Gantu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Captain Gantu

Gantu in Lilo and Stich

Publisher	Disney
First appearance	Lilo and Stitch
Created by	Disney

Characteristics
Alter ego	Captain Gantu
Affiliations	"Galactic Alliance", Reuben, and Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel, Galctic Alliance (was temporarily discharged) and Grand Councilwoman
Notable aliases	None
Abilities	Super strength consistent with immense size

Captain Gantu is a fictional alien from the Lilo & Stitch films and television program. He is Lilo and Stitch's arch-enemy, and also appears as one of their main antagonists on Lilo & Stitch: The Series. An extremely large and muscular alien with a gruff, militant personality, Gantu resembles a bipedal shark and stands 20 feet tall. When he is seen by humans on Hawaii, he typically attempts to pass himself off as Samoan, though Lilo once told Mertle he was a dog-catcher from Nairobi, which the other girl believed. He is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.

[edit] History

Gantu was a Captain of the Galactic Alliance, simply doing his job, while using ruthless and merciless means, before he was disgraced and exiled for endangering Lilo's life in his attempts to recapture the fugitive Stitch. In Stitch! The Movie, Gantu is in need of employment and agrees to work as the henchman for evil galactic supervillain Dr. Hämsterviel in order to retrieve the remaining 625 experiments. Unfortunately for Gantu, he is extremely unlucky in his efforts and has constantly failed to capture the experiments. He is frequently verbally abused by Hämsterviel, receives absolutely no respect from his supposed sidekick Reuben, and is prone to occasional bouts of depression. Petty and arrogant, his personality is aptly defined by Lilo as being a "big dummy". However, despite his unpleasantness, he is generally not actively malicious or evil.

He is often mistaken as a whale by humans, as a result of almost absolutely no attempt to disguise himself, especially when chasing an experiment. He frequently refers to Stitch and the other experiments as "trogs" (a common slang term presumed to have derived from the word troglodyte) and "abominations". Lilo usually refers him as "Big Dummy" or "Stinkyhead."

At one point he almost regained position as a captain in the Galactic Alliance by capturing Hämsterviel after he escaped from jail, but once again denied because this time he also took Mertle as an extra. Afterward (strangely enough) he continued to work for Hämsterviel. Finally, after Hamsterviel took over the Galactic Alliance and fired Gantu, Gantu switched sides and teamed up with Lilo to help bring down his former master and the army of Leroys. He was pardoned afterward and regained his job as Captain of the Armada, with Reuben as his Galley Officer.

[edit] Abilities

Gantu lacks any notable abilities, but his immense stature (he stands around 20 feet, though he is noticeably shorter in the series than in the original movie) means he has strength well above any human (or most alien species), about the same as Experiment 626. Aside from his lifting capacity and enormous girth, Gantu is a respected captain of the Galactic Federation (or at least he used to be), can dance the hula (as seen in the episode Clip when Jumba is first shown having hair) and does have many skills. He is depicted in the movie being a very capable spaceship pilot, having marksman-like shooting skills and having competent leadership abilities.

Unlike many comedic villains, Gantu is not depicted as explicitly incompetent. His plans are generally simple but reasonably solid, and his overwhelmingly consistent defeats are generally due to arrogance, incredibly bad luck, and the abilities of 626 rather than personal stupidity.

In Lilo & Stitch: The Series, Gantu relies primarily on his plasma pistol for combat. Besides firing plasma bolts, Gantu's pistol also can launch nets for capturing experiments.