Lilo and Stitch: 'Topper'

This episode is a part of the Lilo and Stitch animated series, which takes place after the movie. I will say I liked it as a kid since I loved the movie (I still love the movie now), but looking back, I think it's a bit too similar to Pokemon and the animation wasn't even close to the quality of the film. I did like some episodes, but does this episode show that Christmas can be as cute as Stitch by adding aliens, or is it as ridiculous as the thought of aliens possibly existing? Let's find out!

Story: The main plot revolves around Stitch trying to recover an experiment pod he found in the local shopping mall where Christmas presents were being wrapped, so he can avoid Gantu getting it for Hamsterviel. This leads everyone to thinking Stitch is being selfish because he ends up taking every Christmas present in Kokhua Town, but he has good intentions. Everyone ends up realizing the truth and Gantu decides to give the present to a child and be Santa Claus at the mall, so he pretty much decides to be good for the holiday season. The pod ends up being a beacon for aliens which ironically, is shaped like a star and is put on the top of the mall's Christmas tree. I actually like that Stitch, Jumbaa and Pleakley learning about Christmas leads to some funny moments, mostly with Pleakley being the Christmas tree and Stitch trying to say Merry Christmas in Hawaiian. Also, I like that Gantu learns the true meaning of Christmas and decides to have a change of heart for the holiday. The plot may be a bit cliched when it comes to the true meaning of Christmas, but it's still enjoyable and funny to watch.

Animation: Unlike the movie, which had nice animation, this show doesn't really live up to the quality. The character designs look off model compared to the movie and are a bit rough, as well as that there isn't any detail put into the backgrounds, even if they look nice. Also, the character animation isn't really the best as it's not that fluid compared to the movie (then again, so is every other Disney cartoon based on one of their animated movies). I will say that the mall helps with the Christmas atmosphere with the Christmas tree, Santa's sleigh, and all the colourful presents. The animation isn't the best, but at least it's not the main focus of the episode!

Characters: The characters in this are mostly kept intact. Lilo, the well developed little girl now just gives exposition to Stitch about Christmas & the true meaning of it. The only weird thing that's kept which made me like her was that she wanted a shrunken head for Christmas! Nani barely has any screen time but she's still the headstrong and loving older sister to Lilo. Stitch at first may appear selfish to the rest of the group, but the audience can see he has good intentions as he wants to avoid Gantu getting the experiment pod. Speaking of Gantu, I actually liked that we got to see a soft side to him at the end for the sake of holidays. Jumbaa and Pleakley are their same funny selves learning about Christmas, including Pleakley being a Christmas tree! Most of them are good and funny, it's just they're not developed that well, except for Gantu!

Overall, this is a pretty good episode with a good, albeit corny story and likeable characters, despite the  sub-par animation! I'd only really recommend this to fans of the Lilo and Stitch series, or even the movie because it was clearly made for them. Still, it was nice to see Disney Channrl try doing a funny Christmas special involving aliens!

Story: 7/10

Animation: 5/10

Characters: 7/10

Overall: 7/10