While I didn't remember much about this movie, I remember hating it when it came out. Sure enough, watching it again, I still hate it, only now I can articulate why that is. This is just a heads up, this is going to be a largely negative review. I have very little good to say about Lilo and Stitch.
We start with a mad scientist on trial for his creation of a creature whose only instinct is to destroy. Despite everyone speaking perfect English, Stitch speaks in an alien language that absolutely everyone is capable of understanding, and he seems to use this language to exclusively say naughty things. I don't know why he is the only one who seems to speak a language everyone else can just understand, but this is the kind of humor this show started with.
He inevitably escapes and meets a girl named Lilo, who is under the care of her sister. The two are being watched closely by child services to make sure it's a good environment to grow up in. The fundamental problem with the core of this show is the obvious answer here is no, and despite the fact it's clear the sisters care for each other, at no point to I believe the answer to this question is anything but no. It's not like Lilo ever learns she shouldn't bite another girl and punch her in the face just because Lilo was called weird for saying she feeds a fish who controls the weather peanut butter sandwiches. Her older sister never seems to learn a lesson that teaches her how she has to change to become more of a mother to Lilo than a sister. But hey, Family never abandons each other, so I guess none of that is all that important.
It gets worse when I realize I'm not rooting for any character in this show. The Prime minister is being portrayed as the smart one, despite forgetting Earth exists despite learning she has been there before (And remembering a character as a former CIA agent), and assigns the most incompetent person the show has presented us with overseeing the mad scientist keep him in check as he is tasked with returning the highly powerful and dangerous experiment. The general is just a dick at every given opportunity, and Lilo is surprisingly violent for no known reason. I could go on, but I just don't like any of these people. I kind of feel for the sister, and I was entirely on the side of the Child Services guy before he just decided to allow Lilo to stay for... reasons.
There are some funny scenes, and the action is really good. Watching Stitch escape from the ship was a lot of fun, and the show has a lot of really fun slapstick humor. Like most Disney movies, the animation is also really good and helps make the gags stick. I will also give the show credit for its great comedic timing, it knows never to undercut its serious moments with misplaced comedy, even if I don't think most of the jokes themselves work.
And that's what it comes down to. It's a good idea for a story backed up with great timing and animation, but I think the show banked on us just looking at a sad situation and immediately getting behind the characters as a result, rather than giving us reason to get behind them as characters. I know this movie has a lot of fans, but I just can't get behind it at all. It's one of the least enjoyable re-watches I've had since starting these Disney reviews.