Stitch

"Monstrosity? What you see before you is the first of a new species. I call it Experiment 626. He is fireproof, bulletproof, and can think faster than supercomputer. He can see in the dark, and lift objects three thousand times his size. His only instinct… to destroy everything he touches! Ha ha ha ha!"

- Jumba

Experiment 626 (better known as Stitch) is an alien created by Dr. Jumba Jookiba and the protagonist of the 2002 Disney animated feature film, Lilo & Stitch.

He is designed to be mischievous, and his primary function was originally to destroy everything he touches. His powers include: super intelligence, super strength, being fireproof and bulletproof, night vision, x-ray vision, and infrared vision. His one true place is with Lilo and her ʻohana.

Development
Chris Sanders first created the character of Stitch in 1985 for a planned children's book that never came to be.

Years later, in 1997, when production on Mulan was wrapping up, he had the opportunity to pitch a film version of his planned story, beginning the development of the film.

In early drafts, Stitch would have landed in Kansas (the setting was changed to Hawaii as a result of the greater isolation from large cities the islands would provide as well as the islands being some of Chris Sanders' favorite places) and the character himself was an intergalactic gangster rather than a recently-created genetic monster. In these early drafts, his gang (including ex-gang member Jumba) would be the ones hired by the Galactic Federation to hunt him down.

Personality
"626 was designed to be a monster, but now he has nothing to destroy. You see, I never gave him a greater purpose. What must it be like to have nothing, not even memories to look back on in the middle of the night?"

- Jumba giving an example on the instinct of Stitch

Throughout the course of the entire Lilo & Stitch franchise, Stitch is depicted as a character that is unlikable to many people except Lilo (on rare occasions, even she falls out with him, most notably in Lilo & Stitch 2, where she cries out at him that he is "bad and always will be bad!"), due to his destructive and temperamental behavior. It is interesting to note that people who are averse to Stitch (such as Mertle Edmonds and Dr. Hamsterviel) describe him as "ugly and deformed," while those who do love him (like Lilo, Nani and Jumba) describe him as "cute and fluffy." This reflects the basic idea behind Stitch and also his cousins: they do not correspond to many established criteria of good physical appearance, having an extra pair of arms, misshapen heads or other odd features.

When Stitch is in his "evil" form (which is his true alien form), he is undeniably worrying as his somewhat botched physique underlines his at the time twisted behavior; in his "good" form however (the "dog" form that is trademarked and the form that the audience most often sees), Stitch's display of emotion at being rejected for his misbehavior and looks while trying to act good for Lilo are meant to make him seem more adorable to the audience. Despite his surface destructiveness, which does not go away completely even after he has become "good," Stitch is a complex character: according to his creator Jumba, Stitch as a destructive machine was not given a greater purpose in life. Since Stitch is trapped on an island in Hawaii, where there are relatively few things to destroy, he has many occasions to reflect on occupations other than evil. It is implied that Stitch destroys only because that is what he was programmed to do; but since he has a personality of his own (a fact that only Lilo truly understands), he also has the choice, and even the will, not to do so.

Despite having superhuman strength and a high level of computer-intelligence, Stitch is emotionally fragile and has a childlike personality beneath his monsteresque exterior. Lilo believes that one reason why he originally pursued his destructiveness was for reasons similar to her own naughtiness—that it was because he was emotionally scarred (for having been made as a monster by Jumba), but received little or no understanding or sympathy from others. Stitch becomes much more well-meaning after his betterment, but is frequently unable to control all of his impulses to anti-social actions. Fortunately for him, Lilo (and later Reuben and Angel) is always there to support him and he returns her support willingly.

There is a common misconception from viewers that Lilo is dependent on Stitch for protection and support; if anything, it is Stitch who is more dependent on Lilo. Despite her having her own troubles to contend with, Lilo makes every effort to help Stitch in life and, as the story progresses, he becomes more self-conscious and capable of making the right decisions thanks to his friend. At the end of the series, Stitch has friends, family, loved ones and a purpose worth believing in.

Physical appearance
Designed by his voice actor Chris Sanders, Stitch is a blue alien genetic creation standing around 3 feet tall. He strongly resembles a koala or a French bulldog and is referred to as a dog throughout much of the franchise, as the humans (except Lilo, Nani, Cobra and David) were completely oblivious to the fact he wasn't. He has sharp teeth within his mouth, along with a long pink tongue. A short tail cuts out from his rear. He has a limited ability to change his physical appearance, as he can retract a second set of arms, his claws, his antennae and the three spines on his back into his body.

During his time as a criminal, Stitch donned a red spacesuit with an upside-down triangle consisting of a red border and yellow center on his chest and each of his sleeves and patches consisting of a dark red border and orange center on each of his legs, black belt with a dark red square buckle, both black collar, cuffs, and anklets.

