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Leroy & Stitch

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Leroy & Stitch
DVD and digital distribution cover
Directed by
  • Tony Craig
  • Bobs Gannaway
Written by
Based onCharacters
by Chris Sanders
Dean DeBlois
Produced by
  • Igor Khait (line producer)
  • Kurt Weldon (line producer)
  • Jess Winfield (executive producer)
  • Tony Craig (executive producer)
  • Bobs Gannaway (executive producer)
Starring
Edited byTony Mizgalski
Music byJ. A. C. Redford
Production
companies
Distributed byBuena Vista Home Entertainment
Release dates
  • June 23, 2006 (2006-06-23)
(TV)
  • June 27, 2006 (2006-06-27)
(DVD)
Running time
73 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Leroy & Stitch[a] is a 2006 American animated science fiction comedy television film[b] produced by Walt Disney Television Animation.[1] It was written by Bobs Gannaway and Jess Winfield, the latter of whom also served as producer alongside Igor Khait, and directed by Gannaway and Tony Craig. It is the fourth feature film in the Lilo & Stitch franchise and the third and final sequel feature film to the 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch, serving as the finale of Lilo & Stitch: The Series and concluding the franchise's main continuity where Lilo Pelekai is a main character and Hawaii is the main setting.[c] It is the last Western-animated production in the franchise to date. The film debuted on Disney Channel on June 23, 2006, and was also aired on Toon Disney on June 26, 2006.[3]

Plot

[edit]

With their mission to capture and repurpose all the experiments on Earth completed,[d] Lilo, Stitch, Jumba, and Pleakley are honored as heroes by the Galactic Alliance. Jumba is offered to return to his old laboratory, Pleakley is offered a post as chairman of Earth Studies at Galactic Alliance Community College, Stitch is made the Captain of the Galactic Armada and commander of the newly commissioned Big Red Battleship 9000, and Lilo is made the Galactic Federation's ambassador to Earth and the sole guardian of the experiments.

Unwilling to leave Lilo alone and sad, Jumba, Pleakley, and Stitch initially decline the offers, but when Lilo sees how much they long for their new adventures, she decides to let them go. Before they leave, Lilo gives Jumba her favorite Elvis record, Pleakley a small rock to use as a paperweight, and Stitch a necklace with a Kū tiki. In his ship, Gantu has decided that since he failed to capture the experiments, except for 625, he will have to break Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel out of prison. He takes a two-man space shuttle, leaving a disheartened 625 alone. Gantu succeeds in freeing Hämsterviel, who develops a new plan upon learning of Jumba's current status.

While they enjoy what they are honored for, Jumba, Pleakley, Lilo, and Stitch begin to feel sad and devastated due to being separated from their ʻohana. While Jumba listens to Lilo's Elvis record, he continues working on a mold for a new experiment, only for Gantu and Hämsterviel burst into his lab, forcing him at gun point to finish creating the experiment for their benefit, one that can match Stitch in power. Jumba succeeds in the creation of the red Stitch look-a-like, who Hämsterviel names "Leroy".

Meanwhile, Stitch, having been assigned to recapture Hämsterviel, arrives at Jumba's lab and engages Leroy in a duel. However, Stitch is defeated when Pleakley appears at an inopportune moment, distracting him long enough for Leroy to detain him in a capsule. Hämsterviel then reveals his plan to clone an army of Leroys to conquer the Galactic Alliance. Before leaving for Turo, Hämsterviel locks Stitch, Jumba, and Pleakley in Pleakley's G.A.C.C. vehicle and sends the vessel toward a black hole.

