Absolutely the worst Disney film I've ever seen
I was truly shocked at how awful this was. It was a physical effort to get through it.
I found myself cringing and feeling queasy at the ugliness of the alien designs, with their four eyes, one eye, six arms -- it was all too grotesque to stand. At times I, no joke, had to look away from the screen.
Yes, I get that this was the point: "ugly duckling" and all. But it doesn't make the viewing experience any more bearable.
Also, I don't understand why the style of the film had to present humans as well in such an ugly fashion, with snouts instead of noses. So everyone in this world has a nose like that? What was gained by this approach rather than, say, the character design of Pocahontas?
Character-wise, I recognize that the film wanted to give Lilo a huge arc, but starting her off as such a vicious and even malicious brat made it very hard to generate sympathy for her. Even toward the end, one had still never fully shaken off how off-putting an impression she first made.
Did not find Stitch cute. At all. Ever. Loathsome, repellent, yes. That too negated the emotional power of the story.
With Nani, at least, one could feel some sympathy. But it wasn't enough to save the film. Worst of all, the ending chase sequence turned into ridiculous farce that further undermined whatever emotional power the film had tried to generate up to that point, making it impossible to take it seriously even on its own emotional terms.
Yes, Stitch "is" Lilo. Yes, Nani and Lilo have similar personality tendencies. Yes, the alien abduction is a metaphor for child services. But details like that cannot overcome how visually repellent the character designs of the aliens were, how odd and unnatural the human designs were, and the basic unpleasantness of most of the characters.
Worse than Hercules, in fact, the worst Disney animated film I've yet seen. And I've almost seen them all now, just a few left.
Oh, and not being an Elvis fan, that entire part of the storyline, meant to be appealing, left me absolutely cold.