A feature-length film starring the character entered development in 1997 when Thomas Schumacher, then the president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, approached Sanders with the objective of "producing the Dumbo for our generation."

On planet Turo, the United Galactic Federation convicts scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba of illegal genetic experimentation; he has created Experiment 626, an aggressive and near-indestructible creature with great learning capabilities.

On Kauaʻi, orphaned teenager Nani Pelekai struggles to take care of her lonely, rambunctious younger sister, Lilo, following their parents' death in a car crash.

[13] At his next meeting, Sanders pitched a remote, non-urban location, with Stitch crash-landing into a forest and interacting entirely with woodland animals, being ostracized by them, and living on his own at a farm in rural Kansas.

[17] For three straight days in his Palm Springs, Florida hotel room, Sanders created a 29-page pitch book drawing conceptual sketches and outlining the film's general story.

Dean DeBlois, who had served as "story co-head" for Mulan, was brought on to co-write and co-direct Lilo & Stitch after Thomas Schumacher allowed him to leave production on Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001).

That idea so influenced the story that it became the foundation theme, the thing that causes Stitch to evolve despite what he was created to do, which is destroy.The island of Kauaʻi had also been featured in such films as Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and the Jurassic Park trilogy (1993–2001).

Disney's animators faced the daunting task of meshing the film's plot, which showed the impoverished and dysfunctional life that many Hawaiians lived during the then-recent economic downturn, with the island's serene beauty.

The actors voicing the film's young adults, Nani and David, were Tia Carrere, a local of Honolulu, and Jason Scott Lee, who is of Hawaiian descent and grew up in Hawaii.

[9] In a deviation from several decades' worth of Disney features, Sanders and DeBlois chose to use watercolor painted backgrounds for Lilo & Stitch, as opposed to the traditional gouache technique.

Sanders preferred that watercolors be used for Lilo & Stitch to evoke both the bright look of a storybook and the art direction of Dumbo, requiring the background artists to be trained in working with the medium.

[28] One altered scene in the film involved Stitch, Nani, Jumba, and Pleakley hijacking a Boeing 747 jet from Lihue Airport that scrapes against buildings through downtown Honolulu.

Alongside the filmmakers and Disney studio executives, Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley, Wynonna Judd, Phil Collins, Gregory Hines, and Jodie Foster were also in attendance.

[33] In the United Kingdom, Lilo & Stitch trailers and television ads featured a cover of Elvis's song "Suspicious Minds", performed by Gareth Gates, who became famous on the UK TV program Pop Idol.

This DVD edition retained the original supplemental features, along with an audio commentary, a two-hour documentary, more deleted scenes, a number of behind-the-scenes featurettes, and some games.

[citation needed] Lilo & Stitch opened in second place earning $35.3 million in its first weekend, ranking narrowly below Tom Cruise's Minority Report.

[45] Meanwhile, Lilo & Stitch continued to draw in families while other major summer blockbusters like Spider-Man and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones were still in wide release.

[2] In the UK, Lilo & Stitch collected $2.4 million during its opening weekend, ranking in first place ahead of Signs and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

The site's critics consensus reads, "Edgier than traditional Disney fare, Lilo and Stitch explores issues of family while providing a fun and charming story.

[54] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3+1⁄2 stars out of 4, writing: "It's one of the most charming feature-length cartoons of recent years—funny, sassy, startling, original and with six songs by Elvis.

"[56] Richard Corliss of Time magazine felt the film is "a bright, engaging bauble with half a dozen Elvis Presley songs for Mom and Dad, and just enough sass.

Stitch sticks his tongue into his nose and eats his snot to keep the tweeners giggling ...after a lag in the early sister scenes, Lilo reveals its own very American verve and wit, along with a smart story sense that marks the best animated features, traditional or computerized.

"[59] Owen Gleiberman, reviewing for Entertainment Weekly, argued the "animation in Lilo & Stitch has an engaging retro-simple vivacity, and it's nice to see a movie for tots make use of Elvis Presley, but the story is witless and oddly defanged.

"[60] Todd McCarthy of Variety felt Sanders and DeBlois "keep things moving briskly while commendably avoiding any special sentimental 'We Are a Village' point-making, despite the obvious opportunity.

"[61] In contrast, Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Gate felt Lilo & Stitch was more appropriate for a television series, writing the directors "find themselves locked into the structure of a feature film.

"[62] Peter M. Nichols states that through the character of Nani and her struggles, the film appeals to older children better than such attempts by the studio to do so as The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Treasure Planet.

[65] On March 17, 2023, the song "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" received Platinum certification from the RIAA for reaching 1 million certified units.

The series, as well as the original parts of the franchise that focused on Lilo Pelekai and were set in Hawaii, ended with the television film Leroy & Stitch, which aired on June 23, 2006.

The anime, which ran as a series from October 2008 to March 2011, features a Japanese girl named Yuna Kamihara in place of Lilo, and is set on a fictional island in Okinawa Prefecture instead of Hawaii.

[82] Further cast members were announced that April, including Sydney Agudong as Nani,[4] Courtney B. Vance as Bubbles,[83] and Billy Magnussen in an undisclosed role.