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•	2002 Regular

The two Hawaiian songs created for Lilo & Stitch and produced by Silvestri are easily digestible and contain enough instrumental backing to allow them to coexist with the score, though they do remain unique in character. Extremely pleasant and upbeat is "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride," and while some may stretch to say that there are some vague connections between this song's melody and the phrasing of Silvestri's family theme, they are not close enough to matter. Not containing any similarity is "He Mele No Lilo," the more traditional piece that uses string section backing and hints of Silvestri percussion to keep it related. The score's presence in Lilo & Stitch is somewhat limited, and the movie's short running time overall makes the size of Silvestri's contribution consequently short. Less than half an hour of truly distinct music exists in that score, but it's very well handled during that time. There are no surprises from the composer in this endeavor, and the style is pure Silvestri and on par with his approach to his other animated entries. There is no Hawaiian character to the score at all, sadly, as he clearly meant to tackle the common storyline concepts of family, acceptance, and adventure without diving too deeply into the cultural element. The work is fully orchestral with no discernable synthetics or specialty instrumentation, with a heavy emphasis on woodwinds for the interpersonal drama. Enthusiasts of the composer's rolling percussive rhythms are well-served by the action portions. There's also representation from Silvestri's usual employment of harp and chimes for a sense of fantasy and wonderment, especially in the opening two cues. The thematic narrative of Lilo & Stitch is tight and sensible, though Silvestri coined multiple themes for the concept of family and the lead sisters when one could have sufficed. He provides themes for the general family, Lilo herself, Stitch's heroics, Stitch's antics, and prominently for the villains. The composer manages to accomplish satisfying exploration of most of these ideas despite the rather short running time of the score, something he proved capable of doing throughout his career. The overall flow of the narrative is actually really impressive in this contribution despite its existence against all the other music heard in context.

The primary theme in the score for Lilo & Stitch is Silvestri's representation of family, the dramatic core of the work that utilizes cyclical falling phrases. Developed slowly in the first half of "I Shouldn't Have Yelled," this theme tickles on piano in the middle of "You Can Never Belong" but finally comes into clear focus throughout the pretty "Glade." That complete form continues directly into the first half of "You Can Never Belong," becoming large for a moment in the cue's latter half but immediately interrupted by the villains' theme. The identity is both tense and sad in the second half of "Don't Turn Left" and previews the Lilo theme in the first minute of "Stitch Arrested," but it receives the obligatory, major resolution performance for the ensemble at 2:28 into the latter. The separate theme for Lilo (and, by association, Lilo's relationship with Stitch) is perhaps unneeded but no less attractive, accessing the same exact instrumentation and tone of expression. It peeks through in the middle of "Lilo's Bedroom" and at the start of "What's Best for Lilo" on tender oboe and flute for a distinct opening sequence before fuller strings express the idea completely at 0:35 for redemptive and aspirational spirit. This idea flows smoothly in the middle of "Glade," contributes to the early agony in "Don't Turn Left" and "The Rescue," and lends seriousness to 0:55 into "Stitch Arrested" in multiple large performances for the culmination of the plot's drama. Stitch, meanwhile has two themes to his own, starting with the most important one that suggests that the creature is capable of heroic actions. The score's cheery fanfare, the hero theme is a simple, descending phrase expressed first with noble and resolute optimism at 1:15 into "Escape." (The extensive cymbal rolls in the latter half of this cue are Silvestri at this best.) After a quick reminder early in "I Shouldn't Have Yelled," this hero theme returns in the middle of "The Rescue" as it defeats the villain material, and it builds tingling momentum in the middle of "Stitch Arrested" before a stately trumpet version. It also closes the score in a flute rendition that suggests more fun to come for the little beast. Stitch's mischief theme is a playful identity that owes to early James Horner scores for the genre, opening "Lilo's Bedroom" on humorous woodwinds and dancing around the villain theme early in "Stitch Arrested" and again at the score's end.

The final thematic identity in Lilo & Stitch is the one that casual listeners may remember the best from the picture, because its placement is the most obvious. The story rotates between several villains as each attempts to find and capture Stitch, and Silvestri handles all of them with the same mechanism to represent the (non-serious but seriously scored) danger these aliens pose. A fairly conventional series of ascending figures, this theme might have inspired some of Michael Giacchino's later identities for his own animation film scores. The five-note phrases can be applied as stingers or counterpoint at any time, which gives the theme the ability to drop into any situation, much like Stitch's hero theme. Heard in elongated fashion for mystery in the first half of "Experiment 626," this theme truly consolidates at 2:55 on brass with Back to the Future percussion rhythms, and this mode continues with robust orchestral backing and the same percussive drive in "Escape." The idea toys around the edges with the closing portions of "I Shouldn't Have Yelled," offers slight hints early in "You Can Never Belong" as a faint reminder of danger, and finally interrupts the family theme for a burst of activity late in "You Can Never Belong" as the threat arrives. This theme pushes the throbbing action of "The Rescue" but is thwarted by the Stitch hero theme, and it opens "Stitch Arrested" with a stinger. The flow of the score very clearly emphasizes the action in its opening two and closing two major cues, leaving the dramatic interpersonal element for much of its middle. It's a very affable and competent animation score, and while it's disappointing not hearing a Hawaiian element in any of it, the approach stull functions within the Disney non-musical format quite well. No satisfying album has ever existed for this soundtrack, the super-popular CD released at the time of the film containing the bevy of Elvis songs (including a couple of covers) as well as about half of Silvestri's score rearranged significantly into three tracks. Some of the better material is left out of this arrangement, especially the early fantasy and action portions. Disney promotionally released 28 minutes of the score in eleven tracks for awards consideration in late 2002, and that material spurred bootlegs thereafter. The track titles in this review reference the Disney promo. While Silvestri unfortunately did not return for the 2025 live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, the legacy of his worthy music for the concept lives on.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Alan Silvestri reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.48 (in 42 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.34 (in 40,098 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.