Lilo Stitch: The Series !!TOP!!
Lilo & Stitch: The Series (or simply known as Lilo & Stitch on its title card) is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It premiered on September 20, 2003 on ABC as part of ABC Kids,[2] with a delayed premiere on Disney Channel on October 12, 2003.[3][4] The series ended on July 29, 2006 after airing 65 episodes in two seasons.
Lilo Stitch: The Series
A sequel spin-off of the 2002 feature film of the same name, and the follow-up to the August 2003 direct-to-video pilot Stitch! The Movie, it was the first of three television series produced in the Lilo & Stitch franchise, and the only one to retain the same setting as the original film.[5] It was aired on Disney Channel worldwide, but has only been released on DVD in full in Japan, in four box sets. On November 12, 2019, the series was made available to stream on Disney+, immediately following the service's launch.[6]
In July 2002, Thomas Schumacher, then-president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, announced that Disney was developing a television series sequel to the film for Disney Channel in fall 2003 under the working title of Stitch! The TV Series.[1] The series was announced alongside the direct-to-video film, Stitch! The Movie.[1] Television animation directors Tony Craig and Bobs Gannaway, who both worked on Disney animated series such as House of Mouse and The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa, and television screenwriter Jess Winfield, who wrote for Teacher's Pet and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, served as executive producers of the show.[1] Victor Cook and Don MacKinnon directed for the show's first 39 episodes, which comprised the first season.[1] For the remaining 26 episodes, which comprised the second season, Rob LaDuca replaced MacKinnon as the other main director alongside Cook, while Craig directed two episodes, "Spike" and "Shoe".
Only a few episodes of Lilo & Stitch: The Series were released on home media in the United States. The episodes "Clip" and "Mr. Stenchy" were bonus features for a DVD board game called Lilo & Stitch's Island of Adventures that was released on November 11, 2003.[7][8] Another two episodes, "Slushy" and "Poxy", were released on separate Game Boy Advance Video compilations of Disney Channel series. Finally, the final episode "Link" was a bonus feature on the Leroy & Stitch DVD that was released on June 27, 2006, a month before the episode aired on television.
In a review for the finale film Leroy & Stitch, AllMovie's Skyler Miller called Lilo & Stitch: The Series a "high quality" television series, stating that it "was a pleasant surprise to fans of the 2002 film, continuing its good-natured, offbeat spirit while introducing the ingenious plot device of having the titular duo capture and rehabilitate Stitch's 625 'cousins.'"[10]
Betsy Wallace of Common Sense Media gave the show's quality 3 out of 5 stars, applicable for ages 6 and above. Wallace noted that "Lilo frequently demonstrates compassion to creatures," but ultimately deemed the series's humor to be its "strong point", pointing out that the show "even makes fun of [its own] scant educational content."[11]
Lilo & Stitch: The Series is an animated television sequel spin-off series of the feature film Lilo & Stitch, and the follow-up to Stitch! The Movie. It is the first television series in the Lilo & Stitch franchise.
On May 29, 2007, the series moved from its daily 12 p.m. time slot to its daily time slot at 5 and 5:30 a.m. In 2010, the series time slot was dropped by Playhouse Disney, to be replaced with Phineas and Ferb in 2011. The series has been officially released on DVD in Japan and Greece. The series returned on the Disney Junior channel and the Disney Junior block on Disney Channel starting from March 23, 2012, in which the show was removed from the Disney Junior block on Disney Channel on September 30, 2013. Disney Junior continued to air the series until 2014. On March 11, 2018, the series returned on Disney XD, starting with a mini-marathon on that day until July 29.
Both the original air dates and production numbers do not reflect the actual continuity of the series. Many continuity errors, including many events involving the location and availability of certain experiments, take place later in the series:
On May 29, 2007, the series moved from its daily 12 p.m. time slot to its daily time slot at 5 and 5:30 a.m. In 2010, the series time slot was lost by Playhouse Disney, which lost it to have Phineas and Ferb episodes one year later, in 2011. The series has been officially released on DVD in Japan and Greece. The series returned on the Disney Junior channel and the Disney Junior block on Disney Channel starting from March 23, 2012, in which the show was removed from the Disney Junior block on Disney Channel on September 30, 2013. Disney Junior continued to air the series until 2014. On March 11, 2018, the series returned on Disney XD, starting with a mini-marathon on that day.
