Lilo And Stitch  星际宝贝

On second thought, maybe Disney should bring back all those musical numbers and cutesy comic sidekick characters.

After the Mouse House's animated films started getting a little too formulaic (the best things the studio produced during the '80s were cartoon musicals based on classic literature), Disney decided to go in different direction during the past decade.

The results have been mixed, to say the least. For every "Toy Story" there's been a "Dinosaur."

But Disney may have hit rock bottom with "Lilo & Stitch," one of the most unpleasant things the studio has ever produced.

It's supposed to be an animated science-fiction comedy, but instead, this film is surprisingly shrill and mean-spirited. And the attempts to make characters more endearing and sweet come far too late. (And considering how violent the film is at times — especially for a kids movie — it definitely deserves its PG rating.)

The "Stitch" of the title is an experimental animal created by an extraterrestrial scientist. Fearing the animal's destructive powers, members of the Galactic Federation decide to imprison the tiny, four-armed, extremely mischievous creature (voiced by Christopher Michael Sanders, the film's co-screenwriter and co-director).

But he manages to get away, stealing a police space cruiser, which he crash-lands on Earth. There, he comes in contact with Lilo (Daveigh Chase), a young Hawaiian girl who is having a hard time adjusting to life without her parents. Believing the odd-looking, blue animal to be a dog, she "adopts" him.

Her sister and guardian, Nani (Tia Carrere), isn't particularly thrilled with this development. She's got social worker Cobra Bubbles (Ving Rhames) breathing down her neck, just waiting for an opportunity to take Lilo away.

Meanwhile, the Galactic Federation has sent Stitch's creator (David Ogden Stiers) and a one-eyed "Earth hobbyist" (Kevin McDonald) to bring Stitch back.

These latter two characters are indicative of the film's problems. While clearly meant to provide some comic relief, they're not in the film enough to have any real effect.

To its credit, "Lilo & Stitch" is handsomely animated. (What would you expect from a Disney cartoon?) But the storytelling leaves a lot to be desired. While there are a couple of clever gags (including a bit seen in the trailer that involves an Elvis Presley song), the tone is rather dark. And it features some of the blandest voice performances ever in a Disney film. Carrere sounds bored, as does Rhames (who's supposed to be spoofing some of his tough-guy roles); no one really stands out.

Recommendation: One of the most famous animation accompanied me through my years of boring.