"Mr. Stenchy" is the fourth episode of Lilo & Stitch: The Series. It aired on October 11, 2003.
Plot[]
Lilo and Stitch rescue an irresistibly cute experiment from Gantu. While at a gas station filling up the buggy, Lilo notices Mertle, Elena, Teresa, and Yuki walking by. Lilo shows them the experiment, and the girls coo at how adorable he is. Mertle then decides to invite Lilo to her FHGH (Future Hawaiian Girls of Hawaii) tea party if she brings the experiment along. Lilo happily agrees and decides to keep the experiment, but Stitch isn't too pleased about that.
Lilo and Stitch take the experiment home and Jumba explains his function. The experiment is a walking stink bomb. He is cute and friendly in order to easily infiltrate an enemy's home or base. Then, 42 hours after being activated, he releases a noxious odor that will leave the area uninhabitable for decades. Despite this, Lilo names him Mr. Stenchy, and wants to keep him. But, Jumba tells her to not get attached, as he has to send Mr. Stenchy into space so no one will smell him. Lilo protests this, saying she needs to bring him to the tea party. Jumba reluctantly allows her to keep him for 24 hours.
At the backyard tea party, Stitch spies on the group through the fence. Lilo and the other girls dote on Mr. Stenchy and give him muffins. Stitch gets jealous of the attention Mr. Stenchy is getting, and decides to crash the party. After he eats all the food, Mertle yells at Lilo to leave Stitch at home for tomorrow's tea party. Later, Lilo, Nani, Jumba, and Pleakley go to the store. Lilo asks Stitch to watch Mr. Stenchy while they are gone. Stitch agrees, but as soon as everyone else has left, he shuts Mr. Stenchy into the pantry (without hurting him). Stitch tries relaxing with soda after that, but Gantu arrives to steal Mr. Stenchy. After a brief fight, Stitch disarms Gantu. Gantu tells Stitch that eventually he'll take an experiment away forever. This gives Stitch an idea, and he "accidentally" loses Gantu's blaster. He then leads Gantu toward the pantry, and allows Mr. Stenchy to be captured.
Later, when everyone gets home, Lilo asks what happened, and why the house is a wreck. Stitch gives his version of events, and Jumba points out that Mr. Stenchy is likely already being sent to Hämsterviel. Lilo is saddened by this, and Stitch can't help but feel guilty. At Gantu's ship, he prepares to teleport Mr. Stenchy to Hämsterviel. But, Gantu then develops an affection for the cute experiment, making 625 jealous as well. Gantu decides to keep Mr. Stenchy for a while.
The next day, Lilo is depressed. She tells Nani that her "friends" won't want her to come to the tea party without Mr. Stenchy. Nani says that if the other girls were true friends, they would like her regardless of how cute her pet is. She adds that Stitch is a true friend to Lilo because he is loyal and would never hurt her. Lilo agrees, and Stitch feels even worse for his actions. Later, Lilo goes to the tea party anyway to explain what happened. But, Mertle points out that "Mr. Stenchy" is already there. Stitch has decided to make himself a Mr. Stenchy costume, and tries to blend in. Although it went well at first, Stitch enjoyed himself too much and eventually the other girls realize the truth. Mertle accidentally breaks a window and then tries shooing Stitch away with a broom. This eventually leads to part of her home's patio being destroyed. Mertle kicks Lilo out of her backyard, and the FHGH.
Later that evening, Lilo talks to Stitch. She blames herself for letting Gantu take Mr. Stenchy, and laments that he will never find his one true place. However, she says she's glad to have someone like Stitch as a friend, this make Stitch feel even worse. He then uses the computer to pull up a schematic of Gantu's ship, planning to break in. Meanwhile, Gantu is doting on Mr. Stenchy, even making a little bed for him. 625 expresses his displeasure, but denies that he is jealous. 625 leaves for "some air", but at that moment, Stitch breaks in and attacks him. Gantu quickly captures Stitch, then puts him on the teleporter, planning to send him to a barren asteroid. Mr. Stenchy enters and gives Gantu a sandwich. Gantu declares it is the best sandwich he had ever eaten, and this upsets 625. Stitch discreetly tells 625 to help him escape, so he can take Mr. Stenchy away.