On Earth, Lilo decides to contact Stitch but realizes that the only intergalactic videophone available on the planet is in Gantu's ship. Upon arrival, she finds a heartbroken 625 and asks to use the videophone, only to find it is not functional. Lilo, upon seeing him hurt, consoles and names him "Reuben", after one of his favorite sandwiches. After using his newfound intelligence and strength, he repairs the galactic videophone. Lilo contacts the BRB-9000, wanting to see how Stitch is doing. Leroy, who has taken control of the ship, attempts to impersonate Stitch using shapeshifting to disguise himself, but the ruse fails when Lilo notices he is not wearing the tiki necklace. After Gantu reminds Hämsterviel of the threat of the other Experiments, he commands Leroy to head to Earth to capture all of them. Lilo, realizing Stitch is in danger, asks Reuben for help in fixing Gantu's ship. Reluctant at first, he activates his abilities (which are similar to Stitch's) and successfully repairs Gantu's ship in no time at all.

As the G.A.C.C. vehicle heads towards the black hole, Stitch escapes his capsule and frees the others. However, the navigational computer is still locked on course for the black hole. When Jumba notes that they can disrupt the event horizon by throwing a small object into the hole, Stitch takes Pleakley's rock and throws it moments before they are sucked in.

On Earth, Leroy searches and obtains Lilo's scrapbook of the experiments, quickly capturing them, along with Lilo's rival, Mertle Edmonds, since she is the owner of fellow experiment, Gigi. Lilo and Reuben arrive at Turo, but learn too late that Hämsterviel has taken over the Galactic Alliance, with the Grand Councilwoman being demoted as his receptionist following her usurpation, and orders Gantu to imprison the duo. However, after now realizing Leroy did the capturing work faster than Gantu, Hämsterviel fires him. Moments after having a change of heart, Gantu assists in the two's escape. As they find themselves surrounded by Leroy clones, the G.A.C.C. vehicle suddenly appears through a wormhole, saving the group and reuniting Lilo and Stitch. With no time to explain, Lilo, Reuben, and Gantu all climb in and head for Earth.

On Earth, Leroy has gathered all the experiments at Aloha Stadium. After announcing his plan for all the experiments, the BRB-9000 appears and Hämsterviel prepares to exterminate them until the heroes arrive just in time to destroy the ship's primary cannon. However, Hämsterviel reveals that he brought along his Leroy army as backup, whereupon an epic battle between them and the experiments begins. Despite some initial victories by the experiments, the Leroys soon gained the upper hand due to their overwhelming numbers. After contemplating on how to stop the Leroy army, Jumba suddenly remembers that he programmed a secret shutdown command into Leroy: Elvis Presley's "Aloha 'Oe"; once played, Leroy and his clones will deactivate. With a plan in action, Stitch interrupts the battle and, in his Elvis attire, performs "Aloha 'Oe" with Lilo and Reuben accompanying him, causing all the Leroys to malfunction and shut down. With his plan foiled again, Hämsterviel is recaptured and sent back to prison.

As the team is honored by the alliance once again for their victory, Stitch, Jumba, and Pleakley ask to be allowed to return to Earth with Lilo. The Councilwoman grants this and asks Gantu if he would like to be reinstated as the captain of the Armada, which he agrees on the condition that Reuben is assigned as his galley officer, leaving the experiment touched. Back on Earth, Lilo sets up for one last ʻohana picture, as Mertle arrives with Gigi, who only agrees after discovering her dog was an experiment all along. Lilo's last picture in the album is her ʻohana, along with all of Stitch's cousins.

In a final scene, Hämsterviel is seen back in prison with Leroy and his clones placed in individual cells surrounding his, who have recovered and begin dancing to "Jailhouse Rock". As the credits roll, a full list of Jumba's experiments from 001/Shrink to 626/Stitch with their names as given by Lilo (and other characters in some instances during Lilo & Stitch: The Series)[e] scroll along the left side of the screen.

Voice cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

According to writer-producer Jess Winfield on his TV.com forum thread, Leroy & Stitch was made during the production of the second and final season of Lilo & Stitch: The Series, with production finished in 2005.[5] The film was originally set for a direct-to-video release in the Northern Hemisphere spring of 2006.[5] The animation production was outsourced to Wang Film Productions, a Taiwanese studio that previously worked on some animation for Lilo & Stitch: The Series.

