Product: Stuart Little (1999)
Rating: 3.0
Why the H3ll Was There So Much Cursing?
I wanted to like this movie. The kids (six, twins) were very excited about watching it. They're both into mice, for some reason. And some of it was cute. Whomever was in charge of casting did a great job. Loved the costuming, Geena Davis's hair, and the fact that it takes place in NYC/Brooklyn, which is exciting for kids living in NY who recognize certain landmarks. There are a lot of reasons to like the film - like the message that family doesn't have to be related or get along all the time to love each other and be a family. However, watching it with kids who have been through adoption or foster care is not ideal. It causes anxiety throughout as Stuart is taken away by fake parents and made to believe that his family hates him. As for the cat chase scene, why couldn't he just leave, see his picture on a poster, realize that the cat lied, and go back home? I kept reminding the kids that the Little's loved Stuart very much, but they were worried when he was given up so easily. Much of the film felt a bit like an Annie ripoff (right down to the "reappearance" of "parents" who have actually died), but at least Daddy Warbucks didn't let her leave with the criminals!Additionally, there was NO REASON for there to be an abundance of curse words flowing from the mouth of the cat(s). I'm not a prude. I let them watch ET (in which one boy calls the other 'p3nis breath'). But from both a parental/teacher standpoint and from a creative one, I have NO IDEA why the writers of this film felt the need to thrown in words like "damn" and "hell" so many times. In a PG movie featuring talking animals, "What the whiskers?!" would've sufficed just fine. It was unnecessary and interrupted the flow of the film. Does the novel include these words? I read it over 20 years ago, so I don't recall. Not that it matters, because the point is, it didn't fit. It didn't sound right or feel right, and it definitely isn't something I'd like to hear one of my autistic students repeat in the middle of the grocery store ("get me the damn eggs!"). Thus I don't think we'll be watching it again any time soon.