruin all of Jumba's later experiments, and he almost succeeded in doing so.
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84	[[folder:Fridge Sadness]]
85	* Look at how Lilo interacts with the girls in her hula class, and how they treat her. She calls them her friends, and is constantly trying to hang out/play with/be around them, while they all push her away and mock her. It's likely that all the girls used to be friends, but when confronted with Lilo's [[CloudCuckooLander unique]] methods of coping with her parents' deaths, they pushed her away because she was 'weird' now. Lilo is either unable or unwilling to accept that her former friends have rejected her.
86	** Think about it. A little girl who had just lost her parents, turned to her friends for comfort. Only for them to all betray her. It's kind of miraculous that she's still cheerful.
87	** And yet, at the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch'', Stitch, Jumba and Pleakley all left her to pursue their own dreams. NiceJobBreakingItHero.
88	** Alternatively, she might've always been eccentric and just wanted really badly for them to accept her. Kids are often 'friends' with their bullies. It's like domestic abuse at childhood level.
89	** It is actually extremely common in cases of parental death for a child to cling to their friends and also extremely common for their friends to push them away. At first Lilo probably only wanted to talk about what happened and her friends were young. They didn't really care and they just wanted the old Lilo back. So they gave each other time and Lilo just weirdly coped with things because her friends pushed her away but all she wanted to do was to force her way back into their lives.
90	** Calling them her "friends" might just be because it might have not been enough for her to see them as merely her classmates or acquaintances. They could have been her friends before the redheaded brat showed up and commandeered them away from Lilo.
91	** Seeing how the kids react to Lilo's doll, it might also be that Lilo's family has plummeted into poverty since her parents' death. Even very young children can be very aware of branding and decide to ignore those that can't purchase the 'cool stuff'. And since all the other girls apparently have a Toys/{{Barbie}}-knockoff, it can be assumed that Lilo was already discarded for not having THAT one doll.
92	* At first, Nani telling the animal shelter worker that they need "something that can defend itself, something that won't die, something sturdy" seems like she's searching for a pet that can survive her rambunctious sister. It could also be that she wants a pet with a long lifespan because her sister's still struggling with their parents' death, and she wants to spare Lilo another potential trauma that might reawaken the first.
93	* The way Lilo clings to the concept of ''ʻohana''. The way she uses that particularly worded definition, and the fact that Nani is able to recite it along with her and know immediately that the argument's over. In all likelihood, ''ʻohana'' isn't something their parents taught Lilo; it's something Nani told her after their death when Lilo began to worry what would happen to them and if they would have to be separated.
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Context Fridge / LiloAndStitch