Lilo & Stitch 2 (PG)
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Caution: spoilers.

This is a direct-to-video sequel to Lilo & Stitch, but it's not the first one. It came out in 2005, three years after the original theatrical movie (though I didn't see it until 2013). Before this, in 2003, there was a direct-to-video sequel called "Stitch! The Movie," though that actually takes place after this movie. And I guess it served as a pilot to "Lilo & Stitch: The Series." I haven't seen that movie nor the TV series, but I might like to, someday. I should also mention that this movie is commonly referred to with the subtitle "Stitch Has a Glitch," but that doesn't actually appear in the movie itself. Anyway... Lilo & Stitch 2 isn't as good as the original movie, but I still thought it was pretty good. I mean, if you're already a fan of the characters, you'll still like them in the sequel. (I think the whole original voice cast reprises their roles, except for Lilo herself, who is now voiced by Dakota Fanning. Though really, I didn't notice the difference at all.) And like the original, the sequel has some serious themes mixed in with all the humor.

It begins with Stitch having a nightmare that he's turned evil (as he was originally), but when he wakes up, Lilo reassures him that he's good, now. Meanwhile, there's going to be a hula contest that Lilo wants to compete in. She and the other girls in her hula class each have to create their own original hula. And Stitch helps Lilo try to figure out what the theme of her dance should be. (They have some amusingly bizarre ideas at first, before coming to the rather obvious choice- considering this is Lilo we're talking about- of trying to find inspiration from Elvis Presley. I... don't think that idea leads directly to the idea they finally decide on, but at least it got them to the right place to find their inspiration. Which is a Hawaiian legend... which eventually seems to parallel, to some degree, Lilo and Stitch's own friendship.

Anyway... Stitch begins having episodes where he does revert to his original programming, and afterwards he's sorry, even though he couldn't control it. And Lilo has no idea there's anything wrong with him, so she thinks he's just being bad, which leads to trouble between them. However, Jumba figured out what the problem was pretty early, and started working on a way to fix it. It would've been nice for him to tell everyone what was going on (instead of just Pleakley), but then I guess there wouldn't have been much of a plot. Speaking of which, there's a side plot about Pleakley convincing David that his relationship with Nani has "fizzled," and giving him advice on how to fix it. This being Pleakley, the advice is completely ridiculous. (Still, some of the blame must rest with the magazines Pleakley's been reading.) Anyway, the main story builds to a very dramatic and sad climax... before finally having a happy ending.

So, um, yeah. It was a fun movie, though probably not something you should watch unless you're already a fan of the original. As in the original, there's some drama about Lilo and Nani missing their mother. And about the power of friendship and love. And whatnot. And of course there's more good Elvis music and good Hawaiian music. And over the end credits there was a cover of Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride by Jump5, which I thought was really cool, so I immediately downloaded it. (I've probably heard of the band before, but I'm not sure if I'm actually familiar with any of their other music, or not. Probably not.) And hopefully I'm not forgetting anything else I might've wanted to say about the movie. Oh! Right, at one point Nani had organized a "family fun night," and they were all watching "Them!", which is a movie I thought I'd never be interested in watching. But now I think maybe someday I might, just because it was in this movie. (The animated characters were watching an animated TV on which was playing actual film footage from the live-action kaiju movie, which was kinda neat.)