15 most empowering female Disney characters of all time
By Andi Ortiz
13. Nani
Lilo and Stitch is arguably Disney’s most overlooked movie (though Atlantis and Treasure Planet both put up a good fight).
You can find “Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten” on any number of decorative signs around people’s homes, or within their Instagram captions. It’s not hard at all to find Stitch merchandise around Disney parks. But at the end of the day, those two things seem to be all people remember of the 2002 film.
They tend to forget that in it, Nani is not only an 18-year-old, but also the legal guardian of her sister after she and Lilo lost their parents. It’s a huge struggle, but she makes it work. She chases down every job lead in town and works hard to prove to social services that she can provide a stable home for Lilo.
She lets Lilo get a terrifying “dog,” just so her little sister will have a friend to go through things with. Nani also doesn’t let anyone get in her way when it comes to Lilo. She kicks Cobra Bubbles’ car without hesitation when he almost hits her, and she bats Stitch down with a tree branch when she knows he can communicate where Lilo is to her.
Nani is the dictionary definition of a good sister, which is an entirely different – but equally necessary – kind of empowering woman.