Parents need to know that Lilo seems young, but the raucousness makes this series more suitable for grade-schoolers than younger viewers. The series has action elements, such as a Storm Trooper-type character who carries a "blaster" and hunts renegade (albeit cute) space mutants.
While the educational component barely sneaks in, the up-to-date humor looms large. In one episode, for example, the producer of a popular TV show asks Lilo to sign a waiver so that he can "exploit your dog and treat him like a freak on worldwide TV." The series even makes fun of the scant educational content -- at one point Lilo comments, "Who knew life would full of such hard lessons!" The so-called evil characters are often inept and probably won't scare young viewers, but the competition to catch the mutants spurs rough chase scenes.
Picking up where the 2002 Walt Disney movie hit left off, this animated series chronicles the further adventures of renegade scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba's beloved Experiment 626, who is now living happily as Lilo's alien buddy Stitch. The previous 625 experiments become activated when submerged in water and, like Stitch, each experiment has its own terrible talent. Lilo and Stitch's mission is to catch Stitch's cousins before they fall into the clutches of wrongdoers and redirect them to live productively.
A comprehensive list of all TV series seen and experienced throughout my life from early childhood to the present day. Usually full completion including all seasons, but at least a mandatory minimum of one full season. Will include live action and Western animation/cartoons, but exclude anime, which is on a separate list.
Created by Chris Sanders, this original concept with no relation to a popular fairy tale or story as well as being a science fiction property felt like an odd pick for a Disney animated film with all the pedigree that comes with it. Yet the story of an alien meant to be a weapon of mass destruction coming to Earth and finding a family with a young girl in Hawaii struck a chord with audiences. Stitch has become one of Disney's most marketable characters and this little film launched a massive sprawling multimedia franchise with a variety of spin-off films and television series.
As The Series begins, it is revealed that many other experiments of Stitch's lineage, of which he is number 626, have landed near Hawaii by accident (as shown in the direct-to-video pilot Stitch! The Movie). Stored in pods that activate one by one in freak occurrences (usually by dropping into water), each specialized experiment uses its unique power to wreak havoc on the island until it is captured. Lilo and Stitch's goal is to find a place in which each of Stitch's "cousins" can be useful and happy. Competing with them for each capture is movie bad guy Gantu, the now disgraced former galactic captain guard, who seeks to enslave the experiments for the even-eviler Doctor Hämsterviel, with the ever-reluctant assistance of Stitch's lazy, cowardly, sarcastic, sandwich-loving predecessor Experiment 625 (now known today as Reuben). After 65 episodes over two seasons,note The first season, consisting of the first 39 episodes, aired in a condensed time frame of less than six months, but the remaining 26 episodes representing the second season took nearly two years to get through for whatever reason. The Series closed out with the fourthnote Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, which is separate from the show but released in 2005 during the show's run, is the third released film in the franchise and final movie, Leroy & Stitch. It has since been followed by two different spin-off shows each on their own timeline set after the last film; a Japanese anime called Stitch! from 2008 to 2015, and a Chinese animated series titled Stitch & Ai in 2017.
Tropes Q to Z Real After All: In "Belle", Mertle constantly chastises Lilo for believing in the Nightmarchers, though as the episode ends, she does see the Nightmarchers, and quickly gets into the car and demands that her mom drive away.
Recurring Extra: The sunburned tourist from the movie returns, and still never gets to eat his ice cream. A few new extras become recurring as well, such as a newlywed couple who first show up in "Yaarp" and periodically run afoul of rampaging experiments ever since.
Redemption Demotion: Generally averted with the experiments after Lilo tames them, though there have been a few episodes in which Lilo's tamed experiments go up against another experiment and lose. Babyfier, in particular, lost to Ploot, even though his ability to turn him into a baby would weaken him immensely.
Red Ones Go Faster: "The Red One", the space police cruiser Stitch stole and crashed in the original film, was rebuilt by Jumba as shown in "Bonnie & Clyde", although it doesn't look the same as before. Still, Stitch was happy to see and fly it again.