A few minutes later, Gantu has decided on a place to send Stitch, but finds that 625 is in the teleporter. While 625 distracts him, Stitch pounces and forces Gantu into a locked room. He grabs Mr. Stenchy, and tries to leave, but Gantu escapes the room, and traps Stitch in a net. At that moment, Jumba, Pleakley, and Lilo arrive to help, and subdue Gantu with sticky webbing. Mr. Stenchy is left to decide who he wants to go with. Gantu tries beckoning him over, as do Lilo and Stitch. But, Mr. Stenchy runs away from Stitch, remembering how poorly he was treated. Lilo questions this, and Gantu reveals that Stitch locked Mr. Stenchy in the pantry. Stitch admits that he did because he felt jealous. Lilo offers to forgive him for his actions, as long as he forgives her for paying more attention to Mr. Stenchy. The pair make up, but Mr. Stenchy still goes to Gantu's side. However, a foul smell fills the air as he goes to hug Gantu. Mr. Stenchy's power activates, and disgusts everyone (except Pleakley, who likens the odor to a rare and valuable perfume from his home planet.) Gantu quickly gives Mr. Stenchy to Lilo and her friends.
Later, Jumba loads Mr. Stenchy into a tiny rocket attached to the buggy, and it blasts off into space. Pleakley worries that Mr. Stenchy will be all alone, but Jumba reassures him that the experiment will go somewhere that everyone will love him. Mr. Stenchy's ship lands on Plorgonar, and is immediately found by a Plorgonarian couple. Not only do they think Mr. Stenchy is cute, he smells like their first date. Mr. Stenchy is happy to be in his new home.
Goofs[]
- When Gantu attacks Stitch at the Pelekai residence, the house's facade inexplicably appears completely mirrored from its normal look (e.g. Jumba and Pleakley's bedroom is to the right of the front door instead of to the left).
- Gantu's size changes when he attacks Stitch. When he starts attacking, he is about two stories tall, with his legs being about as long as the front door. However, when he chases Stitch through the house, he is able to fit inside despite smashing through the front door, as he is still too large to fit through it.
- The morning after Gantu kidnaps Mr. Stenchy, Lilo says, "If I show up for the tea party tomorrow without him, they won't be my friends anymore." However, given that Mr. Stenchy's odor is programmed to occur 42 hours after his activation, the second tea party shown in the episode cannot be the next day, since the night of the episode's climax will be Mr. Stenchy's third night since activation, and thus more than 48 hours would have passed. The correct line would be, "If I show up for the tea party today without him, they won't be my friends anymore."
Trivia[]
- Moral: A true friend is someone who stays by your side and accepts you for who you are, not for something that you have.
- This episode is the first time in the franchise where Reuben extends his claws, which are normally completely retracted. He uses his extended claws to spread grape jelly on bread as if his claws were butter knives.
- Stitch and Reuben were unmoved by Mr. Stenchy's cuteness, as Jumba pointed out that other experiments are immune to Mr. Stenchy's charm.
- Stitch is revealed to have two shoulder devils, hinting that he still has a bit of an evil streak (similar to Jumba).
- We learn that Pleakley is the only one who finds Mr. Stenchy's stink appealing. This is because his antenna, which also functions similar to a nose, functions somewhat differently when it comes to scents, allowing him to ignore or appreciate odors which humans and most aliens would consider noxious and horrible, as Pleakley and the Plorgonarian couple who found Mr. Stenchy were delighted by his odor; whereas Lilo, Stitch, Jumba, and Gantu were repulsed by it.
- Jumba calls Lilo by her actual name and Mr. Stenchy by the name Lilo gave him near the end of the episode, instead of "little girl" and "254", respectively.
