Lilo & Stitch is one of Disney’s most emotional movies, and one theory makes it sadder by giving a tragic twist to one of its most memorable scenes. In 2002, Disney brought the animated sci-fi comedy-drama movie Lilo & Stitch, written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. Lilo & Stitch tells an original story instead of being an adaptation of previously released media, and it became a highlight of the studio’s post-Disney Renaissance era. Lilo & Stitch took the audience to Hawaii to meet Lilo (voiced by Daveigh Chase), an orphaned young girl living with her teenage sister, Nani (Tia Carrere).

Parallel to Lilo and Nani’s story is Stitch’s (Sanders), an extraterrestrial creature who escapes after being sentenced to exile and ends up in Hawaii. Lilo adopts Stitch believing him to be a really weird dog, and they become best friends, but at the same time, Stitch’s creator, Dr. Jumba, and Agent Pleakley, are going after Stitch while Nani tries to prove to a social worker that she can take care of Lilo. Lilo doesn’t have friends and she’s treated as a “weirdo” by other girls, and Lilo & Stitch quickly shows how unique Lilo is, but that scene is also the subject of a very sad theory.

Lilo Thought Pudge The Fish Was Responsible For Her Parents’ Deaths

Pudge The Fish Controls The Weather… According To Lilo

Lilo & Stitch opens with the trial of Stitch (real name: Experiment 626) as Dr. Jumba’s illegal genetic experiments led to his creation, and he was aggressive and near-indestructible, yet with great learning capabilities. Following his escape, Lilo & Stitch cuts to Hawaii, introducing Lilo as she arrives late to her hula class. As she had been swimming, she accidentally causes her classmates to slip right at the end of their dance, and Lilo is questioned by her teacher about why she arrived so late. Lilo explains that she was feeding Pudge a peanut butter sandwich as she does every Thursday… and Pudge is a fish.

Pudge is a small, orange, tropical fish who has no trouble taking the sandwich Lilo brings him every Thursday. However, Lilo arrived late because there was no peanut butter at her house and Nani told her to give him a tuna sandwich, so she was running late because she had to go buy peanut butter. When her teacher asks her why feeding Pudge a sandwich every week is so important, Lilo says it’s because Pudge controls the weather. Later on, it’s revealed that Lilo’s parents died in a car crash on a rainy night.

Pudge’s “power” to control the weather and the details of the car crash that killed Lilo and Nani’s parents made way for a popular theory that suggests Lilo thinks Pudge is responsible for her parents’ deaths. Since her parents’ deaths, Lilo has been feeding Pudge a peanut butter sandwich so he won’t bring heavy rains and cause more accidents, thus saving others from the pain she and Nani went through with their parents’ car crash.

A Deleted Lilo & Stitch Scene Makes This Theory More Tragic

Lilo & Stitch Could Have Had A Very Sad Scene Involving Pudge

Given how young Lilo was when her parents passed away and how she didn’t really have any guidance in her grieving process, the theory of her believing Pudge was involved in her parents’ deaths is not hard to believe. Pudge only appears once, briefly, in the final cut of Lilo & Stitch, but a deleted scene would have brought him back… for a sad ending. In a non-canon deleted scene from Lilo & Stitch, Lilo takes Stitch to meet Pudge, and Lilo takes him out of the water to give him a kiss.

When Lilo tries to get Sitich to give him a kiss, he pushes him away, and a flock of seagulls attacks Pudge as Lilo tries to save him and calls Stitch for help, who just sits back to enjoy the attack. Lilo angrily shouts at Stitch that he just let a member of their family die, and she buries Pudge next to her parents’ gravestones. If Lilo truly believed Pudge controlled the weather and was responsible for the rain that caused the car crash, this scene makes the theory even more tragic, as Lilo also lost the only way she could find to prevent more accidents and deaths.

How This Theory Changes Lilo & Stitch (& Makes It Better)

Lilo & Stitch Touches On Serious But Important Topics

As sad as this theory is, it makes Lilo & Stitch better. Lilo & Stitch is a story of grief and trauma, with Lilo and Nani dealing with both in their own ways. Lilo’s belief that Pudge was responsible for her parents’ deaths shows how she handled her grief and how she tried to find answers to a traumatic event, while also showing her good heart as she was doing her part in avoiding more tragedies caused by bad weather. The theory adds to Lilo & Stitch’s exploration of grief and trauma, and while it makes the movie and that specific scene sadder, it also makes it all more interesting.