Villain Review-Gantu (Lilo and Stitch)

Is Captain Gantu a good villain?

I recently wrote a piece ‘responding’ to someone who decided to notify me about the fact he was blocking me, linked here. The person complained that my writing “feels like it was written by AI”. My response was “I’ve never seen the Chinese television cartoon Stitch & Ai (description linked here) so I have no idea why he thinks its equivalent of Lilo would write something like this. I’ll take him at his word that it feels like something she’d write.”

That got me thinking that I should write a villain review of Captain Gantu, the main antagonist of most (English language) instalments of the Lilo and Stitch franchise. I’ve not seen Stitch & Ai nor the Stitch anime, so I won’t comment on those. Instead, I will discuss the original Lilo and Stitch movie alongside its sequels and television show. There is a live action remake but (mandatory spoiler warning) Captain Gantu does not appear in that film. Also, there will be unmarked spoilers beyond this point.

Character Introduction-8/10

Before I say anything else, I’ll mention that Kevin Michael Richardson was perfectly cast as Gantu. Gantu is introduced as a bailiff during the trial of the mad scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba. Jumba’s experiment 626, later renamed Stitch, is used as evidence against Jumba. Gantu asks “what is that monstrosity?” Jumba boasts that Stitch is a practically invincible being he created and programmed to attack everything in its path. Gantu angrily proclaims “it is an affront to nature. It must be destroyed!” Gantu’s boss, the Grand Councilwoman, attempts to reason with Stitch (despite Gantu’s objections) but Stitch is uncooperative. Gantu points to Jumba and says “Place that idiot scientist under arrest!”. The Grand Councilwoman sentences Stitch to life in exile and tells Gantu to “take him away”. Gantu cracks his knuckles and replies “with pleasure.” Gantu gloats to Stitch that Stitch is his prisoner, so Stitch bites him. Gantu angrily takes out a blaster, prepared to shoot Stitch, but restrains himself after being reminded he’s on duty. Gantu, sheepishly, asks one of his pilots if his bite looks infected. Stitch escapes Gantu’s brig and easily thwarts Gantu’s attempt to recapture him.

That introduction tells us most of what we need to know about Gantu. In fact, if I were limiting myself to the original film, I’d give this introduction a 10/10. That said, other aspects of this character were emphasised by the sequels and television show which weren’t as well set up by this scene as Gantu’s behaviour in the first movie was. (Though those aspects of his characterisation were still set up decently well.)

Evil Deeds-8/10

I say in essentially all of my Villain Reviews that the most important characteristic for a villain to have is morally reprehensible behaviour. Gantu does exhibit some of that towards the end of the first movie (though before that climax, he was, at worst, misguided but not evil.) That said, in the sequel (Stitch: The Movie), and the television show of which it was the pilot (Lilo and Stitch: The Series), Gantu stands firmly upon villain territory. That having been established, in the movie used as the show’s grand finale (Leroy and Stitch), Gantu redeems himself.

In the first movie, the Grand Councilwoman sends Captain Gantu to Earth to capture Stitch. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. Stitch is dangerous, the Grand Councilwoman is a legitimate authority, and Captain Gantu is a duly deputised agent of the law. The issue is that Gantu attacks Stitch while Lilo can witness him doing so, having made no effort to disguise himself as a human, even though aliens (in this movie) are not permitted to reveal their existence to humans. That said, I wouldn’t call that “evil”, just misguided.

Gantu bags Stitch, but inadvertently captures Lilo as well. He laughs and says “And here I thought you’d be difficult to catch. Silly me.” That said, he was unaware of Lilo being bagged alongside Stitch such that it was clearly an accident. Even so, when Gantu realises Lilo is his prisoner alongside Stitch, before leaving Earth, he does not free her. Instead, he sardonically suggests that Stitch eat her. Stitch escapes but is unable to rescue Lilo, on his own, so Stitch teams up with Jumba (and Jumba’s handler Pleakley) to rescue Lilo from Gantu’s clutches. The Grand Councilwoman (rightly) fires Gantu after this kerfuffle.

Gantu responds by getting a job as a mercenary for Jumba’s former partner-in-crime, Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel, kidnapping Jumba, battling Lilo and Stitch, and seeking to cajole Jumba into giving up the location of the 625 experiments he created before creating Stitch. Lilo and Stitch rescue Jumba, so Doctor Hämsterviel commands Gantu to destroy them and Gantu “gladly” attempts to do so. Hämsterviel is captured but contacts Gantu from his off-world prison, so Gantu repeatedly ties to kidnap the 623 experiments that Lilo and Stitch have yet to rehabilitate, seeking to hand them over to Hämsterviel so that Hämsterviel can conquer the Universe. When Hämsterviel escapes prison, but is mistaken for a normal Earth rodent and sold as a pet to Lilo’s bully Mertle, the Grand Councilwoman offers to reinstate Gantu in exchange for capturing him. Gantu promptly enters Mertle’s home, blasters-blazing, and nabs Hämsterviel. Mertle tries to protect her pet, so Gantu captures her as well. The Grand Councilwoman reinstates Gantu, realises that he kidnapped a little girl (again), and fires him (again). She reckons that Gantu “always did have a problem with ethics”.

Gantu goes back to working for Hämsterviel, only for Lilo and Stich to rehabilitate all the experiments he’s been pursuing. Gantu responds by breaking Hämsterviel out of prison and helping him cajole Jumba into creating a 629th experiment. Hämsterviel names the experiment Leroy, clones him to create an army of henchmen, and uses them to conquer the Universe.

That said, Gantu’s not scoring any higher in my review of his evil deeds because Hämsterviel’s poor treatment of Gantu, coupled with his plans to execute Lilo and her friends, convinces Gantu that Hämsterviel is an evil maniac. Gantu betrays Hämsterviel to Lilo, helps Lilo rescue the others, helps fight against Leroy and his clones, and personally assures Hämsterviel’s capture. Gantu boasts to Hämsterviel that Lilo “turned me from bad to good.” After that, the Grand Councilwoman pardons Gantu and reinstates his captaincy.

Characterisation-10/10

Gantu’s sheepish “does this look infected to you” was a throwaway joke in the original movie but it does mean that his comedic moments in the television show were building on what was priorly established. At the beginning of the first movie, I wouldn’t have been able to buy Gantu becoming a mercenary for Hämsterviel but after he goes through his own villain arc (in that same movie), I could buy him doing that. Even so, I couldn’t buy him being content as a mercenary for a proudly evil villain. That said, the show makes it abundantly clear that Gantu hates everything about working for Hämsterviel and there are several episodes wherein he tries (but fails) to get another job so that he wouldn’t have to be Hamsterviel’s lackey any longer. Indeed, the episodes Amnesio, Finder, Bad Stitch, Splodyhead, and a number of other episodes gave Gantu sympathetic traits and clearly set him up to have a redemptive arc. (It made sense for the show to do that because for most of the original movie, Gantu was more misguided than evil. Yes, I know that changed in the film’s climax.) This set-up was finally paid off with Gantu redeeming himself in the movie Leroy and Stitch. Gantu is definitely a well-characterised villain and he remains well-characterised even after his villainy ends.

Final Score-87 %

(I don’t normally write a Villain Review immediately after another Villain Review but Gantu and Hämsterviel are too closely connected for me not to follow this up with a Villain Review of Hämsterviel)