flautist4ever

[flautist4ever]

Honestly, although Cobra lacks warmth and tact and should have done better to understand them as people, you can totally see why he's emotionally switched off for Nani and focused entirely on Lilo and her welfare if you see things from his POV and pretend you know nothing about how Lilo and Nani really are.

You're the guy who gets called in when nothing else has worked and a kids welfare is seriously on the line. Not a great job, but you care enough about kids to do it.

The first meeting you have with the caretaker of your current child is her kicking your car and calling you a pejorative (she totally would have said something stronger than 'stupid head' if it hadn't been Disney) because she's running home where she's left that child alone. You arrive and she's locked out and yelling threats at the child, but quickly pretends she hasn't been when she's being watched.

There's crap everywhere outside and inside the home. The stove is on and overflowing and noxious. The child clearly has a script rehearsed and the moment she does off script the guardian hushes her up. The child is clearly not socially well adjusted, which doesn't seem to be being worked on and has resulted in her fighting and biting (there's no way he didn't later learn about that) other children not to mention the 'voodoo'.

Then the guardian loses her job and they weren't doing financially great before (can't even afford a real doll for Lilo) and when you go to check up on that and see she's job hunting right away oh yeah, that's totally an alien. Ok, that's not your job any more and you know aliens can integrate just fine but this one is violent and the kid is attached to it, it's another safety risk, but you give them all further chances to show Lilo is going to be ok because you do still believe it can be done.

Except she's frequently wandering around alone, the alien almost kills her at some point and she's left alone whilst the house is being attacked (by more aliens whilst more dangerous stuff happens!) and is on fire.

Like yeah, that's all he's seen and it sure looks like Lilo is not safe with Nani (at least see the moment) at all.

And yet at the end he accepts that Nani will have the support she needs now and keep doing her best and Lilo will be safe, so he keeps them together because that's also part of his job and becomes another part of the support system. But oh boy, did it look terrible there for a long while.

[flautist4ever]

Y'all since we're all getting back on the Lilo and Stitch train, can we talk for a minute about how we were ROBBED when the tv show was still on Disney channel?

So remember how in the L&S Tv show they'd do crossover episodes with the other Disney shows on air at the time? Kim possible, The Proud Family, etc.?

It's an ABSOLUTE CRIME that the show was taken off air before Phineas and Ferb got picked up bc CAN YOU IMAGINE

Phineas and Ferb cranking out experiments like no one's business

Jumba being impressed with how quickly the boys make experiments and immediately tries to take them under his wing as "little evil genius proteges"

Perry gets mistaken for an experiment and ends up fighting Gantu

Lilo trying to prove Perry IS an experiment to the boys (he's not, but she's dead convinced)

Doofenschmirtz gets jealous of Jumba and his inventions

Nani and Candice bonding over the stress their baby siblings put them under

Nani immediately checking Candice when she realizes she just wants to "bust" her brothers to their mom and tells her to step up for them

Pleakley becomes a Fireside Girl Den Mother somehow

Just

UGH

A crossover with them would've hit SO HARD and I will forever be sad that it never happened

[flautist4ever]

[flautist4ever]

Honestly, what I think the difference between Jumba creating "evil experiments to destroy the world" and every other evil scientist that does the same: is that Jumba is very Aware that his experiments are Living, Breathing, Sentient beings with indipendant thoughts and capable of complex emotions, and while he's surprised when they go against their "programming" he isn't angry or upset, he's delighted, he laughs, he tells Lilo and Stitch what they were meant for and they use that info to find the "cousin" a new home where they can fit in - use their evil for more constructive/harmless tasks. Tasks, that while Jumba is a little miffed that he isn't conquering the galaxy with his experiments, he is just happy his little lab rats are happy.

He's very blasse about it too! And encouraging! He's a father to 626[plus some more] monsters lmao Jumba literally like: I created you to do this, but you are not doing it. Why? Ah, no matter have fun, try not to lose fingers. It messy.

[flautist4ever]

Let’s be real. His expense reports are widely known to be like this.

[flautist4ever]

[flautist4ever]

[flautist4ever]

There’s a bit in Hogfather where two bands of carollers meet in the street.

