The purpose of the film

The concept of "normal" is tossed around a lot in "Lilo and Stitch". The two main characters both find themselves faced with the overpowering problem of not being able to fit in with everyone else. However, this is not the only way in which this issue is brought forth to the viewers. Concepts of social behaviour, personality, belonging, and identity are all dealt with as the story progresses.

The status of being "weird" is another way in which many of the characters are unable to be normal. This is most evidenced by Lilo. Imagination seems to be Lilo's "flaw", and her peers because of it label her "weird". She claims a fish controls the weather and must be appeased with peanut butter sandwiches. She pretends her homemade doll is having medical problems. She takes pictures of overweight people, and performs voodoo. And, perhaps the most profound expression of "weirdness", she sees goodness in Stitch when no one else does. These factors contribute to her loneliness and behavioural difficulties. Yet Disney presents these factors not as things for which she should be condemned. Rather, throughout the movie, even when we find her quirks to be particularly odd, the audience sympathizes with Lilo and sees her detractors to be intolerant and elitist.

Throughout the entire film many of the main characters struggle with, or toy with, their personal identities. Identity quickly becomes one of the primary ways in which normality is explored. Many of the characters at one time or another pretend to be something they are not. Stitch is, of course, foremost in this area. His first alteration of identity comes when he is forced to pretend to be a dog, in order to be adopted and protected by his proximity to Lilo. This is an extreme disguise, requiring him to physically change form, hiding two of his six arms, his antennae, and the fringe on his back. His alien nature is hidden, however unconvincingly, so that he can be accepted in Lilo and Nani's family, being defended therein by Pleakley's insistence that no harm comes to the human population of Hawaii. Stitch obviously struggles within this disguise, and bends or breaks the rules of it whenever possible. He usually walks on two feet, makes use of his opposable thumb, and generally acts very sentient.

Later, Lilo attempts to civilize Stitch by teaching him to be like Elvis. This is not a disguise, as it is easy to tell he is not Elvis, but it is an attempt to hide his malicious nature under a socially acceptable outward appearance. Stitch fails at every lesson Lilo tries to teach him, but she is undeterred and has him dress in a rhinestone jumpsuit, with an Elvis wig and guitar, and perform on a beach. The attitude of a famous rock star is more in tune with Stitch's actual persona, and he does seem to fit this role more so than being a dog. However, Stitch cannot hide his true nature, and when crowded by onlookers his aggressive tendencies run rampant again. These two attempted re-designs of Stitch's personality, as a dog and as Elvis, are unable to hide the truth of what he is. This tells us that Disney is suggesting a message of real change, rather than superficial alterations in appearance. This holds true with the end of the film, where Stitch has undergone a significant internal change, finally able to fit into society without pretending to be something he is not.