Stitch Head

Stitch Head (Asa Butterfield) with his bestest best friend, Creature (Joel Fry) in Stitch Head (Distributed by Briarcliff Entertainment)

The idea of Frankenstein’s monster is surprisingly malleable. From horror to comedy to everything in between, it can be, and has been, adapted into just about anything. The premise has even been used in many kids’ stories, since it is a pretty obvious approach for a message of acceptance.

That is exactly what Guy Bass used it for in the 2011 novel Stitch Head, which was then expanded into a series. It is now an animated comedy about a sown-together boy looking to be loved. Can he be accepted as anything other than a monster? It is a goofy little movie with charming animation, some tonal issues and a few amusing jokes. It is totally harmless, good-natured and completely forgettable.

Stitch Head lives in a creepy-looking castle overlooking a small town. He was the first creation of the Professor, who also made the much more elaborate creatures who live in the castle. They have all been led to believe that they need to stay quiet and never leave because, upon seeing them, the townsfolk would form an angry mob and burn the castle to the ground. Lonely, Stitch Head is convinced to join a traveling circus putting himself and the other inhabitants of the castle in danger.

Stitch Head meets Arabella (Tina Bannon)

Stitch Head (85 minutes, without the end credits) is itself kind of an awkwardly pieced-together creation. I believe we are supposed to take the title character’s journey fairly seriously. He has a big heart and just wants to be noticed. The professor is always intensely focused on his work and then neglects what he has made. Stitch Head keeps the place running, making sure the monsters are calm and comfortable, but he feels ignored. He is never the butt of the joke, nor does he make many. He is the melancholic straight man to everything around him.

The villain is the freak show’s ringmaster, who exploits his acts for financial gain. He is very over-the-top. Too dumb and wacky to be threatening. Most of this is on his level, tone wise. The sequence where he recruits Stitch Head is like something out of a Looney Tunes cartoon, with silly physics and illogical decisions.

The movie jumps back and forth between the main character’s relatable emotions and cartoonish sight gags, one-liners and action. How can I be genuinely concerned about Stitch Head’s arm being torn off when we just saw someone fall hundreds of feet to the ground and walk around in the next scene as though nothing happened? Granted, it is a kid’s movie. Yet that slapdash inconsistency shows the lack of attention to detail here.

That said, Stitch Head is not bad. It is cute, the characters are likable and kids who haven’t seen anything like it before will probably be entertained by it. The voice work is solid, if quite unshowy. I did chuckle a bit. However, the narrative and themes have absolutely been combined in better family films (The Boxtrolls comes to mind). While it is okay as a diversion, it is too clumsy and unremarkable to get much notice.

2½ out of 5

Voice Cast:

Asa Butterfield as Stitch Head

Joel Fry as Creature

Tia Bannon as Arabella

Written/Directed by Steve Hudson