This article is about the Lilo and Stitch episode. For the penguin from Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, see Topper the Penguin.
"Topper" is the Christmas episode of the Disney Channel animated series Lilo and Stitch: The Series, originally aired as the show's 21st episode (though it is the show's fourteenth episode in production order), on December 5, 2003.
Synopsis[]
It is Christmas Eve morning, and Lilo is trying to teach Stitch how Hawaiians celebrate Christmas. After telling him how they say "Merry Christmas" as "Mele Kalikimaka" (which Stitch mispronounces throughout the episode), she proceeds to show Stitch the most fun part about the holiday. They start sneaking around, but Nani catches them and, immediately guessing what her little sister is up to, says she hid the presents really well this year. Despite that statement, however, Lilo easily finds the presents hidden in a chest in the attic. Stitch is eager to open the presents right now, but Lilo stops him, explaining that the point is giving gifts rather than receiving them. The two then hear Jumba and Pleakley making noise downstairs and come down to find them singing Christmas carols badly. After fixing a cup of eggnog for Stitch, Pleakley shows Lilo that he has decorated the tree with all sorts of ill-fitting round objects, and then tries to use a bowling ball as the topper, which ends up destroying the tree. Nani tells Lilo that she has to work double-shifts today because of the holidays, but promises to be home to celebrate Christmas.
Meanwhile, on Captain Gantu's ship, Experiment 625 has set up a Christmas party when the big guy storms in. Gantu has no interest in participating in 625's holiday revelry, saying he has found a dormant experiment pod, labeled 025, and is going to send it to Dr. Hämsterviel. 625 suggests wrapping the pod as a Christmas present before doing so, and Gantu agrees, figuring that might get the rodent off his tail for once. As Gantu leaves to have the experiment wrapped, 625 suggests that he also wear a red hat and coat, since a lot of folks are wearing them.
Later, Lilo brings Stitch to the mall, figuring that it's the best place for him to experience Christmas first-hand. After the mall Santa deems him naughty, however, Lilo tells Stitch that he's suffering from the "Christmas Crazies" and warns him to be good or else Santa won't bring him anything. However, as she's saying this, Stitch notices 025's experiment pod being wrapped at a nearby kiosk. He rushes to get the pod, tearing open a whole pile of presents, but none of them have the pod. Lilo, not realizing that Stitch is trying to save one of his cousins, scolds him for seemingly going after the presents, but then he sees a nearby delivery truck and dashes after it. After Lilo goes after him, Gantu comes by to the kiosk, saying he's here to pick up the present he had wrapped, but the clerk tells him they just had a "blue accident." Figuring that Stitch was involved, Gantu swears to "make him part of Christmas past."
Stitch runs all over town, stealing all the presents he can find in his attempt to find the experiment pod (he apparently cannot remember what exactly the correct gift box looked like), with Lilo in fruitless pursuit. Upon arriving home, Pleakley (who's substituting as the tree after he broke it earlier) tells her that Stitch has barricaded himself in the attic and has "done a lot of Christmas shopping." Lilo shows Jumba a secret way into the attic, and upon nabbing Stitch, he places him in a "626-proof" containment pod. Jumba at first thinks maybe Stitch has reverted to his original destructive programming, but after running a brain analyzer on him, he and Lilo see a clip on the viewscreen showing 025's pod being put in a gift box, thus finally revealing to them what Stitch was actually looking for. Jumba releases Stitch from the containment pod, and Lilo says they need to find the gift box with the pod and then return the stolen presents. Just then, they hear a noise and rush outside to find the house half-destroyed, with the whole attic gone, as we see Gantu flying overhead, having stolen all the presents himself.
Lilo and Stitch leave to go retrieve the presents as Jumba gets to work on repairing the attic, noticing that Pleakley is feeling really down for a pretend Christmas tree. Jumba remarks that maybe he needs some presents at his feet, leading Pleakley to think he does indeed need to get himself that, and they head off for the mall. Upon arriving there, they spot Gantu in his Santa costume, initially mistaking him for the real guy. Meanwhile, Lilo and Stitch storm into Gantu's ship after finding out that 625's the only one there, trying to take a nap. However, after they find that the presents aren't there, Jumba calls them up, saying he and Pleakley have found Gantu and the stolen presents at the mall.
At the mall, Gantu brings the presents to the clerk, asking her which of them is the one he had wrapped. Luckily for him, she easily finds it due to the specially-written tag. But just as Gantu has his hands on the gift box containing 025's pod, Stitch snatches it. Gantu chases him and Lilo through the mall, culminating in Gantu chasing Stitch up the mall's giant Christmas tree, causing it to collapse. When Lilo then accuses Gantu of ruining Christmas, the big guy is incredulous, saying he was just trying to retrieve his gift for Dr. Hämsterviel. Lilo is honestly surprised to see that Gantu knows about the true spirit of Christmas. A little girl mistaking Gantu for Santa then asks him for a present; Gantu initially tries to deny her, but quickly feels guilty about it and gives her the experiment pod ("This is an infectious holiday you have on this planet"), figuring he can give something else to Hämsterviel instead. Jumba recognizes 025 as an experiment he'd designed as a beacon for the Galactic Armada, and Lilo activates the pod, releasing a star-shaped alien whom she names Topper. Pleakley, now dressed in a full tree costume to replace the tree that got wrecked, has Topper sit on top of him like, well, a tree topper, while Gantu gives out presents to all the kids. The episode ends on several Galactic Armada ships coming down to Earth for fruitcake, having been signaled by Topper.