Lilo and Stitch - He Mele No Lilo - Hula Dance

I went through all the behind-the-scene videos and extras and got all the hula dance references that the animators traced over!! I love Lilo and Stitch and I've always wanted to see He Mele No Lilo's reference videos -- this is as close as we'll probably ever get :)

[abbywright]

What makes this movie so special, is the fact that the animators took time to make each girl unique and special and also use the true dance

[caitybug]

I cannot elaborate how blessed we are to have had this movie growing up 😭 literally everyone adores it

[TheMormonSorceress]

THe crazy part is that there was no rotoscoping involved with animating this hula dance, Walt would be proud of them.

[marlepeace]

1:35 I am mesmerised by the smoothness of the footwork at this part. It’s not a bunch of steps which would’ve been fije but might look a little clunky (i’ve seen a cover do it) but it’s such a smooth fluid shuffle. I dunno, I just like how effortless it looks.

Also, movie notice. I noticed that Lilo’s spot is meant to be the centre of the kids. Being centre probably means she’s actually the best dancer of them all and Lilo knows it too. She seamlessly joins in even though she was late and she looks like she is having the most fun out of all of them.

[leinxx]

Whenever we play this scene on tv our dog is really focused and seems to enjoy the music

[LuzMariaBoricua]

we grew up with these movies representing different colors, shapes, and cultures and we are so lucky for that.

[MiahtheDiva]

Lyrics in English

Greatest Thanks To Her Majesty
The Queen Of Hawaii
Stands At The Crown Of The Islands
The Tallest Of Rainbows
The Work Of Passing Love
Beams Of Colours Unrivalled
Along With The Gently Flowing Rains
Look At The Breaking Dawn
In The Heavenly Skies
From The Vastness Of Hawaii To Kauai
The Beauty Is Revealed
Kalakaua Is His Name
The Flower That Never Fades In The Sun
The Flower Blooms On The Mountain
The High Hill Of Mauna Kea
Glowing White Is Kilauea
Illuminating The Sacred Woman
Atop Uwekahuna
Is The Sacred Cliff Of Ka'auea
Raise Up The King Of Birdcatchers
To Adorn Him In The Feathers Of The Mamo
The Beautiful Flower Of Hawaii
O Kalakaua Is His Name
Raise Up The King Of Birdcatchers
To Adorn Him In The Feathers Of The Mamo
The Beautiful Flower Of Hawaii
O Kalakaua Is His Name
Greatest Thanks To Her Majesty
The Queen Of Hawaii
Stands At The Crown Of The Islands
Raise Up The King Of Birdcatchers
To Adorn Him In The Feathers Of The Mamo
The Beautiful Flower Of Hawaii
O Kalakaua Is His Name
A Namesong For Our Chief Kalakaua
Cast Forth!

[emma_nutella]

The care that went in this movie makes it one of my all time favourites

[jacksonhaslam]

After living in Hawaii for a few years, it adds some new meaning to listen to and watch this, because not only do I have more appreciation for hula, but I can recognize certain words and names in the song that I remember, and it helps me start to visualize the story

[yama]

It all just PROVES..it’s a CHOICE…it’s always been a CHOICE how they present other people to their children and the world. It’s all very carefully planned and thought out. Always has been by design.

[NoriMori]

A reminder that they animated this BY HAND. They could've rotoscoped it, but they didn't want it to look how rotoscoping always looks. So they animated it by hand.

[stephenwillis]

I regret not seeing this in theaters. I was late teens to 20s when it came out and was going through a I'm Too Old For Disney phase.

[Bdubtheblack]

The footwark at 1:35 is HARD, Idc what anyone says. So cool.

[salvadorr]

I'm so happy I grew up with this Disney and not with CGI and live action Disney 🥰

[NoriMori]

For everyone who tried to transcribe the lyrics phonetically when they were kids so they could sing along, here are the actual lyrics:

Mahalo nui ʻia ke Aliʻi wahine (Ke Kuini o Hawaiʻi)
ʻO Liliʻulani ʻO ka Wohi kū (Kū i ka moku i ke Kalaunu)

Ka pipiʻo mai o ke ānuenue (Nā hana a ke aloha)
Nā waihoʻoluʻu a hālike ʻole (Māʻalo ana i ka ua lana mālie)

E nānā nā maka i ke ao malama (I ka lani malama)
Mai Hawaiʻi ākea i Kauaʻi (Hōʻike mai ana lā i ka nani)

ʻO Kalākaua he inoa
ʻO ka pua maeʻole i ka lā
Ka pua maila i ka mauna
I ke kuahiwi ʻo Mauna Kea

Ke ʻā maila i Kīlauea
Mālamalama i Wahinekapu
A ka luna o Uwēkahuna
I ka pali kapu o Kaʻauea

Ea mai ke aliʻi kia manu
Ua wehi ka hulu o ka mamo
Ka pua nani aʻo Hawaiʻi
ʻO Kalākaua he inoa

ʻO Kalākaua he inoa
ʻO ka pua maeʻole i ka lā
Ka pua maila i ka mauna
I ke kuahiwi ʻo Mauna Kea

Ke ʻā maila i Kīlauea
Mālamalama i Wahinekapu
A ka luna o Uwēkahuna
I ka pali kapu o Kaʻauea

Mahalo nui ʻia ke Aliʻi wahine (Ke Kuini o Hawaiʻi)
ʻO Liliʻulani ʻO ka Wohi kū (Kū i ka moku i ke Kalaunu)

Ea mai ke aliʻi kia manu
Ua wehi i ka hulu o ka mamo
Ka pua nani aʻo Hawaiʻi
ʻO Kalākaua he inoa

He Inoa No Kalani Kalākaua Kulele

[nmusica]

I feel like I must have been a Pacific Islander in another life. Anything featuring Pacific Island cultures has always made me feel so nostalgic since I was little! Like I cried watching this first scene when I was a kid and I still get emotional years later!

[troyjacobs]

I grew up loving this movie. I showed it to my one year old and she gets excited every time we watch it

[WildDancer]

Thing is, Disney's Recess showed me the basics of Hula Dancing, while the Lilo and Stitch film showed the advanced moves of Hula.

[NeoLocket]

I remember that used to be on the dvd of lilo and stitch and I used to watch it all the time after the movie

[gokuwrightattorneyatlaw]

Im so glad i saw this in theaters as a kid. Loved every minute of it