(c) Disney

The animation, which incorporates CGI along with the original’s pastel-infused water-color backgrounds, is a notch above the typical direct-to-video fare, often achieving feature quality (most notably with a reprise of “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride�? where Lilo and Stitch go swimming with a pod of dolphins). All the original voice cast step up to the plate with their performances, obviously working with better material then was found in Stitch! and the series. Surprisingly, I didn’t miss Chase as Lilo (who won an Annie Award for her performance in the first film); Fanning (recently named by Entertainment Weekly magazine, not facetiously, as the “most powerful actress in Hollywood today�?) steps nicely into the role. Ving Rhames’ Cobra Bubbles, Zoë Caldwell’s Grand Councilwoman and Kevin Michael Richardson’s Gantu are MIA, but the fat guy on the beach is back.

If there is one draw-back to the film it is a feeling of rushing through the story. Whereas the original had a laid-back pace befitting its island paradise setting, the sequel barrels along, cramming all the action into its 68-minute running time. The film would have benefited from more breathing room to allow more development of its themes of living up to one’s past.

A handful of extras round out the release, including a new music video of Jump 5’s cover of “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride�? (heard over the end credits), a bonus short (the redundant The Origin of Stitch, which looks like it was made with Flash Animation by the makers of Ren & Stimpy) and two games: the “Where’s Waldo?�?-like Where’s Pleakley? (for one or two players) and Jumba’s Experiment Profile, which is not, like it sounds, yet another personality profile, but more of a matching game.

(c) Disney

Overall, Stitch 2 is, like its star, warm and fuzzy and a lot of fun. What’s next on the horizon for the alien formerly known as Experiment 626? Yet another video premiere, jokingly titled Leroy & Stitch (previewed on this disc), which will serve as the “series finale�? for the TV show, plus the long-awaited two-disc Special Edition of the original film.

Coming Soon in Toon Talk:

• “To infinity and beyond!�? Toy Story celebrates its 10^th anniversary with a new Collector’s Edition DVD (September 6^th).
• Warner Bros. presents the latest stop-motion animated oddity from the mind that brought you The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (September 23^rd).
• The last Disney animated classic to make it to DVD finally arrives with the two-disc Platinum Edition of Cinderella (October 4^th).

• It’s “Lights! Camera! Fashion!�? for Barbie and friends with My Scene Goes Hollywood: The Movie (August 30^th).
• Now’s your chance to get caught up on the two biggest and newest hits on television with the complete first seasons of Lost (September 6^th) and Desperate Housewives (September 20^th).
• September 6^th also brings the latest additions to the Disney Princess collection with Disney Princess Sing Along Songs, Volume 2: Enchanted Tea Party and Disney Princess Stories, Volume 3: Beauty Shines from Within; from the wholesome to the whore, Pretty Woman is reissued with a 15^th Anniversary Special Edition; from the whore to the horrible, we have the latest in the seemingly endless line of The Prophecy and Hellraiser movies with The Prophecy: The Forsaken and Hellraiser: Hellworld; from the horrible to the honorable, we have Natasha Richardson in Haven, the true story of an American journalist who rescued 1,000 Jewish refugees from a war-torn Europe; from the honorable to the fashionable we have the long-awaited debut of the critically acclaimed Paris is Burning, a documentary on New York City drag queens and the art of “voguing�?. Also available, two crime thrillers: Written in Blood (starring Michael T. Weiss and Peter Coyote) and Den of Lions (starring Bob Hoskins and Stephen Dorff), plus the latest releases for fans of Power Rangers S.P.D.: Stakeout (Volume 2) and Wired (Volume 3).
• A couple of award winners and a treat bagful of Halloween fun highlight September 13^th’s offerings: the Academy Award-winning Chicago finally gets the deluxe treatment it deserves with a new three-disc “Razzle Dazzle�? Edition; another Oscar-nominee (for Best Foreign Language Film, 2003), The Netherlands’ Twin Sisters (De Tweeling); just in time for All Hallow’s Eve: Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween, Halloweentown and Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (double feature on same disc) and Halloweentown High. Plus, the DVD debut of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
• Get ready to sing on September 20^th with two Disney Sing Along Songs titles, Sing a Song with Pooh Bear and Piglet and The Lion King; for Playhouse Disney fans, we have two new Rolie-Polie Olie titles (The Great Defender of Fun and The Baby Bot Chase) and two new Stanley titles (Spring Fever and Hop To It); for older kids there’s Robert Rodriguez’s 3-D superhero flick The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl; and for grown-ups we have the Christian Slater/LL Cool J actioner Mindhunters, the Unrated Collector’s Edition Scary Movie 3.5 and the Special Edition of Don’t Be a Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.
• You’ll be seeing double on September 27^th with the release of two new holiday editions from the Classic Cartoon Favorites line: Classic Holiday Stories and Holiday Celebration with Mickey and Pals, plus another double feature: the original The Parent Trap and, for the first time of DVD, The Parent Trap II. You’ll also have some more Disney Sing Along Songs releases: Disneyland Fun, Beach Party at Walt Disney World, Campout at Walt Disney World and Flik’s Musical Adventure.

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