Hunkahunka, A.K.A. Experiment 323, is an illegal genetic experiment created by Jumba Jookiba and a character in the Lilo & Stitch franchise. He is designed to cause societies to come to a crashing standstill by causing artificial lovesickness. Once he pecks someone, they fall in love with the first person they see regardless of their gender and personal preferences; only spraying water in the victim's face will break the spell. He was captured by Gantu, but was rescued in "Snafu".
Bio
Experiment 323 was the 323rd genetic experiment created by Jumba with Hämsterviel's funding. He was designed to use his fake love-inducing ability to bring entire civilizations to a lovestruck standstill. 323 and the other first 624 experiments were deactivated and smuggled to Earth by Jumba during his mission to capture Experiment 626.
All of the experiment pods were released and scattered across the island of Kauai.
Lilo & Stitch: The Series
Pecks Keoni
At an unknown point, Experiment 323 was activated off-screen (possibly by an ocean wave). 323 then proceeded to cause artificial love across the island. He first targeted David and pecked the latter to make him fall for some other woman.
Later, Gantu attempted to capture 323 after noticing the experiment, but was thwarted by Lilo and Stitch. 323 then pecked Gantu to make him fall in love with Pleakley, while Stitch managed to capture 323 in a drink cooler. Lilo, after naming him Hunkahunka, used the experiment's love-inducing power to make Keoni fall for Lilo.
However, Hunkahunka was able to escape and resumed his fake love-inflicting rampage while being pursued by Lilo, Stitch and Gantu. At one point, Hunkahunka pecked Gantu again, causing the latter to temporarily fall for Stitch. While Stitch evaded Gantu, the former recaptured Hunkahunka and attempted to hide him in a raffle box, but he managed to escape again shortly after.
Later, Hunkahunka entered a dance hall, where he caused countless victims to fall in love, and pecked Nani to make her fall for Gantu. Eventually, after a long chase, Gantu was able to capture Hunkahunka in a containment orb. Regardless, Lilo ultimately decided that people should want others to love them for who they are, not merely because some alien bird pecked them.
Pecks Hämsterviel
Hunkahunka was successfully sent to an impatient Hämsterviel, where the former then pecked Hämsterviel, causing him to fall for Gantu. However, he still insulted Gantu like he would on a regular basis, implying that Hunkahunka's love powers had a somewhat different effect on Hämsterviel.
Hunkahunka reappeared in "Snafu", and was freed along with Gantu's other captive experiments by Lilo, Stitch, and several other experiments in a rescue mission.
Leroy & Stitch
The first 624 experiments, including Hunkahunka, were rounded up by Leroy and taken to a stadium to be destroyed. However, Lilo, Stitch, Jumba, Pleakley, Reuben and Gantu arrived before the experiments could be destroyed.
Hunkahunka participated in the following battle between the experiments and the Leroy clones, as he was seen among the other experiments.
The Leroys soon gained the upper hand in the battle, but were defeated when Lilo, Stitch, Reuben and several other experiments performed the song "Aloha ʻOe", which caused the Leroy army to shut down due to the original Leroy's fail-safe.
Stitch! anime
Hunkahunka made an appearance in the Stitch! anime where Stitch used him on Angel after she got mad at him earlier. However, Hunkahunka's spell caused Angel to become too obsessed with Stitch, therefore teaching him a lesson when Hunkahunka also made others fall in love (including Jumba, who was about to reveal the antidote before becoming part of Hunkahunka's spell).
Biology
Appearance
Hunkahunka is a small pink/purple hummingbird-like experiment with a large head, black eyes, dark pink and maroon feathers on his body, a long lavender beak, light pink belly and purple-tipped wings and tail.
Special Abilities
Hunkahunka can peck a target which injects the victim with a love-inducing drug that affects certain nerves, causing an artificial "love" sensation in which they are attracted to the first person they see, regardless of the individual's gender and personal preferences.
When Hunkahunka pecks someone, and he/she sees somebody, his/her eyes start flashing hearts and imagines himself/herself standing under palm trees shaped into a heart while holding the hands of the person he/she fell in love with; then the hexed victim says, "I think I love him/her," if the love interest is distant, or "I think I love you," if he/she is right in front of the person.
Victims appear to be under a spell when affected. When the spell is broken, it's as if they are waking out of a trance and do not remember their actions while they were affected.
Weaknesses
Victims of Hunkahunka are infected by proboscis injection in coordination with retinal stimuli. Therefore, re-hydrating the optical nerves and surrounding sensory centers negates the effect (i.e. the spraying of water in a victim's face cures their lovesickness). Also, since his pecks only kick in when the victim sees somebody, if they are unable to see or are in total darkness, the lovesickness does not take immediate effect.
Trivia
- Hunkahunka was first revealed in a DVD bonus feature of Stitch! The Movie in the experiment gallery.
- Hunkahunka is named after a lyric in the Elvis Presley song "Burning Love", played in the original movie. Lilo refers to him as a "Hunkahunka bird of love".
- Hunkahunka was activated off-screen.
- In his debut, Hunkahunka had dark purple feathers. However, in the show's intro, the episode "Snafu", and his later appearances, he had dark pink and maroon feathers on his body.
