Lilo is an interesting character, but such a brat

I think having Stitch helped her, because Stitch kind of gave her back a little of what she was giving.

Like the 'now get into bed scene.' She gets a little bratty and demanding, and Stitch kind of starts acting up, pushing her down, and throwing her pillow on her.



"Thanks, guys." "So long, partner."

- Toy Story 3 (9/10)

I think you're forgetting that you're talking about a six year old girl. You're comparing Nani's and Lilo's attitudes like they should be equivalent, but forgetting their age. Of course Nani is going to be the mature, responsible one with obvious outward affection. She has to be the adult here. Lilo is still young and coping with the loss of her parents, the fact that she has no friends(and trust me, I'm non-violent but I'd probably smack Mrytle too. We can't pretend this is an isolated incident), and that most of the time she's pretty much alone while Nani is off working.
You've pointed out a lot of Lilo's bad actions while conveniently ignoring her good ones. Yes, she got Nani in trouble and acted like a brat sometimes. She also apologized and showed very clear regret. She fought to stay with Nani as much as Nani fought to keep her. But she's also a little girl that doesn't understand how the world works, and is still very impulsive.
Nani also is not her mom, and probably disciplines her a lot more than is showed in the movie. However, this is a children's movie and if kids see consistent punishment from Nani, Nani becomes the antagonist in their eyes and that's not Nani's place.
They are sisters, and they work well as sisters.
Lilo may be a bit on the brattish side, but she's also very young, and not everyone learns the same way, or at the same pace.

That is the point. Lilo is about 6 years old and she recently lost her parents. Of course she is going to be angry or mopey occasionally. She also seems to be naturally quirky which is going to cause a lot of other kids to make fun of her. When you combine the pain from losing her parents mixed in with the stress of being rejected by her peers it makes perfect sense that she is going to lash out and especially lash out at the people who are causing her to feel worse.

In regards to getting Nani in trouble with Mr. Bubbles or reading Nani's diary she is a little kid who probably doesn't know any better. She probably thought she was doing a good thing by exaggerating how her sister disciplines her. She also probably didn't fully understand what Nani meant in her diary when she said she liked David nor that telling him might cause a bit of awkwardness down the line.

I also disagree with your opinion that the film doesn't portray Nani in a positive light. I doubt Nani is supposed to older than 20. I am guessing 18 or 19. She is barely an adult and was still living at home when her parents died. She is trying to support herself and her sister the best way she can and her frustration is not shown as unreasonable. Nani is trying to hold down a job and raise his sister acting as both a big sister and as a mother while both coping with her own mourning and trying to go a little easy on Lilo because she knows she is in a bad place.

Also, while the movie does go easy on Lilo it doesn't give her a free pass. To some extent Stitch's attitude is a parallel to Lilo's. She even points it out when she says, "I know that's why you break things and push me." In a way her own behavior is being thrown right back at her.

Well if you were a child when it came out, presumably you're a teen now?

She's a small child. Small children behave like she does, even without the loss of their parents.

I know it's patronising, but when you have kids of your own you'll be a lot more forgiving!

I totally agree with you, though I thought Lilo was a brat when I first saw the movie. I was about 10 years old at that time and felt really sorry for Nani. I don't have a sister, but I am the oldest of two siblings, and I guess I could kind of relate to Nani more than Lilo and see that she was just trying to keep it all together because she genuinely loved Lilo and wanted them to stay together. I understand how siblings fight, but Lilo just seemed downright mean and unreasonable with Nani a lot of the time. I also understand that she was just a little kid and Nani was the grown adult, but Lilo did test her patience and was being a brat. I remember being a kid, watching this, and thinking, "What is wrong with Lilo? Why is she screaming all of the time?!" Like she had some sort of emotional disturbance or something.

Honestly, I never understood the hype that was around this movie. I remember when it first came out and a lot of my friends were obsessed with it and thought the characters of Lilo & Stitch were wonderful. Same with Finding Nemo. That might just be me, but I never really enjoyed the movie in the first place. When I did see it, I could definitely relate to Nani more (and had been to Hawaii a couple of times, so I liked the connection to the culture there with the music and everything). Anyway, to each their own. I always thought that it's overrated.

"I must express myself." - Delia Deetz

No need to apologize at all. You pretty much nailed the description. Although I do like Lilo as a character because of her strenghts, she is pretty much a brat during this movie. She litterally attacks Myrtle, which makes the latter to have all the right to avoid her. And she deliberately locks Nani out and makes her look as a bad guardian in front of Cobra Bubbles. So yeah, Lilo has the right to be scolded. However, Lilo does become less bratty through movie. And to her defense, she's only six years old. How much sense do a six year old have?

However, I feel sorry for Lilo for the trauma she's been through and while she should have behaved better, she has my sympathy.

She's a f--king cartoon character. Cartoons are naturally exagerated. Are you this much of a wet blanket in real life?

She was a young girl, who both her parents died and her only family was her sister who worked all the time trying to support them.
She also had no friends.
She acted out for attention. Most young kids do that even with friends and a large family