Powers and Abilities
While explaining his creation to the Galactic Council early on in Lilo & Stitch, Dr. Jumba gives the following rundown of Stitch's powers: "He is bulletproof, fireproof, shockproof, and can think faster than [a] super computer. He can see in the dark and can move objects 3,000 times his size. His only instinct - to destroy everything he touches!"
 * Feral Mind (temporarily): In the original Lilo & Stitch movie, Jumba claimed that Stitch's "destructive tendency was taking effect" and that he would be irresistibly drawn to large cities to "back up sewers, reverse street signs and steal everybody's left shoe."
 * Dense Body Tissue: Although we rarely see Stitch shot at with a bullet, he does survive the crash of his spaceship with only a scratch, is only briefly stunned by a fall of several thousand feet and has to be run over by three tractor-trailers in succession to be knocked out.
 * Fireproof Skin: He drives a tanker truck of gasoline into a volcano and ends up only a little singed.
 * Bulletproof Skin: Weapons fired from plasma guns seem to cause him discomfort, although he can hold it in his hands long enough to throw the plasma back at his enemies.
 * Shockproof: He also has some resistance to electricity; he was able to take a electrical attack from Sparky and he quickly recovered from it. However, he can still feel pain from shocking despite his immunity to electricity.
 * Hypercognition: Thinking faster than a super computer is harder to quantify, but he does escape from captivity fairly ingeniously, builds a model of San Francisco after only glancing at a postcard; grabs a crossword puzzle from the table and finishes it in about 7 seconds; builds a bomb out of a plasma-bolt, a doll and a roller skate; builds a "bucking bronco" out of a toaster, a vacuum cleaner, and a lamp; reads aloud a description of a display at a local museum at a remarkable speed; is able to understand he can use a human as a shield from Jumba, by Pleakley's presence; and generally picks up quickly on what is happening around him.
 * Lingual Intuition: Stitch can converse fluently in over 20 different languages, but prefers Tantalog (his native language).
 * Cooking Intuition: He can cook 372 recipes, but prefers Chinese food best of all.
 * Parallel Computing: He is an information repository, with a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, and experiment catalogue, and records every moment of his life, in a reserved portion of his brain that can theoretically store up to 300 PB.
 * Guitar Player: He is also fluent in playing the guitar.
 * Vehicle Intuition: Also driving any sort of vehicle, which can be as simple as riding a tricycle or as complex as piloting inter-galactic spaceships.
 * Enhanced Strength: His ability to lift objects 3,000 times his own size and weight is seen several times throughout the franchise, including incidents where he picks up a descending blast door, hits Dr. Jumba with a thrown Volkswagen Beetle (shouting gleefully, "Blue punch buggy! No punch back!") and stops an 18-wheeled tanker of gasoline dead in its tracks. The reason why Stitch can lift 3,000 times his own weight even though he has small arms is because his muscles contain excessive compressed amounts of myofibril in one muscle cell. This muscular arrangement makes Stitch's muscles contract 1,000 times faster than a human's muscle can and makes them much much more powerful. The ability is sometimes joked about in the later series; for example, in Stitch! The Movie, Hämsterviel, while physically restraining Stitch for a cloning experiment, counters Stitch's strength with restraint devices that are equal in strength themselves, as Hämsterviel loudly declares, to "three-thousand and one!" times Stitch's own weight. This was accomplished due to the fact that Stitch cannot lift even an ounce larger than 3,000 times his size and weight.
 * Wall Crawling: Pads on Stitch's hands and feet can secrete a sticky substance allowing him to adhere to almost any surface and scale buildings and walls.
 * Spherical Form: His skeletal system is very flexible, allowing him to put his feet into his mouth and become a rolling ball and also to allow him to squeeze through tight spaces.
 * Enhanced Speed: Stitch was shown to super speed past Lilo and Pleakley while carrying Jumba during a bet they made to catch experiments 501 Yin and 502 Yang. His speed is also usually used when he's in his spherical form.
 * Enhanced Jump: Stitch's legs are small, but powerful enough to enable him to jump several feet into the air.
 * Electromagnetic Vision: His eyes can pick up various forms of light and he can filter out one or the other if necessary. Stitch can see in normal vision, during this mode, his eyes appear black in color. Furthermore, he can also magnify his vision.
 * Night Vision: Eyes appear green.
 * Infrared Vision: Eyes appear red.
 * X-Ray Vision: Eyes appear bright green.
 * Audio Amplifier: He also can act as an audio amplifier, radio and/or microphone, illustrated when he uses a claw as the needle on a record player, and the music comes out of his open mouth.
 * Enhanced Hearing & Smell: He has an acute sense of smell and hearing.
 * Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combat: He is also dexterously skilled in hand-to-hand combat, using all four arms or just two.
 * Alien Form: In his alien form, he has three spines on his back, two antennae on his head, and can grow two extra pair of arms.
 * Dog Form: Stitch can hide his spines, antennae and extra pair of two arms in his body, taking the form of an ordinary Earth dog; he used this to become Lilo's dog.
 * Semi-Immortality: Stitch can't age; when Skip flashed 10 years ahead, he didn't age a bit, but for some reason Babyfier's powder reversed him into an infant, meaning he's immune to aging older.
 * Vacuum Adaptation: Along with the rest of his cousins, Stitch can survive in the vacuum of space due to being a genetic alien.

Weaknesses

 * Water: Stitch's greatest weakness is his inability to float or swim due to his dense molecular structure, which causes him to sink like a stone in water. Stitch originally had an instinctive aquaphobia, but was able to overcome it because of Lilo's influence over him.
 * Sonic Blasts: Another weakness is the fact that his super-sensitive hearing can lead to temporary deafness when exposed to sonic blasts, such as Yaarp's destructive sound blast.
 * Strength Limit: As stated above, he cannot lift even an ounce larger than 3,000 times his size and weight.

My Disney Experience

 * Stitch is a mischievous little alien who loves to catch some waves and dance the hula with his best friend, Lilo.

Lilo & Stitch
As revealed in Lilo & Stitch, Stitch was created by "evil genius" Dr. Jumba Jookiba, who called him "Experiment 626." Both Jumba and 626 were captured and put on trial by the United Galactic federation.

626 is then sentenced by the Grand Councilwoman to life imprisonment on a desert asteroid and Captain Gantu (who despises him to no end) escorts him. Stitch escapes and crash-lands in Kaua'i, Hawaii. That night, he gets run over by a truck and is unconscious. When 626 wakes up, he finds himself in a kennel without his suit or his plasma cannons.

Disguising himself as a dog to hide from his captors, 626 was adopted by a little girl named Lilo, who names him "Stitch." Meanwhile, Jumba and his supervisor, Pleakley, travel to Earth to arrest the fugitive.

Following his adoption, Stitch continues to use Lilo as a mere shield against Jumba and Pleakley, with his efforts proving to be a success, as the bounty hunters have strict orders to both remain hidden and prevent harm against humans in their attempts. However, Stitch's disruptive programming begins to take effect, and as such, trouble is caused for Lilo and her older sister, Nani, who is currently at struggle to keep custody of Lilo, as the latter is in danger of being taken away by Child Protective Services, on account of Nani's apparent disability to raise her. This causes tension between Nani and Stitch, who wishes to rid her family of the newfound pet, but because of Lilo's persistence, Stitch remains with them. Over the course of time, with nothing to destroy, Stitch finds himself questioning his purpose in life, coming to realize he has nothing if he cannot wreak havoc and destroy, because he was only created to be a monster. After going through Lilo's collection of books, Stitch finds the story of The Ugly Duckling and is immediately taken by the tale of a lost individual who finds where he belongs through his family. This drives Stitch to make attempts at joining Lilo and Nani's family, but because of constant mishaps in trying to be good, as well as interference with Jumba and Pleakley, this proves to be a futile effort. Eventually, Stitch's mayhem leads to Nani losing custody over Lilo and, heartbroken by his destruction of the family he cares for, Stitch leaves Lilo, believing she has a better chance at happiness without him, and to find a family of his own.