The first band are upper class aristocrats, who are pleasantly singing carefully edited carols, raising donations for those sections of the poor who they deem worth receiving for being “suitably picturesque and not too smelly and could be relied upon to say thank you.”

The second band is the Canting Crew, the worst beggars in the city, who are all singing and howling and screaming different songs at the same time loudly and badly.

And it’s here that the book says that carolling and wassailing come from old midwinter traditions, when you had to stamp and scream and shake the darkness out of the world. And unnoticed by either band of carollers, squiggles of darkness, the black mould of the soul that forms in winter’s short, bleak, grey days, are squeezed out from their hiding places and into the night by the Canting Crew’s horrible, horrible singing.

Cozy commercialism contrasted by the seasonal urge to rage against the dying of the light.

And that’s what burning the Gävle Goat is like to me.

[flautist4ever]

I don’t care for tagging spoilers for the Lilo and Stitch remake because I want people to get spoiled so that they don’t see it. They don’t need to waste their time and money, just like how I didn’t waste mine and I’m grateful for it. Don’t give your money to literal propaganda that says “Hey, maybe you should give your family up and leave your native homeland !”

Nani gives Lilo to the foster care system but she’s being fostered by David’s grandmother so that’s their way of saying “See, she might be in the system but she’s with David’s family !” even though that didn’t make it any better

Nani leaves Hawaii and goes to college in California, the aliens give her a portal so that she can technically still see Lilo whenever she wants but people native to Hawaii can go to college for free so there’s no reason for her to leave Hawaii, they did that shit on purpose

Gantu isn’t the villain anymore, Jumba is, which doesn’t make sense because Jumba was also a criminal and loved his creations and only hunted Stitch to get his sentence reduced before he and Pleakley joined Lilo’s family as her aunt and uncle

There’s no aunt Pleakley or uncle Jumba

[flautist4ever]

as a fat person who's always clamoring for more interesting fat characters in media, I honestly think one of my all-time favorite depictions of a fat character is Jumba from the original Lilo and Stitch - both visually and personality wise

from a design perspective, even though he's an alien, he has so many little anatomy quirks that make him a more believable fat character than many fat human designs in other media. I love the realistic sag and layering of the fat on his arms, the lack of neck definition, the rim of chub around his face and upper back, the way his back is rounded. his clothes pull taut and pinch in anatomically accurate places (e.g. shoulders are firmer = smoother outlines, the sides and back are squishier = bumpier outlines).

and he's stylized so well! all these great details boiled down to some simple shapes and pen strokes. IMO the Lilo and Stitch art style is extremely appealing - it's warm and clean and visually pleasing, but every character is super unique. Jumba isn't supposed to be pretty, but even though he's a very large, very fat, bald older guy who spends most of the movie in crop tops, the way he's stylized and staged makes it clear the audience is supposed to find him interesting to look at, and variably intimidating/cool/powerful/capable. he's often funny, but the physical aspect of his comedy is derived from being so hefty the other characters struggle to prevent him from barreling ahead and doing whatever he wants; being fat makes him come off more in control of the funny situations he gets into, not less. also, because the art style is what it is, a lot of his character acting also just makes him look kind of cute ... though that's universal across the cast

I also really like the fact that his size clearly gives him both realistic advantages and realistic disadvantages. along with having a stronger sense of agency in the comedic scenes, his size in combination with his impulsivity also makes him a more intimidating antagonist. you never know what he's going to do, and his size makes it difficult for other characters to stop him when he's made up his mind. at the same time, it seems to take him longer to catch his breath, he sometimes grunts when moving around a lot to imply it takes more effort, and he clearly struggled to find clothes that fit him when putting together his disguise. I think it's awesome that the character's size impacts how he interacts with the world so much, and again, in relatable ways

and personality wise, it is ALWAYS great to see fat characters portrayed as intelligent - not only is Jumba an accomplished scientist, he's also crafty and witty! a few quiet scenes imply a philosophical side, as he ponders on Stitch's existence and feelings as a living weapon. with Stitch explicitly being made in his own image to an extent, I'd argue there's even room to interpret some of the things he says about Stitch being hints to how he sees himself; we never learn much about Jumba's past, but it's clear he's a social misfit and strongly defiant. I don't think it's a stretch to assume some of what he said to Stitch about being a monster who can never belong anywhere was intended to read as projection (which makes it all the more heartwarming when both of them find a place to belong on Earth)

