The WordPress/JetPack writing prompt for today is:
Who is your favourite cartoon character?

I feel like I should have a lot of answers to this one, but there’s only one character that comes to mind: Stitch.

When we first meet him, Stitch is a chaotic evil creature fighting a death sentence. He’s not controllable, not even by himself, and he’s subject to spasms of excessive violence.

That’s not exactly his fault. He was after all, designed to be a super-weapon. But the lack of ability to follow orders makes him the literal definition of a ‘loose cannon.’

To survive, he needs to learn how to fit into human culture. Along the way, he stops intentionally causing chaos, and slips towards a more ‘chaotic neutral’ persona. He still causes mayhem, but it’s accidental and because he doesn’t understand. He’s stopped intentionally hurting others.

Towards the end of the film, when Stitch’s pursuers and Lilo’s family problems collide, Stitch makes the big character change. Yes, he is still capable of over-the-top violence, but he’s channelling it now for the good of others. And he’s aware of, and tries to minimize, what we’d call collateral damage. He’s become chaotic good, bordering on lawful good.

And throughout all of this, he’s just a fun character to watch.

I’ll be honest, I’ve not seen anything involving him beyond the first film, because it was such a good story and I fear that continuing it would water down his redemption arc.