The following morning, Jumba attacks once more, prompting Stitch to return to Lilo in hopes of shielding himself once again. However, Jumba explains he and Pleakley were fired, thus invalidating all previous rules, and causing Stitch to remove Lilo from harm's way. A battle follows, and Lilo's home is destroyed in the chaos. Stitch and Lilo reunite shortly afterwards, but having enough of the trouble he's caused, Lilo denies Stitch's apologies and tries to send him off. Just then, Gantu arrives and captures both Stitch and Lilo, and though Stitch escapes, Lilo is taken prisoner aboard Gantu's ship. In order to save her, Stitch allies himself with Nani, Jumba, and Pleakley, and a battle in the sky ensues to save Lilo. Gantu attempts to destroy Stitch during the confrontation, and though he nearly succeeds, Stitch gains the upper hand and manages to both save Lilo, and destroy Gantu's ship. Back on the island, the Grand Councilwoman arrives and arrests Stitch. Stitch asks permission to bid farewell to Lilo and Nani before he departs, which the Grand Councilwoman accepts, surprised by Stitch's gentle and loving nature towards, what he calls, his family. Realizing he's had a change of heart, the Grand Councilwoman openly shows despair over Stitch's arrest, telling Pleakley she has no choice but to apprehend him, as the council has made the firm decision to do so, and it is outside of her power to overrule such a decision. Fortunately, Lilo still has the legal documentation proving Stitch was purchased at the shelter, meaning he belongs to her, and taking him away would be illegal. With aliens being all about rules, the Grand Councilwoman allows Stitch to remain on Earth, sentenced in "exile."

During the finale, Stitch is shown to have adjusted well to life on earth, spending most of his days spending time with Lilo, Nani, David, Jumba, and Pleakley, and finally finding his place in the world, as a member of their ʻohana.

Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch
In Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (set shortly after the first movie), Stitch is now living, along with the also-exiled Jumba and Pleakley, in Lilo and Nani's house.

Although still hot-tempered and mischievous, he is reasonably well-behaved, but then begins to malfunction unintentionally. Since his molecules were not fully charged after his creation, Stitch frequently experiences periodic glitches that have him revert to his original destructive programming; basically suffering from a seizure disorder and having nightmares of destroying everything and everyone in his path. Seeing this, Jumba strives to create a proper fusion chamber in which to recharge Stitch.

Stitch wants to prove to Lilo that he can still be good, so he goes around doing good deeds for the citizens of town to prove himself. When his goodness chart is finished, he goes to show it to Lilo, but she is too busy preparing for the contest. She ignores Stitch and tells him to get lost, deeply hurting him.

Before Lilo goes on to perform her hula dance, Stitch accidentally scratches her face and hurts her, just like in his nightmare. Believing himself to be too dangerous, Stitch attempts to leave Earth for a remote planet while Lilo, Jumba and the others desperately try to have him return so they can recharge him. When Stitch crashlands the ship on a mountain, Lilo manages to get him into the fusion chamber, but she pulls the switch too late. As Stitch dies, he says his last words: "Stitch sorry." Jumba says that they're too late and there's nothing Lilo can do. But Stitch seems to be revived with his molecules fully charged by Lilo's love. She tells Stitch that he needed her more than she needed him because he's Lilo's ohana and she'll always love him, in accordance with her belief that love is more powerful than death. With these words, it turns out that Stitch was put into the fusion chamber just in time after all.

Stitch! The Movie
At the start of ''Stitch! The Movie'', Stitch is shown having a difficult time connecting with the island locals during a beach party, feeling he doesn't fit in and is too much of an outcast. Though Lilo tries to comfort him, he seeks Jumba in hopes of learning of others like he and the evil scientist. However, Jumba explains that, in the vast universe, he and Stitch are alone and lack, what Lilo calls, "cousins".

Later on, Stitch discovers Jumba's first 625 genetic experiments locked in a crate, in the form of dehydrated pods. In order to rescue a kidnapped Jumba, a trade between Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel and Jumba for the experiments is organized, but it instead results in the freedom of the experiments and the capture of Lilo and Stitch. Hämsterviel then tries to clone Stitch, but he was rescued by Experiment 221 ("Sparky"). Stitch then rescued Lilo and landed Hämsterviel's spacecraft back in Kaua'i, where the Grand Councilwoman waited to arrest the evil rodent. She then puts Stitch and Lilo in charge of capturing and taming the other illegal genetic experiments scattered on the island.

Lilo & Stitch: The Series
In Lilo & Stitch: The Series, Stitch and Lilo have to capture Jumba's experiments, turn them from bad to good, and find them each a home before Gantu, 625 and Hamsterviel do. Along the way, Stitch meets his match Experiment 627 (who is tougher than him), and he eventually defeats him.

He is also affected by 12 experiment powers: Amnesio wipes out his memory, Spike makes him goofy, Babyfier turns him into a baby, Spooky turns into water and nearly drowns him, Lax makes him lazy, Dupe duplicates him into four, weakening his strength, Frenchfry serves him non-nutritious meals (along with Lilo and Pleakley) and fattens him up into a giant bowling ball, Yaarp sounds out his loud megaphone, deafening Stitch, Snooty sucks out his Snootonium, putting him out of commission, Swirly hypnotizes him, Drowsy (in the episode "PJ") puts him to sleep, and Houdini makes him invisible. He also meets Experiment 624 (Angel), who is introduced as a love interest for Stitch.

