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Ok so yesterday we had shoplifting pearl clutching and today we have a weird-ass critique of Lilo & Stitch because Lilo is portrayed as a grieving, traumatized young child which is apparently....wrong
I read the take and whew it's bad but it's also...to me at least...very indicative of not understanding how kids work and also not understanding that Disney movies are, uh, for kids
My kid, when she was six or so LOVED Lilo & Stitch because Lilo was one of the first Disney characters who was exactly like her: an actual child. Lilo wasn't an older princess, unreachable, unattainable. Lilo was a messy, realistic KID who could mess up but still be worth loving
The movie, among its many other good qualities, shows that people--kids, grown-ups, aliens--mess up. They mess up when they mean well, they mess up when they get angry or sad or frustrated or confused. They mess up but they're still loved, still valued, still important
And I am not Native Hawaiian so I obviously can't address that aspect of the film but as a parent, as someone who like, has actually spent time around the movie's target audience, the critique really seems like it was written by someone who is ignoring kids entirely
Like that take is Peak Tumblr and I really don't wanna get into why Peak Tumblr is dangerous and damaging but it's....a lot
