What Is The Stitch-O-Meter?

Lilo and Stitch is one of the most loved Disney films of all time, spawning two sequels, a TV series, hundreds of memes and lots of fun Stitch-based toys. Alien creation Stitch joins Lilo’s family when she goes to adopt a dog. Despite displaying aggressive tendencies and a snarling expression, Lilo insists on adopting him – it’s only when they begin living together that Stitch’s behaviour becomes a serious issue!

In one of the most famous and reproduced scenes from the film, Lilo sits stitch down and presents him with a hand-drawn chart that indicates exactly how treacherous his behaviour has been. Dubbed the Stitch-o-meter, the chart has gained a hilarious notoriety and is often referenced as a cultural touch point in other films and TV shows.

Why Is Stitch’s Behaviour So Bad?

Stitch was created by Dr. Jumba Jookiba, with the sole purpose of causing chaos across the galaxy! So it’s not surprising that he carries on being a menace when he gets to Earth and joins Lilo’s family – being naughty is all he’s ever known! To find out more about Experiment 626 and Stitches creation read our blog Experience 626!

At the beginning of the first film, Lilo and Stitch, we see Stitch taking part in the trial of Dr Jookiba. The Grand Councilwoman, leader of the United Galactic Federation, asks Stitch to prove that he has some good in him, to find out if Dr Jookiba has truly created something evil. Stitch replies with:

“Meega, nala kweesta!”

The council are shocked and the trial ends in Dr Jookiba being put in prison and Stitch being sentenced to exile (although he escapes and ends up on Earth!)  We’ve done a little digging, and whilst it’s not 100% clear what exactly Stitch’s words mean in the language in the film, the closest translation in Tagalog we can find is “I want to destroy everything!” Much of the film is set in Hawaii, and whilst Stitch’s language is barely comprehensible at times, it has elements of Tagalog and other Hawaiian creoles so it’s certainly likely that Stitch said something which only proved the Chanceller correct! There are certain fan factions that think Stitch is saying something even more heinous, so there will also be a question mark over his response to the chancellor – but either way, we are pretty certain it’s something he shouldn’t have said given the councils reaction!

What’s Stitch Done Since He’s Been On Earth?

Aside from terrorising the galaxy and causing havoc when escaping from exile in a police cruiser, which happens before he gets to Earth, what else does Stitch do that show his bad behaviour to his new family?

Escapes From The Animal Shelter

When Stitch first arrives on Earth, he’s mistaken for a dog and taken to an animal shelter. He quickly escapes by using his alien abilities, but not without causing a huge disruption to the other dogs living at the shelter!

Wrecking Lilo’s House

Almost as soon as Stitch joins Nani and Lilo, he shows just how destructive he can be, He tears apart the living room, destroying furniture, tearing up books and making Nani regret bringing him home.

Ruining Nani’s Job Interview:

When Nani goes for an interview at a beachside restaurant, she has no choice but to bring Lilo and Stitch along, but Stitch shows her up by drinking from a customer’s glass and causing a massive scene, resulting in Nani not landing a job she really needed.

Mimicking Elvis Presley:

Stitch tries out an Elvis impression in an attempt to impress their social worker, but it backfires when his enthusiastic rendition gets out of hand and things start getting broken!

Creating Havoc on the Beach:

During a day at the beach, Stitch’s mischievous nature leads him to build a sand city, only to smash it like a monster. His behaviour frightens the other beachgoers and disrupts the peaceful atmosphere.

How Does Lilo Address Stitch’s Bad Behaviour?

From the moment she adopted him, Lilo is on a mission to get Stitch’s behaviour up to standard! Nani is clear that she doesn’t want a badly behaved dog in the house and Lilo is determined to keep Stitch as part of the family. Although she doesn’t know he is an alien experiment until later in the film, it doesn’t matter to Lilo where Stitch has come from. She’s seen him as part of the family since they bought him home, regardless of the nature of his origin or his past behaviours. Whilst having dinner one night early in their relationship, Lilo decides to try and address the issues Stitch is having in fitting in with their home and family. When she reveals her bespoke behaviour chart, she utters the iconic line:

“This is your badness level. It’s unusually high for someone your size. We have to fix that”

He’s not impressed, but fans will know that this is a bit of a turning point for Stitch, as very shortly after he eats two slices of cake, realises he ate Lilo’s one and attempt to cover it up and put it back together for her – one of the first times that Stitch shows love and empathy towards his new friend.  Throughout the film Lilo helps Stitch understand the value of caring for others and being cared for in return. This new emotional connection starts to change Stitch’s behaviour as he begins to accept he doesn’t have to be the master of chaos all the time! Lilo also helps Stitch to channel his energy in positive ways, by surfing, hula dancing and listening to Elvis, as well as offering him love and a welcoming place to sleep.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Stitch’s bad behaviour – stay tuned for the rest of the month as we have lots of fun, original content around Lilo & Stitch as part of our big Stitch takeover! If you want Stitch to start causing havoc in your home, we have all the Stitch toys you could want, find our top Stitch products below, or browse our full collection of Lilo & Stitch toys here

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