Made in the midst of the rise of Pixar, Lilo & Stitch was a bit of an odd duck. In a time when CGI was becoming all the rage, Disney reached back to the days of its earlier animated features and ended up with the surprise hit of the summer in 2002. Though the sequel fails to recapture the charm of the original, the casting of nearly all the voice talent from the original means the two features feel consistent.

As Lilo & Stitch begins, an aggressive genetically engineered alien creature escapes the mother ship by hijacking a shuttle to Earth. Landing in Hawaii, this little blue ball of energy is quickly adopted by a young, orphaned, Elvis-loving girl named Lilo (voiced by Daveigh Chase). Lilo believes her new companion is a dog, names him Stitch, and regards him as her pet. Nani (Tia Carrere) Lilo’s older sister, who’s been doing her best to take care of Lilo, welcomes Stitch, pleased that her sister has something to keep her occupied.

Lilo & StitchLilo finds herself in trouble often, which results in a visit from child protective services in the form of the dark-suited Mr. Bubbles (Ving Rhames), who threatens to take Lilo away if Nani can’t take care of her properly. In the midst of all this, Alien’s from Stitch’s world are after him, determined to capture him. This creates a bit of cat-and-mouse tension, but the film’s main focus is the relationship between the two main characters and their calming effect on each other. Things end the way you’d expect a Disney movie of this kind to wrap up, but it’s done in a nice and satisfying manner.

The direct-to-video sequel Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch finds Lilo (now voiced by Dakota Fanning) trying to figure out what to do for her hula competition. The pressure increases when she learns that her mother won the competition when she was her age. Lilo is counting on Stitch to help her, but he’s randomly breaking things and acting out of sorts. Lilo doesn’t believe Stitch’s behavior is beyond his control, and stops being friends with him. Jumba is the only one who can help him (David Ogden Stiers). Will he be able to fix Stitch quick enough so he can help Lilo with the competition?

Presented in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio, the 1080p transfers of both films are impressive. Colors are crisp and strong. While the second film is perhaps a bit less vibrant than the first, it’s not a major drop off, especially considering it was a direct-to-video release. The level of detail is high in both films, and there are no digital anomalies to speak of.

The DTS-HS Master Audio 5.1 tracks are very strong. Dialogue and music are clear throughout, and the surrounds are used regularly. Sound effects are moved nicely throughout the soundfield in an even manner. Both mixes are nicely done.

Audio options include English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0, and Spanish, French, Portuguese and Russian Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks.  Subtitles are available in English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.

No special features are included on the Blu-ray’s. The special features can only be found on the standard DVD copies of the films. On the Lilo & Stitch DVD are: an audio commentary, “Your Ohana” music video, Lilo & Stitch Island Adventure Games, DisneyPedia: Hawaii—The Islands of Aloha, Create Your Own Alien Experiment Game, A Stitch in Time: Follow Stitch Through The Disney Years, Hula Lesson, “Burning Love”…Behind The Scenes With Wynonna, “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” Music Video Performed By A-Teens, Animating The Hula, and “Inter-Stitch-ials” Theatrical Teaser Trailers.

Special features on the Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch DVD include: “Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride,” a short featurette “The Origin of Stitch” and a couple of in-screen games: “Where’s Pleakley?” and “Jumba’s Experiment Profiler.”