Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch Blu-ray Movie Review

"You're my ohana, Stitch, and I'll always love you..."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown June 2, 2013

Disney is well aware of the appeal and reach of its catalog, down to the best and worst films in its canon. Titles like Cinderella and Peter Pan arrive separately and to great fanfare, while other titles shuffle onto shelves en masse, sans the red-carpet treatment afforded their Platinum and Diamond Edition brethren. In August 2012, it was The Aristocats, The Rescuers, The Rescuers Down Under, Pocahontas, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, The Tigger Movie and Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure, all released on the same day. Earlier this year, in March, it was The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, Mulan, Mulan II, Brother Bear and Brother Bear 2. And now animation fans can add six more movies to their Blu-ray collection with Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Atlantis 2: Milo's Return, Lilo & Stitch, Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, The Emperor's New Groove and Kronk's New Groove.

But something is amiss this go around. Once again, the original films and their direct-to-video sequels are paired on single BD-50 discs. This time, though, only Atlantis includes special features on the Blu-ray disc itself. Extras for Lilo & Stitch and The Emperor's New Groove (and their sequels) are relegated to the bonus DVD copies in each 2-Movie set. Moreover, video and audio are vastly improved, but the transfers suffer from a number of (admittedly minor) issues. Combined with the displaced extras, it's hard to miss Disney's diminishing standards. Packing a 2-Movie Collection on a single disc is becoming more and more important to the studio; more important than delivering the fullest, most intuitive experience.

And the films? The theatrically released features are as divisive as ever. Some will find them decidedly desperate and unimaginative; a pale imitation of the Disney Renaissance greats. Others, like myself, will find a few flawed but fun, and one -- Lilo & Stitch -- a bonafide classic, seeing the trio as a not-so-distant spiritual extension to those same Renaissance classics. The direct-to-video sequels, though, aren't nearly as polished or entertaining on the whole, making the 2-Movie Collections hit or miss pairings primed to placate longtime fans and underwhelm the unconverted.

Although Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch is an even smaller scale tale than its predecessor, decidedly direct-to-video, and better suited to television than anything else, it's heart is just as big, and that goes a pretty long way. Not far enough to elevate the sequel to the heights of the original feature film, mind you, but far enough to make it a harmless, reasonably entertaining diversion good for a rainy family night or a chilly Saturday morning. This time around, Lilo (Dakota Fanning) begins preparing for a performance at a local dance festival just as Stitch (Chris Sanders) briefly and inadvertently begins reverting to his old ways, which threatens to spoil her chances of winning. Distracted by the demands of the competition, Lilo grows increasingly frustrated with her alien friend, all while Dr. Jumba Jookiba (David Ogden Stiers), his creator, struggles to build a fusion chamber capable of saving Stitch before the glitch becomes permanent.

There's nothing wrong with Lilo & Stitch's sequel per se, other than it's miniaturization for the small screen. Its animation isn't as eye-catching (even though it more closely resembles its original film than most Disney DTV sequels), its script isn't as sharp, its music less catchy and more forced, and its adventure slighter and more trivial. There's also little in the way of surprises this time around. The first film is an all-ages treat, while Glitch primarily targets the kiddies. Not that anyone should grumble. Direct-to-video animated sequels are notoriously average -- particularly when it comes to Disney -- and diminishing budgets, creative talent and timetables play a major role. Stitch Has a Glitch accomplishes everything it sets out to accomplish, it simply doesn't set its sights very high. The original was strong enough to earn a full-fledged theatrical sequel, and this is anything but that, right up through its much too neatly wrapped third act. Ah well. You could do worse, that's for sure.

Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

No major issues to report, other than another smattering of easily overlooked banding and minimal aliasing. The sequel's Hawaiian palette is nice and vibrant, black levels are dead on, and contrast is consistent throughout. And while the animation amounts to a direct-to-video step down, the quality of Glitch's 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode is comparable to that of the first film. Line art is clean and refined, backgrounds are unhindered, and artifacting, noise and other issues are largely held at bay. A small selection of issues arise, but nothing too detrimental. All told, Stitch Has a Glitch fares well.

Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The sequel's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track isn't as full or immersive as the first film's, but it gets the job done, and with a flatter, less engaging soundscape in tow. Voices are intelligible from start to finish, and effects are light and lively, with decent rear speaker support and LFE heft. It's nothing to write home about -- directionality is hemmed in and low-end output isn't going to convince anyone there's a alien spacecraft touching down in their home theater -- but the mix is a fine presentation of the movie's original sound design, limited impact and all.

Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 2-Movie Collection release of Lilo & Stitch / Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch is a 3-disc set. However, in what has now become Disney's practice, the feature films are housed on a single BD-50, with two standard DVDs -- one for each movie -- rounding out the set. It's far from perfect; some will deem it convenient, others an irritation.

Once again, though, what few special features are included are only available on the DVD copy of Stitch Has a Glitch. The Blu-ray disc doesn't include any extras.

Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch isn't the be-all, end-all of Disney direct-to-video sequels, but it's fairly enjoyable, which is more than I can say for most. Its able-bodied video presentation and lossless audio mix only help, and the disc's lack of special features is the one thing worth bemoaning.