National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Walt Disney Animation Studios released Lilo & Stitch in June 2002, a period when the studio was searching for a new creative direction following the end of its Renaissance era. Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, the film stood apart from its predecessors with a hand-painted watercolor background style evoking classic Disney shorts and a story grounded in themes of family and belonging. Its Hawaiian setting and unconventional characters gave it a distinctive identity that resonated strongly with audiences.

This cell captures Stitch against an open blue sky on a Hawaiian beach, drawn from a sequence of consecutive frames within the same shot. The confirmed title, Stitch and David, places this moment within a scene shared between these two characters, with Stitch occupying the prominent foreground position across all three frames.