Stitch! The Movie is a 2003 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and Rough Draft Korea, released on August 26, 2003. It is the second film released in the Lilo & Stitch franchise and the third film chronologically, taking place after the 2002 first film and (by later extension) the 2005 direct-to-video sequel Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch. The film also serves as the backdoor pilot of the spin-off sequel series Lilo & Stitch: The Series, which debuted the following month. The story is an introduction to Dr. Jumba Jookiba's 625 experiments (made prior to Stitch) that he created with the financing of Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel. Plot Stitch is still not fitting in and causes another disaster. Lilo tries to encourage him by saying he's one-of-a-kind, comparing him to Frankenstein's monster, which just makes him feel worse. Meanwhile, ex-captain Gantu, who's in his new spaceship after his original one got destroyed when he kidnapped Lilo and tried to recapture Stitch, is hired by Jumba's former partner; a diminutive creature resembling a cross between a hamster, poodle and rabbit named Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel to retrieve the other 625 experiments. Gantu goes to Earth, breaking into Lilo and Stitch's home, blasting Stitch into a net, finding and taking a blue pod with the number 625 on it, and abducting Jumba for interrogation. Stitch and Lilo take Jumba's spaceship and chase Gantu into outer space, engaging him in battle, only to be defeated and fall back towards Earth. Back at their house, Lilo, Stitch and Pleakley find the container Jumba was hiding. Pleakley realizes that these are the other 625 experiments, in dehydrated form, and warns them not to tell anyone or put the experiments in water, aware of how dangerous they are. Deliberately disobeying Pleakley's orders, Stitch and Lilo retrieve the container and hydrate one of the experiments, Experiment 221, who promptly escapes into the night. Jumba is being held captive on the ship of Dr. Hämsterviel. Unable to intimidate Jumba, Hämsterviel activates another experiment, Experiment 625, to attack him. Although 625 has all of Stitch's powers, he is incredibly lazy and a terrible coward, prioritizing making sandwiches above all else. Meanwhile, Pleakley is able to call Hämsterviel's ship via telephone. Hämsterviel tells Pleakley that he wants a ransom of the other 624 experiments in return for Jumba. When Pleakley informs