It has been 20 years since Disney introduced a generation of fans to Lilo and Stitch, the adorable alien wrecking machine that finds a family in Hawaii with a little girl and her sister. But according to the film's co-director Chris Sanders, the film was more ahead of its time than we all thought.

During an interview with The New York Times, Sanders expressed a bit of disdain over the fanfare Frozen (2013) got for being a non-romantic, sister focused plot, which is rarely seen in Disney films. He said:

"To be clear, I think 'Frozen's' great. But it was a little bit frustrating for me because people were like, 'Finally, a nonromantic relationship with these two girls,' and I thought, 'We did that! That has absolutely been done before.'"

Not for nothing, the man has a point.

In Lilo and Stitch, Lilo and her older sister Nani are on their own after the death of their parents. Forced to work hard to keep a roof over her little sister's head, Nani does her best to be father, mother, and sister to Lilo, who constantly gets her in trouble with her antics, only furthered by Stitch's introduction into their family.

The film's overall message is about the importance of Ohana, which means family in Hawaiian. Even with the constant money issues and the distruction caused by their little alien pal, the idea that family is ever present between the two wildly different siblings.

And it came out 11 years before Frozen, lest we forget.

Sure there is a minor romantic plot between Nani and David, a sweet guy who works with her at a resort, but the real heart of it all is sisterly lov,e because family is family no matter the size.

It's like Stitch says: "It's little and broken, but still good. Yeah. Still good."

Nani, Lilo, David, Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff would probably have a lot to talk about if they ever got together. (Wonder how Stich would get along with Olaf and Sven.)

Lilo and Stitch is available to stream on Disney+ (and so is Frozen.)

Tags
Frozen, Disney