Over the course of the series, he and Lilo have also had adventures with Kim Possible, Penny Proud, Jake Long, and the kids from Recess.

Leroy & Stitch
After Stitch, Lilo, Jumba and Pleakley have successfully captured and redeemed all the remaining experiments (except 625) the Grand Councilwoman offers Stitch the chance to become the new captain of the Galactic Armada and its new flagship, the BRB (Big Red Battleship) 9000. However, that would require Stitch to be separated from Lilo. Not wanting to make Lilo sad, he chooses to return to Kaua'i. However, Lilo tells him he should go. Before he leaves with Jumba and Pleakley, Lilo gives him a necklace with a tiki of the god Ku Tiki to give him strength. She also gives Pleakley an Earth rock and Jumba an Elvis record.

When Gantu breaks Dr. Hämsterviel out of prison in an action of frustration, Stitch is sent on his first mission as captain to capture the evil rodent once more. But when he arrives at Galactic Defense Industries, Stitch faces off against a new experiment -- Leroy, who is an enhanced red doppelganger of Stitch. After Leroy is named, Stitch brusts into the lab and starts to fight against Leroy. Stitch fights well and is about to beat Leroy when Pleakley shows up unexpectedly, allowing Leroy to take advantage of Stitch's lapse in concentration and beat him. He is knocked into a capsule and sent with Jumba and Pleakley heading towards a black hole, while Leroy disguises himself as Stitch. After they are sent towards the black hole, Leroy heads off towards Earth to capture all of the other experiments for Hämsterviel. Later, Stitch, Jumba and Pleakley escape from the black hole and arrive on the planet Turo. There, they rescue Lilo, 625 (now known as "Reuben") and Gantu, and then fly Pleakley's car pool van back to Earth to assist the other 624 experiments in the defeat of an army of Leroys. Now, with Leroy defeated, Stitch, Jumba and Pleakley return to Earth with Lilo, realizing that family is more important than spaceships, laboratories and prestige.

Stitch!
In the anime (confirmed "non-canon" by Chris Sanders), the series starts years after Leroy & Stitch with Stitch being chased in a spaceship by authorities and Jumba before he crashlanded on Earth on Izayoi Island, off the coast of Okinawa. Soon joined by Jumba and Pleakley, they make a new life with a young girl named Yuna, and Stitch seeks the mythical powers of the Spiritual Stone, a sacred island object that can grant any wish, which is, in Stitch's case, wanting power. But the powerful wish only works by doing and getting 43 good deeds and Stitch now faces the return of Hämsterviel and a once-again disgraced Captain Gantu along with various experiment threats, all while juggling, getting and losing (due to his own mischief) good deeds.

Lilo originally never appeared or was mentioned in the anime, but many would still question her absence. In the English dub, it completely changed the story by implying that Stitch ran away out of jealousy of Lilo having a boyfriend, as mentioned by Jumba, "Just because little girl, has new boyfriend now and is all washed up by 626 is no reason to act bad," which leaves us to believe that this takes place years after the events of Leroy & Stitch. Despite this, when Yuna once confronted Stitch, telling him that his previous family forgot about him. Offended, Stitch quickly states, "Lilo didn't forget!" which implies that he still deeply cares about her, and is certain that Lilo still feels the same way about him. It wasn't until Episode 23 of sequel series ''Stitch! ~Zutto Saiko no Tomodachi~'' that Lilo makes her appearance for the first time.

She, now fully grown, visits Okinawa New Town with her daughter (whom Stitch thought was Lilo in the beginning). Both friends reunite, and we learn that there was never any boyfriend. Lilo had gone to college, and they planned to meet by the beach when she returned, but when that day came, Nani was in labor and caused Lilo to be a little late. Stitch, for unknown reasons, was never aware of Nani's condition, and since Lilo didn't arrived at the time they planned, he thought Lilo had forgot about him. He leaves his tiki necklace on the beach before flying away in his ship, and by the time Lilo arrives he had already left, and cries when she find his necklace. In the end, before Lilo and her daughter could board the plane, Stitch arrives in time to see her again. They both have a happy reunion, she hugs him, promises to visit him again, and asks Stitch to take good care of his new family. She gives Stitch his tiki necklace back before leaving.

Cameos in other media
In Treasure Planet, Stitch made a brief cameo as a stuffed toy on a shelf in Jim Hawkins' bedroom when he was a child.

In The Lion King 1½, a silhouette of Stitch is seen at the end of the film crawling on the wall in the theater. He bounces off Goofy, Rabbit, Mad Hatter and Donald as he makes his way to his seat. Donald is heard quacking angrily as Stitch laughs at him.

In Brother Bear, Stitch makes a surprise appearance in the outtakes.

In Big Hero 6, Stitch makes two cameos: the first as a costume worn by Mochi in a painting, and the second as a pillow on Fred's bed.

Stitch, alongside Angel and Scrump, appear in the fourth UniBEARsity story OhanaBEARsity. In it, Stitch reads the UniBEARsity storybook and comes up with the idea of making their own teddy bears. His teddy bear, named Blue, is based on his likeness.

Kingdom Keepers
Stitch appears in the third and fifth book in the saga. In Disney in Shadow, he is an Overtaker and along with some of the pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean, pursues Finn and Maybeck through Tom Sawyer Island. In Shell Game, he seems to have freed of the Overtakers, for he saves Finn from the rescue dummies at Typhoon Lagoon. This makes Finn get to the conclusion that Stitch was under a spell from the Evil Queen.

Kingdom Hearts series
Stitch is a minor and later major character in the Kingdom Hearts series. He first appears in Kingdom Hearts II, and is one of two summons during the game that makes a difference to the storyline (besides Genie). His first appearance was when he was seen crawling above Sora, Donald and Goofy without their notice while the trio were in the corridors to Ansem's study. Later, he was noticed by Goofy, and dropped down onto the keyboard of Ansem's computer in front of the surprised trio. A furious Donald jumps onto the keyboard to grab him, but Stitch jumps and bounces off of him, and laughs with a taunt. As Donald turned around, he mashes the keys, causing the Master Control Program to be alerted. Later, Stitch helps fight in the Battle of the 1000 Heartless in the Great Maw, using his blasters.

The prequel game Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep details the history of Stitch 10 years prior to events of the first game. Stitch appears in his true form and is known as Experiment 626, and his story had occurred in his homeworld Deep Space, which mirrors his escape from the Galactic Federation in his film. At first appearing in custody, he is released by Terra and Dr. Jumba, where he briefly steals the Keyblade wielder's Wayfinder. Curious of the item's emotional value to Terra, 626 returns it to Terra and scurries off. By the time Aqua arrives, 626 constructs his own Wayfinder. Aqua goes to apprehend him, only to meet opposition from Gantu, who proceeds to destroy them. The two defeat the captain, and afterwards, Aqua asks the Grand Councilwoman for Experiment 626's sentence to be reconsidered due to 626's display of sentience through his charm. However, when an Unversed attacks the ship, 626 escapes and follows Ventus. Unfortunately, while waiting for him, 626's charm is destroyed by Gantu, who still considers 626 a monster. Angered, the alien nearly attacks Ventus, but then helps him when Gantu arrives and tries to arrest them. 626 escapes with Ventus on a police cruiser and Keyblade ride, respectively, but activates the cruiser's hyperdrive in order to escape his pursuers, and leaves Ventus by accident. Afterwards, it is seen that Stitch had managed to fix his charm and puts it on the steering wheel as he flies his ship towards a blue star.

Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Stitch appears as a meet-and-greet character in front of Red Rockett's Pizza Port in Tomorrowland. He gives several tasks to the player, including fetching some burgers for him to eat, cheering him up by donning a hula costume and dancing with him while wearing it, finding him some flower leis and taking a few photos throughout the park so that he can show them to Jumba.

Disney Universe
While Stitch himself does not appear in the game, a costume of him (in his "pet form") does.

Disney INFINITY
In the first game, Stitch only appears as part of a surfboard gadget and laser Power Disc. During a poll posted by Disney after the first game was released, Stitch became the most requested character for the sequel.

In Disney INFINITY: 2.0, Stitch takes part as a playable character; however, he can only play in the Toy Box.

Disney Parks
Stitch easily became a common character in the Disney parks due to his popularity. He is usually seen with Lilo or by himself. In the Disney Parks franchises, he sometimes accompanies Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto, replacing Daisy at times.

Stitch also greets guests on the Disney Cruise Line ships. On board the Disney Fantasy, Stitch interacts with guests boarding the ship in CGI through a screen much like his attraction Stitch Live! in Disneyland Paris.

Stitch is a also meetable character at PCH Grill located in Paradise Pier Hotel. He only appears during the Mickey and Friends character breakfast with Lilo and lots of other characters.

He is usually seen in Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom for meet-and-greet sessions.

World of Color
At Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort, Stitch can be seen during the "Transformation" sequence at the end of the show. Stitch was also seen in a large amount of promotional material for the show.

A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas
Stitch is one of the special "guest characters" alongside Buzz Lightyear and Mike Wazowski. Unlike the others (until towards the end), Stitch does not appear on stage. He broadcasts himself from a television screen. The host checks back in with him between musical numbers, given the important job of tracking down Santa to make sure he comes for the big finale.

As Stitch learns more about Santa from the guests, Stitch mistakes Santa for a "spying snitch who breaks into house" and almost uses his ship's lasers to shoot down Santa and his sleigh. Luckily, he's stopped in time and he now learns the real meaning of Christmas. However, Stitch loses track of Santa afterwards and decides to appear on stage dressed as Santa for the big finale.

It's a Small World
Stitch can be seen with Lilo on a surfboard in the Hawaiian area.

The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents Aloha e Komo Mai!
They let Stitch perform in the show, on the condition that he not interfere with the show anymore. Stitch agrees, asking the Birds of Paradise and the audience if they want to join his ohana. Stitch and the Birds of Paradise then close the show with a reprise of "Aloha E Komo Mai". Stitch declares, "Everyone…ohana!" and the show ends with him spitting out of the fountain.

Stitch Encounter
Found in Tomorrowland in Hong Kong Disneyland, Walt Disney Studios Park, and Tokyo Disneyland, guests are seated in a room that is something like a theater, and Stitch interacts with the audience. Guests would also need to help Stitch get to his space cruiser before Captain Gantu captures him.

Fantasmic!
Stitch is one of the characters that appears on the riverboat in the finales of the American versions of Fantasmic!

In the Tokyo DisneySea version of the show, Stitch stars in his own segment, conducting the water and lights to an instrumental rock version of "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" while Angel drives around in a speedboat with a plasma pistol.

Stitch's Great Escape!
Stitch is the main character of his own attraction Stitch Great Escape and he has a chance to interact with the live audience.

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
Stitch also made a cameo inside one of the luggages in the baggage check section of the ride Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. G2-9T, when noticing Stitch inside, removed the luggage and quarantined it, due to animals not being allowed on the flights. He was eventually replaced with Figment.

Mickey and the Magical Map
Stitch can be seen towards the end of the show when Mickey chases the ink spot into the Hawaiian painting. Stitch is seen on the screen, before ducking down, and coming onto stage from the side of the screen. He dances with a group of cast members to the song of "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride".

Relationships
Allies Lilo: Lilo is Stitch's best friend and sister figure. He first met her after he got ran over by a truck and was sent to the dog pound. Stitch managed to scare all of the other dogs away, leaving him the only candidate. Lilo, fairly eccentric and amazed by Stitch's ability to speak, was immediately taken with Stitch and decided to keep him as her own dog. Despite the protest from the shelter lady and Nani (both saying there were better dogs) Lilo insisted saying he was special and she liked him. Stitch in turn allowed himself to be adopted to use her as a shield to protect him from Jumba and Pleakley, which worked. She takes him around Hawaii to see the sights, explaining to him how there were no large cities or big crowds (much to his frustration as his programming made it so that he would destroy large cities) and how everything was surrounded by water. She then took him around getting snow cones and checking out the local sites. Over time, he would become close to her, especially as he grew to think about his existence and lack of purpose since he was only built to destroy and there wasn't much to destroy. When Cobra stated he wanted Stitch to become a model citizen, she used her idol Elvis as an example and tried to make him turn good, to no avail as their antics wound up getting Nani fired every time. Eventually, when she Nani and David went surfing, he agreed to go surfing with them despite his hatred of water. He briefly enjoyed himself until Jumba tried to kidnap him. As Stitch struggled, he latched onto Lilo and nearly drowned her in the process. Despite this Lilo still showed worry when Stitch was sinking. Later, when realizing he was hurting Lilo and Nani through his destructive ways as Nani prepared to part ways with Lilo since Cobra would take her to an orphanage, he decided to leave. Lilo tried to stop him, saying that she hears him crying at night and asks if he dreams of his family, before explaining how her own family died which is why he wrecks things band bullies her. She offers him to stay and treat him like their child, raising him to be good, but he decides it is for the best he leaves. He takes the book of the ugly Duckling Lilo read to him, stating he is lost and has nowhere to go. When he comes back after being chased by Jumba and Pleakley, he protects her from them and accidentally destroys her house and picture of her family (which she told him never to touch) causing her to call him a monster before they are both captured by Gantu. When he escapes and is captured by Jumba and Pleakley, he convinces them to release him so they (along with Nani who questioned Stitch were Lilo was).He did whatever it took to save her and told her that no one gets left behind. When he is apprehended by the Grand Councilwoman, rather than fight back, he politely asks if he can say good bye. He then tells the Grand Councilwoman they are his family and though they are broken and little they are still good. He then is released by the Grand Councilwoman due to a technicality allowing him to be with Lilo. Throughout the franchise, it is shown that Lilo and Stitch have a tight bond, viewing each other not just as best friends but as family. Despite Lilo technically owning Stitch, she never once treats him as a dog though does refer to him to others due to his cover as being a dog not an alien. She usually acts like an older sister to him due tot he fact he is still relatively new to the world, often taking in what she says about vampires and monsters and helping her. They also often spend much of the series catching his cousins. She gives him advice, and he looks to her for love and guidance as the first person to truly accept him. In "spooky" Lilo tells Stitch her coping mechanism for when she is scared and with this Stitch overcomes his fear of water to rescue her; in "Kixx" Lilo helps retrain Stitch after he eats a left shoe and macadamia nuts which leaves his training memory wiped;  in "richter" she teaches him to value his belongings; in "Houdini" she didn't want to hurt his feelings that he was not a good magician; "in "627" she teaches him to be modest in "slushy" she teaches him to try new things; in "short stuff" she teaches him his size doesn't matter so much as the size of his heart; and in "Sample" she teaches him to respect a deal, and in "Snafu" she teaches him that love conquers all. Stitch in turn has helped her. in "Yapper" he allowed himself to be entered into a dog show; in "Amnesio" he gave her a handmade totem pole as a birthday present; in "dupe" he allowed himself to be duplicated so she could have a posse at the expense of his strength; in "drowsy" he puts her to sleep so she can get some rest from her busy schedule while he handles all of her duties; and in "PJ" he tries to stop her from exacting revenge on her substitute teacher who blamed her for everything Mertle did (not knowing Mertle did it) She also defends his behavior. In "Phantasmo" despite the evidnece being stacked against him she is certain Stitch i not the one wrecking havoc in the house, which proves to be true as it was the experiment "Phantasmo" and in "Bad Stitch" when Stitch is modified by Hamsterviel to turn evil she believes he will not hurt them because he is still good. He is also protective of her, as shown when he protects and saves her various times throughout the franchise from Gantu, Hamsterviel, and the other experiments. There are times in the series when Lilo gets upset with Stitch or prioritizes friends and/or her social life over her. These include the episodes "Mr. Stenchy" where she uses Mr. Stenchy to make friends with Mertle, Elena, Yuki, and Teresa while ignoring Stitch since he is not invited; "Tank" where Lilo chose to go to a festival with Elena, Yuki, and Teresa without Stitch since dogs weren't allowed; "Finder" where Lilo decides to take Finder to show and tell instead of Stitch; and "Elastico" where she neglects Stitch in favor of preparing for a luau to the point Stitch  decides to run away and join the circus. However, Lilo understands what she has done was wrong and apologizes to Stitch. this shows Stitch relies on Lilo's attention and love in a similar fashion a child does for their mother. They have also get into fights, the most notable examples being "Yin Yang" and Lilo and Stitch 2. In Yin Yang the two were arguing over how to wash surf boards and then how to catch experiments. The two then decided they would compete  to see who could catch experiments better, with Lilo teaming up with Pleakley and Stitch teaming up with Jumba and both failing. Ultimately, the two realized they work best together and made up while catching the experiment. In Lilo and Stitch 2, Stitch develops a glitch and begins acting erratic and violent, entering random fits of destruction. Because Lilo is more concerned with preparing for a luau her mother once won, Lilo doesn't pay attention to Stitch and believes he is trying to ruin everything. She even ignores him when he tries to prove he is still good. The two fight but Stitch promises to behave. Unfortunately, he cannot due to his glitch and she decides to do the luau alone. However, when he goes to her luau to cheer her and he accidentally scratches her, he decides to leave Earth finding himself too dangerous. Lilo abandons her luau, realizing there truly is something wrong with Stitch and asks Jumba for help. When he is dying, she tells him how much she loves him and how sorry she is for not realizing something was wrong with him ahead of time.

Nani: Nani was initially not too fond of Stitch due to his abnormal appearance along with his destructive ways and at times gross and violent erratic behavior. This was especially due to the fact that his antics often costed her to lose a chance at a job. She was ready to throw Stitch out after he got her fired from hre luau waitress job and wrecked havoc on their house until Lilo reminded her about their saying of Ohana meaning family and family meaning no one gets left behind or lost. When Stitch nearly drowned Lilo after he was trying to escape capture by Jumba and Pleakley, she didn't hesitate to save Lilo but kicked Stitch aside. Later, when she saw Lilo get kidnapped she hit Stitch demanding to know what happened. He tried to tell her before getting captured by Jumba and Pleakley. Eventually, she grows to accept that Lilo loves Stitch and that Stitch is now a part of her family. However, she can be exasperated by his destructive antics at times such as in "Bad stitch" wher ehe is shown wrecking the house and she tells Lilo to teach him to be less destructive or else and in "Phantasmo" where she assumed it was Stitch causing damage when it was actually Phantasmo and she realized her mistake and properly apolgized. Despite disliking his destructiveness, she accepts and understands he is a good friend for Lilo as he is loyal and protects her, as shown in "Mr. Stenchy". She also showed concern for him when he was near death in Lilo and stitch 2. She was sad to see Lilo upset over Stitch Pleakley and Jumba and told her they were happy and still thinking of her. She was also happy when he came back in Leroy and stitch. Jumbaa: Jumba initially created Stitch as a destroying machine whose only person was to destroy and kill. He was proud of him as his creation, as shown when he bragged about him to the council. However, he still only saw him as an experiment and project less than a human. When he accepted capturing Stitch as the price for his freedom, he didn't hesitate. The two immediately developed a kind of rivalry as Stitch enhoyed taunting Jumba and his attempts at capturing him while Jumba in turn became increasingly annoyed with Stitch's antics. When Jumba caught up to him alone in the forest, he called him expensive and told him bluntly that he had no family and was only built to destroy, hurting Stitch who was emotionally vulnerable at the time. He went to extreme lengths to catch Stitch, putting Lilo at risk. When he finally caught him however, Stitch was able to convince him to release him and save Lilo,showing Jumba wasn't heartless and did care for Stitch deep down. Since then, he has shown throughout the franchise that he cares for Stitch, acting like a proud father over Stitch's accomplishments, although in "626" he was annoyed at Sttich's arrogance and made 627 to be superior to stitch and knock Stitch's ego down. Nonetheless, he loves Stitch like a son, acting protective of him when a situation proves tough for him and taking care of him when he falls ill. One of his most notable signs of caring for Stitch was in Lilo and Stitch 2 where he realized stitch sufferd a glitch because he wasn't fully charged during his birth. As a result, Jumba went to great lengths to rebuild a charging chamber to save Stitch's life, despite being limited to Earth technology and household equipment. When Stitch wass near death, he wash shown crying showing how deeply he cares for Stitch.

Pleakley: Pleakley refers to Stitch as little monster and Stitch often throws stuff at Pleakley and attacks him. Their initial relationship, like many of Stitch's was rocky because he was chasing after Stitch to arrest him. Stitch even nearly ate his head off. However, by the end of the first film the two seem to get along well. In the series, the two do show signs of caring for him and worries when he gets hurt. Stitch in turn saves PLeakley like in "Poxy" where he helped Lilo cure Pleakley from an illness his alien cousin Poxy gave him and tried to hide Fibber when Pleakley was lying to his family about getting married.

Angel: Angel is the love interest of Stitch and the only experiment not considered his cousin. He fell in love at first sight with her, though at the time she was working with Gantu and Hamsterviel. While she was initially manipulating Stitch, she grew to love him. She was surprised when her song didn't turn her evil but was touched by his affection and gestures of love. When she turned all his other cousins evil and they were about to beat them up, she sung her song backwards to turn them back to good and rebelled against Gantu but was captured by him. Stitch goes to save her in snafu but Snafu's interference causes him and his other cousins who were helping him to get captured. He confesses to ANgel his feelings and she is so happy she manages to break free from the capsule and help her cousins do the same. The two later went on a date. In Leroy and Stitch, when she saw Stitch surrounded by Leroy clones, she beat them up and blew him an air kiss, much to Stitch's happiness.

David: David thinks Stitch is cool and Stitch is shown to get along with David.

Other experiments: He gets along with the other experiments. While most of them initially prove hostile, after he and Lilo capture them, name them, and find their one true place he manages to get along with them. He sees them as his family and cares for their safety, often saving them from the clutches of Gantu. However, he has gotten jealous of a few of them, especially Mr. Stenchy and Finder. He also bullies them sometimes like with Finder, Sample and Mr. Stenchy. Nonetheless, he does care for them and will protect them from harm. Out of all of the experiments, he seems to be closest to Sparky and Angel.

Neutral/Allies Grand Councilwoman: Grand Council Woman was initially ditrustful and disliked Stitch because she saw him as nothing but a monster and killing machine. She was annoyed when Stitch escaped and sent Jumba and Pleakley and later Gantu to apprehend him. When all of them failed, she went to get him herself, showing that she thought of him as a great threat. She was surprised to see him ask politely if he could say goodbye to his family and when Lilo managed to convince the grand council woman that she should keep him, she smiled and didn't hesitate to release Stitch and hand custody of him to Lilo while stating the family was now under protection. She also gave an award to Stitch for his hard work in rehabilitating his experiment and trusted him with job as captain of the galactic armada showing she has grown to respect and like Stitch.

Cobra: Cobra initially disliked Stitch with good reason as Stitch threw a book at his head and demanded Stitch be turned into a model citizen. Cobra saw Stitch as a danger to Lilo's safety and it was because of Stitch that Cobra decided to move Lilo to an orphanage. However, by the end of the film, Cobra seems to have acknowledged Stitch is an important family to Lilo. He also shows he is grateful to stitch's help such as in Stitch the Movie, and Asteroid.

Keoni: Not much is known of of their relationship, but he seems to get along fine with him. Stitch knows of Lilo's crush on him and Stitch doesn't seem to mind him, though Stitch does get grossed out by Lilo's crush on him. He seems to think Keoni is nice and Keoni seems to think Stitch is cool too.

Victoria: Not much is known of their relationship, but it is shown that Stitch gets along well with Victoria. As she is friends with Lilo, he often hangs out with her and Victoria herself has been shown to be very fond of Stitch. the two even posed with Stitch for a zombie calendar she and Lilo were making.

