Just when you thought cartoon fans saw the last of that mischief-making alien experiment Stitch, along comes Disney's Leroy & Stitch, a sequel that pits the little blue troublemaker against his toughest foe yet.

After capturing the other 625 experiments of mad scientist Jumba (voice of David Ogden Stiers), Stitch (voice of Chris Sanders) and Hawaiian girl Lilo (voice of Daveigh Chase) have successfully found a place where each of the creatures belong. But now the time has come to move on, as Lilo, Stitch, Jumba, and oddball alien Pleakley (voice of Kevin McDonald) end up having to part ways and pursue their respective dreams.

However, forces are at work that will soon bring them all back together. The diabolical rodent scientist Jacques von Hamsterviel (voice of Jeff Bennett) has busted out of a galactic prison and resumed his plans to take over Earth. This time, he's forcing Jumba to create an army of red-furred, even more destructive clones of Stitch named "Leroy" to aid in the invasion. And who else does it come down to to help out but Lilo and Stitch, who, with the help of the sandwich-obsessed Experiment 625 (voice of Rob Paulsen), must put their own dreams aside to save their friends and the other experiments from certain doom.

I'm a big fan of Lilo & Stitch (2002), a brightly-colored yet darkly clever animated feature starring a troublesome creature who's anything but cute and cuddly. It was a flick that wryly bucked the standard, well-worn trends of animated films while at the same time honoring their brighter elements. Unfortunately, since then, the following sequels have slowly leaned toward being a little softer, a little goofier, and more accessible to younger kids. I missed that off-kilter edge in Leroy & Stitch, the fourth in the series (in addition to a TV show), but the movie isn't without its entertaining moments, and it's a sure-fire bet to please the wee Disney fans out there. The colorful backgrounds are still as eye-catching as ever, some nice gags have been inserted into the script (the bantering between Hamsterviel and his henchman is good for a few chuckles), and the film moves at a zippy pace.

But as far as animated movies go, Leroy & Stitch is pretty by-the-numbers, sticking close to a formula designed to occupy youngsters and not deviating much from it. The actors' vocal performances seem stuck on autopilot (the worst possible idea: giving Stitch full sentences to speak), and the plot is old hat. It dishes out the same lesson, teaching the importance of togetherness and staying true to yourself. And little imagination is put into the 625 other experiments inhabiting Lilo's world, as the extent of their uniqueness involves looking weird and having one superpower, which is often pretty lame (ooo, look at the alien with a spatula for a tail!).

Leroy & Stitch often comes across as a lively and zippy space adventure, but too much of the time it seems like a preachy and tired cartoon fable. Although the kids will no doubt get a kick out of the movie, parents will have better luck finding entertainment in the first and best entry of this series.

MY RATING: ** 1/2 (out of ****)

(Released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment and rated "G" for all ages admitted.)