Parents' Guide to

Lilo and Stitch

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Cute story, great characters, fabulous soundtrack.

Movie PG 2002 85 minutes
Lilo and Stitch Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you willā€”and won'tā€”find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 6+

Based on 59 parent reviews

age 10+

Watched it as a kid once and couldnā€™t remember it... wow.

I was very disappointed. I have a pretty sensitive 4 year old that I am careful what I show him as his active imagination and sensitive soul gets troubled easily. I knew I had watched Lilo and Stich years ago and thought the characters were cute, so when a family friend wanted to watch a movie together we let her pick this. Big mistake. Within the first couple minutes my kid was whimpering. I kept fast forwarding intense parts and assuring him a cute little girl was coming up (I honestly couldnā€™t remember the movie mat all except the characters). I was so surprised when the little girl totally acted out, the sister acted inappropriately, the little alien acted sinister and the overall attitude was a lot darker then I remember. We kept fast forwarding trying to get to better parts but about a third of the way in we gave up. My poor kid was stiff as a board and frightened. I had to pick what age group this was appropriate for, so I picked what age we could actually have a good conversation about their behavior, but to be honest I will 100% skip this at any age. The bad attitudes (even though somewhat relatable with family trauma) are not anything I want my kids to see and internalize. Something else bothers me... Stitch himself is supposed to be cute, but really he does seem more... sinister. Though I know they are redeemable and at the end there is a positive message, I just couldnā€™t handle the trip there. It lacked too much. And in the end I didnā€™t like the characters enough to keep putting my kid through that.
age 8+

Not for young kids

My thoughts and opinions run parallel to the other negative reviews on here. Too violent, too sad, too scary. By the last third of the movie my 5 year old was hiding her eyes wailing she didn't want to watch it any more. We ended up watching the last half hour in fast forward, where the final 10 minutes were (the ONLY) cheerful part of the movie. It's very ironic to me that disney has convinced so many people that it's movies are for children. I cant think of a single one that doesn't involve death and monsters. I wish there was a happy medium between saccharine "Winnie the pooh" and frothing beasts and crying orphans. It's tough to find movies for 5 year olds. Oh, and as an added bonus my child is afraid of aliens now, where 2 hours ago she wasn't.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (59 ):
Kids say (76 ):

A cute story, endearing characters, a sensational soundtrack of Elvis classics, and glorious hand-painted animation make this Disney film a winner. At its heart, Lilo & Stitch is just an old-fashioned story of a child and a pet. But this isn't the usual movie child, and it's definitely not the usual pet. The Hawaiian location and gorgeous visuals give it a fresh feeling. And instead of the usual waifish Disney heroine who's waiting to be saved, there's Nani, Lilo's older sister, who's struggling to grow up quickly so that she can care for Lilo the way her parents did.

Lilo is irresistibly adorable, and her relationship with her sister is a believable mixture of affection, resentment, and connection. Both are deeply affected by the loss of their parents, and their behavior and how they treat the people around them reflects the trauma and grief they're enduring. Ving Rhames adds just the right note of wry authority to his role as Cobra Bubbles, the social worker with a surprising past, and Jason Scott Lee is fine as Nani's friend who would like to be more.

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate