Lilo & Stitch: With love, a bereaved child feels safe enough to grieve and grow

Lilo’s story offers a meaningful glimpse into how grief shows up in children through their emotions and actions. (Disney)

This story contains spoilers about Lilo & Stitch.

At first glance, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, set in Hawaii, seems like a playful, heartwarming film about an alien’s misadventures and a young girl’s search for connection and friendship. But there’s a deeper story — one about childhood grief in the life of the main character, Lilo, and how she navigates the loss of her parents.