it's also a nice twist that toward the end, Jumba is the one who is unexpectedly compassionate toward Nani, while Pleakley tries to urge him to ignore her. again alluding to a level of emotional depth and intelligence that is often missing from even well-intentioned depictions of fat people. his character isn't even fully explored, and yet he's one of the most dynamic and interesting supporting characters in a movie full of fantastic characters. the audience is expected to find him fascinating and even sort of mysterious, and he is!

the sequels and spinoffs were more merchandise-driven franchise fluff for kids than the artsy direction of the original movie, but even so, I remember Jumba went on to become Lilo's lovable, amoral uncle figure, which I also thought was so fun as a kid. I love that they committed to the fact that he was more caring and compassionate than he seemed. not only was he a cool evil mad scientist character, but he was also eventually ... a friend ...

and he was even gay

[flautist4ever]

This was an important point in my Lilo and Stitch post, but I've seen other people completely misconstrue the criticism around Nani's choice so here we go

Going to college and raising your sister are NOT mutually exclusive choices. While she wouldn't be able to go to California, being Lilo's official guardian does NOT prevent Nani from getting a degree to achieve part of her dream

Nani is allowed to have her own life and dreams, but it needs to be remembered that Lilo is an important part of that

There is no reason why it had to be a choice

The original already had Nani gain a bit more freedom after Jumba and Pleakley become part of the family. They could've just expanded Nani's character by stating that now that she has more people in her life, she's decided to reconsider going to college in addition to taking care of Lilo because they're willing to share some of the responsibility

I keep focusing on this point for a reason. Nani didn't need to pick one over the other. She could've had both. And keeping custody is not just a piece of paper. It's to make sure that no one else can just move Lilo to the heart of Texas and force Nani to watch that happen because she has no legal right to her safety or well-being. Whether or not her adoptive family would do that is irrelevant. It's the principle of protecting your family

Better ending: Cobra Bubbles, and/or Nani's old surfing coach help her get a scholarship to a Hawaiian university on a work/study program. She gets to attend classes and get a paycheck as a coaching assistant. Jumba, Pleakley, David, and new neighbor offer to take turns watching Lilo so Nani has the time to do it. Having Stitch is extra protection. She is never forced to surrender custody because the support system around her allows her to HAVE IT ALL

And Nani should be allowed to have it all

People aren't mad because Nani went to college but because they made it seem like Lilo was the burden holding her back. Pass it on

[flautist4ever]

[flautist4ever]

i'm thinking of Lilo and Stitch since I rewatched the original recently and tho I won't see the live action I think one thing that the creators of the new one fail to realize is how much grief also plays into a lot of the conflict of the story.

Lilo isn't TRYING to cause problems for nani. she isn't purposefully trying to make things hard for her sister. She is a little child who lost two major people who understood her and accepted her. When she and nani get into that fight after their meeting with Bubbles and nani says do you WANT to be taken away u can see the fear and pain in lilo's eyes. She's terrified of losing her sister. In the aftermath she literally asks Nani, we're a broken family, aren't we?

like these are two young girls who are trying to navigate the waters of their feelings surrounding their recent parents deaths and the threat that they may BOTH lose the only family they have left and the new movie just...... failed to take that into account at all

[flautist4ever]

so i wore a pride flag pin to work the other day and the kids were all interested (obviously) (find me a classroom of preschoolers who are not obsessed with rainbows) (i'll wait) so they crowded around to see.

"aww!" they said, "it's a flag!!"

but the thing is: they're little. a lot of them don't really have a handle on all their mouth sounds yet.

such as, notably, that tricky tricky "L" sound.

[flautist4ever]

"What came first, the chicken or the egg?" Asked the sphinx. To which you answer: "The egg. It's the egg." You need to spend an hour explaining descent with modification before it begrudgingly acquiesces.

[flautist4ever]

This weirdly aggressive male-male duet of Phantom of the Opera is so Yizhi & Qin Zheng coded