National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

Walt Disney Feature Animation released Lilo & Stitch in June 2002, a period when the studio was experimenting with smaller, character-driven stories after the grand spectacles of the Renaissance era. Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, the film found unexpected warmth in its Hawaiian setting and its central theme of found family, earning both critical affection and strong box office returns. It remains one of the more distinctive entries in the early 2000s Disney catalog.

This cell, titled Stitch Surfing, captures the alien troublemaker mid-ride on an ocean wave, tongue out, a lei draped around his neck against a vivid blue sky. The three frames represent slight positional variations within the same action beat, offering a rare look at the subtle in-between work that animators used to convey motion and personality simultaneously.