The film marks the third film in the Lilo & Stitch franchise without any involvement from creators Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois (besides Sanders providing the voices of Stitch, Leroy, and the latter's clones), as they would leave Disney for DreamWorks Animation to write and direct How to Train Your Dragon.[6][7]

Release

[edit]

Leroy & Stitch debuted on Disney Channel on June 23, 2006 and also aired on Toon Disney on June 26, 2006.[3] It was released on DVD in the United States on June 27, 2006 under Walt Disney Pictures.[8][9] Bonus features of the DVD include a then-unaired episode of Lilo & Stitch: The Series titled "Link" (in 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio) and a set-top game The Big Red Battleship Flight Simulator.[3] Distributed by Walt Disney Home Entertainment, DVD sales in the United States earned a total of $16,672,732 as of September 2021.[10]

Critical reception

[edit]

Leroy & Stitch received mixed reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 40% with an average rating of 5.4/10, based on 5 reviews.[11]

Skyler Miller of AllMovie gave the film a rating of 3½ out of 5 stars,[g] praising the voice acting, Elvis Presley songs, and "[the] fast-moving plot that mixes frenetic action, sentimentality, and a few laughs." Miller wrote, "While [Leroy & Stitch is] not nearly as engaging or emotionally rich as the original [Lilo & Stitch] film that inspired it [...] all in all, Leroy & Stitch is a fitting wrap-up to an enjoyable animated series."[12]

Edward Perkis of CinemaBlend gave the film a rating of 1 out of 5 stars, stating the film is "just another direct-to-video sequel of Disney with no unusual stuff in it," and further uplifted and preferred the original film.[13]

Common Sense Media (CSM) gave the film's quality 4 out of 5 stars and applicable for ages 5 above based on 10 reviews from both parents and children.[14]

The film was nominated for the 2007 Golden Reel Award by the Motion Picture Sound Editors, which ultimately went to Disneytoon's direct-to-video film The Fox and the Hound 2.[15]

In 2019, Petrana Radulovic of Polygon ranked Leroy & Stitch ninth out of twenty-six films on her list of direct-to-video sequels, prequels, and "mid-quels" to Disney animated films, one rank higher than Stitch! The Movie.[16] Despite criticizing Leroy & Stitch for focusing more on the aliens and space over the "charming" characters like with Stitch! The Movie, she ranked the finale film higher than the pilot film because of all the now-united 626 experiments' "wacky and really specific powers", stating that "[w]e get to see what they've all been up to after acclimating to life on Hawaii[...], and see them in action in the final battle."[16] In a similar list in 2020, Lisa Wehrstedt of Insider ranked Leroy & Stitch seventh out of twenty-five films on her list.[17] Werhstedt wrote, "For fans who were really involved with the series [...], this film acts like the perfect finale." However, she also criticized it for "los[ing] a bit of the human charm of the original and the previous [released] sequel."[17]

Soundtrack

[edit]
Lilo & Stitch Hawaiian Album
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
Released2006
Recorded2005–2006
GenreRock, country rock, pop
LabelWalt Disney
Lilo & Stitch music chronology
Lilo & Stitch 2: Island Favorites
(2006) 		Lilo & Stitch Hawaiian Album
(2006) 		Stitch!: Original Soundtrack
(2010)

Lilo & Stitch Hawaiian Album is the soundtrack to Disney's Leroy & Stitch. The majority of the Leroy & Stitch soundtrack are Elvis Presley records, while other parts of the soundtrack include music inspired by Gustav Holst's "The Planets".[18][19] The soundtrack also contains score pieces from the original Lilo & Stitch film (which was composed by Alan Silvestri) and from Lilo & Stitch: The Series's pilot film Stitch! The Movie (which was composed by Michael Tavera, who was also the composer for The Series).

