Lilo, a little girl in Hawaii, unknowingly adopts a dog she names Stitch, who is actually an evil alien. Stitch is really a criminal whose ship crashed on Earth while he was being transported to an intergalactic prison. He is only taking the form of a dog (thus hiding two of his six legs) to escape detection from alien police who are searching for him. Through her love, faith and unwavering belief in "ohana" (the Hawaiian concept of family), Lilo helps unlock Stitch's heart, unexpectedly giving him the one thing he was never designed to have--the ability to care for someone else.