'Lilo & Stitch' fans slam animator for calling Disney movie's 6-year-old Hawaiian protagonist an 'ungrateful brat'
In the aftermath of the lockdowns that have been imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Twitter trends have increasingly become wilder. Saturday, April 11, saw the 2002 Disney animated feature ‘Lilo & Stitch’ trend. The kids’ film tells the tale of a Hawaiian girl who adopts an unusual pet who is actually a notorious extra-terrestrial fugitive.
It’s an adorable movie that received both box office success and global acclaim. So why has it sparked a furious outrage now, 18 years later? On April 5, animator Hailey Lain shared her in-depth criticisms of the film to Tumblr, after she was asked, “Would you mind sharing a quick summary of why you don't think ‘Lilo and Stitch’ is a good movie? I didn't get to see the stream and I'm quite curious as I haven't met a person who didn't think ‘Lilo and Stitch’ was a fantastic movie.”
Lain wrote, in her lengthy answer, “Lilo isn’t just the bullied weird kid. She’s a brat. Her first instinct when somebody says something she doesn’t like is to get violent… and it may seem funny on the screen, but this sort of behavior is NOT funny in real life; and if you think it is, there is a real problem there. Lilo is horrendously ungrateful for everything Nani sacrifices for her and gets bitter and spiteful when she’s called on it, so much so that the child throws a tantrum. Poor Nani is left STILL trying to pick up the slack, STILL trying to fix things in Lilo’s destructive wake, and Lilo honestly doesn’t care.”
She further said, “Lilo is of the mindset that it’s Nani’s job to clean up after her messes, and takes that entirely for granted. And the message of the movie, ‘family means nobody gets left behind,’ underscores this and even says that it IS the family’s job to fix its members’ messes… without holding that family member responsible or accountable.”
She added, “Now, Stitch is a monster. Stitch is - and SHOULD be - the physical manifestation of Lilo’s bitterness, self-indulgence, and tendency to lash out at anything that’s set against her. Of COURSE, she’d like this little beast. And the movie portrays him as a little beast! …sort of. He should be even more of a monster than the movie claims. It is not Stitch’s narrative role, in this kind of story, to be sympathetic. He needs to be the ultimate result of allowing your kid to become a little monster. Nani continues to indulge Lilo when she should be putting her foot down, and the result is that the household invites in the worst kind of monster there is - one that everyone in the house created together.”
Twitter users had a field day responding to this critique of the film. A user wrote, “*rolls dice* lilo from lilo and stitch *spins wheel* considered problematic now *turns over cards* for her age-appropriate response to grief.” Another user added to the same school of thought with, “‘Lilo and Stitch is an awful movie because the 6-year-old who just lost her parents isn’t grateful enough’ is quite possibly the worst take I’ve ever heard.”
Another user explained the problem with the critique, “If that lilo and stitch critique wasn’t the perfect example of how white people inherently view little brown/black girls as “aggressive” and more grown than they are, idk what is. how are you gonna go off claiming lilo is a “brat” but IGNORE everything myrtle does.”
A Twitter user pointed out what they found most ridiculous about the post, “My favorite part of the Lilo and Stitch callout post is when OP says that the natural progression of Lilo and Nani’s dynamic is the plot of the goddamn Godfather,” referring to this bit Lain wrote: “The natural result of that message is a wonderfully horrific movie called The Godfather. I highly recommend it if you haven’t actually ever watched it; it is not a fun movie but it is very eye-opening.”
Per disability rights activist, author, and journalist Keah Brown, “That Lilo and stitch take is trash but of course, it is. Black and brown kids never get to be kids. We are always held to this impossible standard even In Disney movies. After all that Lilo has been through she’s not allowed to be bratty she has to be what? Wonderful at all times?”
While the outrage itself brings with itself a good opportunity to discuss, Herald-Tribune journalist Jimmy Geurts pondered, “Between Interpol and Lilo & Stitch, we have apparently gotten to the stage of self-quarantine where we relitigate the pop culture of 2002.”
One really has to wonder what will quote-unquote break the internet next, now that people across the globe have more time to spend on the internet.