Former Enemies

Gantu: Gantu hated Stitch from the moment he met him, calling him an abomination. Stitch in turn hated Gantu, often times calling him stinky head. Gantu was upset when stitch escaped prison and gladly apprehended him, even at the expense of kidnapping Lilo. When Stitch escaped he did whatever he could to save Lilo from Gantu, even blowing up Gantu's ship. In the series, they continued to have an antagonistic relationship, often hitting each other and calling each other names as they tried capturing experiments. gantu often saw himself as the good guy and Stitch as evil while Stitch thought he was good and Gantu was evil. Despite their differences, there are times where they had to work together like in "Splodyhead" when Stitch, Gantu, Lilo, Pleakley, and Jumba were all stranded on an island with Splodyhead attacking them. By the end of Leroy and stitch, the two have made up and are no longer enemies.

Reuben: The two never had much of a relationship. While REuben had all of 626's abilities he lacked the motivation. He often never got in the way of his cousin catching experiments, though Stitch sometimes did attack him. Despite this, the two never seemed to hold hostility to each other. The two have also worked together like in Mr. Stenchy and 627. By the end of Leroy and Stitch the two are on good terms. Enemies

Hamsterviel: Hamsterviel thinks of Stich as nothing but a weapon he can use for world domination. IN Stitch the movie, he kidnapped Stitch and was about to cut him in half to dissect him and use his parts to make multiple loyal clones of him. When Stitch escaped, he immediately go this revenge. Stitch does not like Hamsterviel and vice versa though Hamsterviel kept an interest in using Stitch as a weapon and once tried to convert Stitch to evil in "Bad Stitch" to use him as a weapon. The two are enemies as Hamsterviel wants to use the experiments as weapons for evil while Stitch sees them as his family. By Leroy and Stitch, Hamsterviel loses interest in Stitch and opts to kill him but does not succeed and ends up in jail.

Trivia

 * On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that it is unconstitutional for any of the states in America to ban gay marriage, as all U.S. citizens have the fundamental right to marry as stated by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Because of the month and day this ruling was made (6/26), many fans began associating with Stitch to the date of the decision, making him its unofficial mascot.
 * In response to this, Dean DeBlois, a former Disney story supervisor at Walt Disney Feature Animation drew an image of Stitch and Scrump celebrating the court's decision, with Stitch holding a rainbow flag, which represents gay pride, and Scrump holding a blue flag with a yellow equality sign, representing the logo of the Human Rights Campaign.
 * Despite not appearing in the show itself (as the show was out one year before the movie came out), Stitch was featured with Lilo in some online games for the television series House of Mouse.
 * In a deleted scene of the original film, Stitch was responsible for the death of Pudge the fish, and this incident made him learn about the consequences of his evil actions and gain a better understanding of mortality. It was cut out because Disney figured it would be too dark for a protagonist to kill someone, and it would also set a bad example for children.
 * Stitch appears, along with several other Lilo & Stitch characters, in a parody of the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, which was broadcast as part of the High School Musical: Around the World one-year anniversary special.
 * Up until 627 was introduced, Stitch was thought to be the youngest of the experiments; however, Mr. Stenchy, Babyfier and Dupe are actually younger than Stitch according to their personalities.
 * In the anime, he talks in complete sentences, his English has improved, and has more dialogue.
 * This may actually imply that his command of Japanese is better than his English; since he is on an island prefecture of Japan, it is reasonable that he is speaking the local language, and thus the American-dubbed version is actually a case of "audience filter".
 * While Stitch and the other experiments are technically siblings, "cousins" is a Hawaiian term, like "ʻohana", for extended family and close friends, although Stitch only uses it in regards to the experiments.
 * Stitch loves reading his favorite storybook, The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen, which he obtained from Lilo at some point.
 * He is also very fond of sea turtles and even sleeps with a stuffed one, as seen in Stitch Has a Glitch.
 * His favorite foods are coconut cake and coffee; however, whenever he drinks coffee, he gains a massive amount of uncontrollable energy. Ironically, in "Slugger", he drank a large bowl of cappuccino, along with Lilo's cappuccino, but didn't go crazy at all.
 * He has also been shown to eat anything inedible and very rarely doesn't like to eat something. Though one time in "Spooky", he spit out a lemon, saying, "Blech, organic!", implying he might not like fruits or vegetables.
 * However, in "Slugger", he was seen eating a smashed avocado, happily commenting, "Guacamole!", and in "Belle", he devoured a whole bag of apples. He also ate a stack of chopped carrots in "Sinker", and devoured all kinds of fruit from Mrs. Hasagawa's fruit stand in "Mrs. Hasagawa's Cats". Thus, it's possible he is fine with eating most fruits or vegetables, but doesn't like lemons.
 * In the non-canon Stitch! anime, he also loves Yuna's blue crab sushi.
 * Following after Stitch! The Movie, Stitch's toes have changed from blue to black.
 * Additionally, following after Stitch Has a Glitch, Stitch's fur color has changed from dark blue to light blue.
 * When Stitch has a glitch, his eyes glow green.
 * Stitch is the first successful destructing experiment Jumba created after two failures: 600 and 625.
 * Stitch is one of two experiments that was never seen in pod form, the other being Leroy.
 * Stitch is described by the experiment computer screen as, "Experiment 626. Primary function: Destruction of populated areas. Weapons: Sharp teeth and strong jaws for tearing stone, metal and flesh, 4 clawed hands, and 3 poisonous spines. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS."
 * In the prequel comics, it is revealed that Stitch's genes contain those of some of the most powerful creatures in the galaxy, as well as some of Jumba's for "brains and good looks." One of the genes was from a puppy, explaining Stitch's resemblance to a dog (though Jumba did not know how it got in there).
 * Stitch bears a strong resemblance to Toothless, a Night Fury from DreamWorks How to Train your Dragon. Even their facial expressions are similar, especially those showing excitement, wariness and anger. However, their personalities are somewhat different, as Stitch is far more mischievous. This is not a coincidence; Chris Sanders, Stitch's designer, was the designer for both characters and co-directed both films.
 * Chris Sanders, the voice of Stitch and creator of the franchise, left Disney to join DreamWorks in 2007. Despite his departure, though, Sanders still continues to voice Stitch in the video games like Kingdom Hearts II, Birth by Sleep, Disney INFINITY: 2.0, and every other opportunity he gets.