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Performer(s)Length
1."Aloha ʻOe"Queen LiliuokalaniElvis Presley 
2."I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"Hank WilliamsElvis Presley 
3."Hawaii Five-O Theme"Morton Stevens  
4."Jailhouse Rock"Jerry Leiber and Mike StollerElvis Presley 
5."Don't Be Cruel (Everlife version)"Otis Blackwell, Elvis PresleyEverlife 
6."Aloha, E Komo Mai"Danny Jacob and Ali OlmoJump5 
7."Aloha ʻOe"Queen LiliuokalaniLilo, Stitch, and Reuben (Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, and Rob Paulsen) 
8."Shouldn't Have Yelled (Lilo & Stitch)"Alan Silvestri  
9."What's Best for Lilo (Lilo & Stitch)"Alan Silvestri  
10."Ugly (Lilo & Stitch)"Alan Silvestri  
11."Rescue (Lilo & Stitch)"Alan Silvestri  
12."The Big Battle (Stitch! The Movie)"Michael Tavera  

See also

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Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Titled as Disney's Leroy & Stitch on its title card and stylized as Leroy Lilo & Stitch on its cover art.
  2. ^ Leroy & Stitch is often considered to be a direct-to-video film instead of a television film due to its DVD release just four days after its premiere broadcast.
  3. ^ Three succeeding works in the franchise—Japanese anime series Stitch!, Chinese animated series Stitch & Ai, and Japanese manga Stitch & the Samurai—replace Lilo with different humans who become Stitch's new best friend and change the setting to other regions on Earth.
  4. ^ As depicted in Lilo & Stitch: The Series
  5. ^ e.g. 007/Gigi was named by Mertle (in the episode "Yapper"), 613/Yaarp was named by Pleakley (in the episode "Yaarp").
  6. ^ Leroy wasn't numbered in the film; he was later designated Experiment 629 via a Disney Tsum Tsum-based side story of Stitch & the Samurai released in June 2020, nearly fourteen years after the release of this film.[4]
  7. ^ After AllMovie removed professional reviews from the site in 2024, AllMovie's rating for the film was changed to 2 out of 5 stars.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Laydon, Joe (June 27, 2006). "Review: 'Leroy & Stitch'". Variety. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Leroy & Stitch (2006)". AllMovie. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Lilo Leroy & Stitch DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. June 27, 2014. Archived from the original on July 1, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2006. Though Leroy & Stitch seemed destined to be direct-to-video, just a few weeks ago, it was announced that the movie would air on television twice shortly before its DVD release. It did that last Friday on Disney Channel and last night on Toon Disney.
  4. ^ LINE：ディズニー ツムツム公式 [@LINE_tsumtsum_j] (June 4, 2020). 大人気マンガ『殿さまとスティッチ』の限定マンガの続編を公開！今度はリロイが戦国時代で大暴れ！詳しくはゲーム内インフォメーションをチェックしてね♪ (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ a b Armstrong, Josh (July 22, 2005). "Leroy & Stitch to wrap up Lilo & Stitch: The Series?". Animated Views. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  6. ^ "Interview: Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders of 'How to Train Your Dragon'". Beliefnet. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  7. ^ "Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois Talk 'How to Train Your Dragon'". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  8. ^ "DVD's". Chicago Tribune. May 30, 2006. p. 57. Retrieved September 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ McCutcheon, David (May 31, 2006). "Leroy & Stitch Run Amuck in June". IGN. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  10. ^ "Leroy & Stitch - DVD Sales". The Numbers. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  11. ^ "Leroy & Stitch (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  12. ^ Miller, Skyler. "Leroy & Stitch (2006) Review". AllMovie. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  13. ^ Perkis, Edward. "Leroy & Stitch DVD Review". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  14. ^ "Leroy & Stitch Movie Review". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  15. ^ "MPSE Golden Reel Awards". 2008-03-25. Archived from the original on 2008-03-25. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  16. ^ a b Radulovic, Petrana (March 28, 2019). "Every Disney direct-to-video sequel, prequel, and mid-quel, ranked". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  17. ^ a b Wehrstedt, Lisa (July 10, 2020). "All of Disney's straight-to-home-video sequels, prequels, and midquels, ranked from best to worst". Insider. Insider Inc. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  18. ^ "Leroy & Stitch (Video 2006)". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  19. ^ "Leroy & Stitch (2006) Soundtrack OST - RingosTrack". RingosTrack. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
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