Product: Stuart Little (1999)
Rating: 3.0
Something's wrong with that rodent.
The mouse is nice, the human actors mostly compassionate and beam all the time, it's a nice kiddie production - why not just relax and exit a movie theater with a big happy grin?As my 7-year old son said -"If a few more scenes were added the film is worth a DVD issue." -That's right. We are plunged into the movie. No explanations. No motives are outlined. Why that seemingly sane couple who already have a cute little boy decided to adopt a rodent?Previous footage of the son playing alone in his room while the parents attend to their professional duties could help but there is no such footage.And when you are shown elaborate Western town set, boat and many other hand-made objects that speak of hundreds hours the dad spends with his son sharing the joy of creativity the question is do they need someone else? And need him so bad that on the adoption day the boy boorsts into the parental bedroon frantic with expectation, eager to share his playroom, toys and the father's attention with a stranger. That does not ring true.Yes, it's a fairy tale, but there is nothing magical about the discrepansies of the film - and it has many. The script lacks integrity and all too often offends the common sense. I was not surprised to see that Shayamalan person of Sixth Sense fame as a co-writer. That explains a lot.Being so much fascinated with neurotics Mr.Shayamalan just could not make Stuart a joyful little cutie. The mouse suffers from some kind of guilty conscience and trying too hard to please everyone. Every time he fails to do so the mouse succumbs to depresion. It's supposed to make him look more complex and alive, more sophisticated than the other mouse of American cinema. Also much less likable.There are 52 weekends in a year, and we all like to take our kids to the movies so you'll certainly see that movie too - it's a mega-budget production of a major studio, it's very unlikely to be a 100% flop. But something's amiss.Magic, perhaps.