Disney’s “Cold Heart” is one of the studio’s biggest hits with both fans and critics, and one of the reasons why this fact was recognized is how the film “broke stereotypes” when it came to its two main characters. While the film returns to the path of Princess Anne looking for true love, she finds it not in a man, but in her sister. However, Chris Sanders, the co-director of Lilo and Stitch, would like to kindly remind you that his film did it first.
Lilo and Stitch is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and although the film has its fans, it is absolutely one of the underrated gems of Walt Disney Animations Studios. One of the key things that makes it clear how underrated this is is how people seem to forget about it when they give credit to “Cold Heart” for doing something in a Disney movie that his movie already did first. Sanders isn’t angry, he’s just disappointed, telling the New York Times…
To be clear, I think Frozen is great. But it upset me a little bit because people were saying, “Finally an unromantic relationship with these two girls,” and I was thinking: “We did it! This has been done before.
And Chris Sanders is definitely not wrong. “Lilo and Stitch,” although it’s a movie about a Hawaiian child and her pet space alien who gets into all sorts of trouble, is also a story about two sisters who find a common language. There is even less romance in this story than in “Cold Heart”. Romance is still an important part of the “Cold Heart”, even if it is not a solution to the problems of the main characters. Anna’s romance is important in both “Cold Heart” films, even if love never becomes part of Elsa’s story. In Lilo and Stitch, Lilo’s sister, Nani, has a potential fiance, but she doesn’t even have time to think about a relationship.
There are a couple of obvious reasons why Lilo and Stitch may not receive proper recognition in this regard. This is not a musical or a “movie about princesses,” and thus Stitch is already going beyond what we think when we think about “Disney movies.” “Cold Heart” violated the classic Disney formula in this particular area.
Lilo and Stitch is just a movie different from what we expect from Disney animation in every conceivable way. That’s part of why the movie is so good. Almost everything in Lilo and Stitch is different from what we often see in Disney animated films. Although it has elements of science fiction, it’s a much more down-to-earth movie than most others. The action of “Lilo and Stitch” takes place in modern Hawaii, although, apparently, this was not always the case. About normal people who don’t look like Disney princesses, with real problems that don’t break into song. Tia Carrere wishes she could sing more.
Maybe, considering that Lilo and Stitch are celebrating their 20th anniversary, and the film is now so easily available on Disney+, people will watch it for the second or even the first time. It’s actually a great movie and one of Disney’s most emotional stories.