Reunion Show: "Fibber", which, as mention above, features The Kids in the Hall cast as Pleakley's family (with Dave Foley playing the priest).
Revolting Rescue: In "Link", the eponymous Link causes arguing people to get stuck together. Stitch and Nani get glued to each other and find that mud dissolves Link's sticky goop, so Nani has Stitch dump it onto Pleakley, Jumba, Lilo, and Mertle. Pleakley in particular is not happy about this.
Saturday Morning Cartoon: Aired on ABC Kids first before its Disney Channel premiere, and new episodes continued to air between both the block and the channel throughout its run.
Series Continuity Error: Since Disney Channel and ABC aired the episodes out of production order, there were several continuity errors throughout the show. Even then, the production order itself is not seamless either. In his debut episode, Fibber gets kidnapped by Gantu, but appears unharmed in "Spike". Likewise, Nosy also appears in "Spike" despite his capture by Gantu.
Also Hammerface (Experiment 033). He appeared in "The Asteroid", despite that episode being produced and airing before Hammerface's actual debut in "Dupe". And it can be said that the events of "Dupe" happened before "The Asteroid", but it was obvious that Gantu captured him immediately after the episode (with Heat, Plasmoid and Thresher), because he was among the experiments that needed to be rescued in "Snafu".
"Sesame Street" Cred: Regis Philbin appears as himself in "Drowsy".
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: David started talking like this after a wish-granting experiment had made him "the smartest person in the world". He was incapable of speaking regularly.
Sham Wedding: Pleakley convinces his family that he has a fiancée, only for them to come over expecting him to marry said girl. Pleakley needs the help of his ʻohananote chosen family of friends to fake a wedding to get his family off his back. Jumba acts as the bride because Nani refuses to do it even if it was fake. However, Pleakley's lie is revealed after Gantu brings up the Fibber who had been buzzing the entire episode because of Pleakley's lie.
Shout-Out: Hämsterviel is not a space gerbil, he's clearly an alien version of the Frenchman from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. One episode has Nani ending up in Jessica Rabbit's red dress.
Phantasmo (375) is an homage to Chucky from Child's Play.
Squeak (110), a small mouse-like experiment with distinctive ears "designed to annoy enemies with non-stop talking", is a shout out to the Looney Tunes character, Little Blabbermouse.
In "Dupe", we get this line (from Pleakley of all people):
"We came, we saw... we kicked their sissy butts!" In "Spooky", they do a shout-out to one of cinema's most famous lines.
Jumba: Frankly, my dear, I am not giving darn. The compulsive cleaning experiment Felix, who's later reversed into a destructive slob, at which point, Lilo refers to him as "an Oscar".
In "Slugger", when Gantu thinks he found the experiment.
Gantu: I love the smell of trog in the morning. Jumba admits his jumping to catch a basketball would be ineffective because, "evil geniuses can't jump."
In "Houdini", the disguise Stitch wears to make him appear visible are bandages, a fedora, sunglasses, and a trenchcoat.
In a What Could Have Been example, the focus of an episode based on Precious (400) was this to The Lord of the Rings but was scrapped due to copyright.
Sickeningly Sweet: Mr. Stenchy (254) was designed this way, much to Stitch's disgust, in order to get people to let their guard down before he releases his foul odor.
Spanner in the Works: Snafu (120) has this as his function. Woops (600) was designed to have all the powers of Stitch but instead is a complete klutz. In fact, the events of Woops's episode leads into Snafu's episode. Woops nearly blows Hämsterviel's cover, forcing Hämsterviel to send all the experiments he had in prison back to Gantu on Earth. This immediately leads to Woops breaking open Nosy's container, allowing him to escape. Nosy goes directly to Lilo and Stitch in the next episode to tell them that all of the experiments Gantu and Hämsterviel have are now on Earth, thus leading the duo to form a rescue party and free the experiments.
On the flipside, this can happen when an experiment doesn't affect people. In "Checkers", Stitch and his cousins are immune to Checkers' brainwashing so they know how to fight back. In "Lax", the titular experiment's power (turning people into Lazy Bums who prefer to relax over doing hard work) doesn't work on Gretchen because she considers hard work relaxing.
