It's nice to see Disney back on track following the disappointing Atlantis. With the new Lilo and Stitch, the studio has fashioned an animated feature slightly edgier than their past efforts (with the possible exception of Hunchback of Notre Dame).

Lilo is a young Hawaiian girl who can't seem to connect with her peers, and Stitch is a convicted creature from outer space who is looking for a place to hide. As expected, the twosome become unlikely friends.

I call Lilo and Stitch edgier (notice the PG rating) because of story content. Stitch is a destructive little beast and the audience is treated to his wrath first hand, while Lilo is an unconventional lead character. Sure, she's cute but exhibits a dark side not usually associated with Disney cartoons. She gets into fights with other kids at school and even has screaming matches with her sister (who also happens to be her legal guardian). Of course, there's a sense of realism here that took me off guard.

This isn't to say that Lilo and Stitch is mean spirited and without a sense of joy. Rest assured that Stitch does go through a transformation as does Lilo, and while that's to be expected, I enjoyed this film's liveliness.

The story fuses elements of the familiar (Gremlins, E.T., Men in Black) but I admired it's more adult tone. Lilo and Stitch is beautifully animated and brimming with an energy that seemed to be lacking in last month's Spirit. We are also treated to animated vistas not before attempted. For whatever reason, Hawaii has never taken center stage in an animated feature before and it's a welcome change of pace.

Like Disney's The Emperor's New Groove, Lilo and Stitch trades in an epic tone for a sort of Looney Tunes sensibility. While Disney can't resist beating a message into the ground (the whole "never leave family behind" could have been a little more subtle), I found Lilo and Stitch surprisingly refreshing. In fact, I really wasn't expecting much from this picture and what I got was clearly the best family film the summer.