Suck E. Cheese's: Macki Macaw's is an example of this trope. The experiment of the episode (Phantasmo, 375) was convinced to take over the broken animatronics so it could indulge its attention-seeking nature and use its ability to control inanimate objects to help others instead of hurt them.
Spell My Name with an S: "It's Hämsterviel! Hämsterviel! Not Hamsterwheel, you ingrates!"
Stealth Pun: In "Ace", when Mortlegax, head of the Evil Genius Organization, hears rumors of Jumba's experiments being good, he takes a voyage to Earth to investigate, which could be considered an E.G.O. trip.
Stock Audio Clip: Stitch's rather drawn-out "Hi!" from when he first meets Lilo in the original film is used as his regular greeting in the intro and various episodes, such as when he first meets Angel.
Stupidity-Inducing Attack: The effect of Spike's, well, spikes. His purpose is to take a person's ordinary thought processes, and increase their goofiness factor by 99%, leaving only 1% clever. According to Jumba, only super-geniuses of his caliber are immune (with even Stitch being susceptible).Jumba: Even one percent Jumba brains is plenty super-genius, haha!
Superstition Episode: The episode featuring Shoe (113), who causes bad luck. At the end, the characters discover that he can be set to cause good luck instead.
Super Strength: Stitch can lift over 3000 times his own weight but not an ounce more. This weakness has been exploited by both of the main villains.
Team Rocket Wins: A handful of episodes ended with Gantu in possession of the new experiment(s) of the day, though they were generally ones with useless/embarrassing powers. This is Deconstructed in the Series Finale "Snafu", where Nosy after manages to escape (in "Woops"), he calls out Lilo for essentially abandoning him and a dozen others to Gantu.
Title, Please!: The only place where you can see the episode titles is in cable descriptions and on Disney+.
Theme Music Power-Up: "Aloha, E Komo Mai" would play without vocals in an upbeat form whenever Stitch or someone else was doing a lot of fighting.
Theme Park Version: Hula dancing, as opposed to the film, which, as the filmmakers frequently boasted, had the most accurate presentation of in any Hollywood film. Obviously, it was switched to the stereotypical "synchronized arm waving" for economic purposes.
Training the Pet: In "Bad Stitch", Nani is displeased because of Stitch's tendency to destroy things out of frustration. Lilo tries to Tame His Anger through various tactics from a book about dog training, but none of them are successful. When Lilo says they can't afford to keep Stitch if he doesn't curb his destructive tendencies, he goes to see Professor Gunther Freem (actually a disguised Hämsterviel), who reverts him back to his old feral personality. However, Lilo snaps him out of this state by telling him that she loves him. Though by the ending, Stitch hasn't completely overcome his tendency to break things when it's shown that he tore through the living room to find glue.
Transatlantic Equivalent: There is a Japanese version where Stitch lives on an equally tropical island in Okinawa. They keep the animation style, for the most part.
True Companions: ʻOhana means family; family means nobody gets left behind... or forgotten.
Two Shorts: "Mrs. Hasagawa's Cats/Ace" and "Glitch/Woops". All the other episodes are full 22-minute episodes.
The Unintelligible: Stitch's Tantalog speech is very hard to understand, and most other experiments make animal or robotic noises.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Many Hawaiians mistake Stitch and other experiments for normal Earth animals. They also mistake Gantu for a human foreigner even when he's not wearing a Paper-Thin Disguise. Only two American tourists noticed Gantu and the experiments were aliens and when they complained to the mayor, even giving photographic evidence, he just shrugs it off as a hoax.
In "Frenchfry", Moses doesn't seem to find it odd that the now-fat Lilo is shaped so unrealistically or how she gained so much weight in so little time.
The American Dragon: Jake Long crossover stated they were in Hawaii to investigate reports of undisguised magical creatures, so apparently a few people noticed.
Vacation Crossover: Among the many crossovers with other shows, the crossover episodes with Recess and The Proud Family featured the former series' main characters vacationing in Hawaii.
Valentine's Day Episode: "Hunkahunka", featuring an experiment that makes people fall in love with the next person they see.
Verbal Tic: Mertle has a habit of putting emphasis on words like "me" and "my", showing how conceited she is. It's pretty subtle, but it's made more apparent when Lilo does it when she's hypnotized into acting l