Product: Stuart Little (1999)
Rating: 5.0
Technically wonderful; watch out for a few swear words!
"Stuart Little" is the kind of movie that our family waits to buy when it hits VHS because we know we'll watch it over and over again. With two toddlers at home, we almost never go to the theatre: it's cost-prohibitive, drinks aren't served in sippy-cups, and no one at the theatre will punch the "pause" button while you change a diaper!Knowing that Michael J. Fox provides the voice of the main character, watch this video with his characterization of Alex P. Keaton ("Family Ties" television series--remember that one?) in mind. The animators must've used the new technology in which the "live" actor is rigged up with a special suit which translates his movements to the screen when the animation is done. Watch Stuart's movements; it's Michael J. Fox all over--except that he's a mouse!Suspend your disbelief and allow yourself to imagine that a human family would, in fact, adopt a little mouse into their family. The human characters in the movie certainly accept this fact as possible.Best points of the film: the boat race scene is wonderful, suspenseful, and had even the fortyish crowd at our house hollering and cheering--and gasping when Stuart was in danger; the scenes with the little red roadster were wonderful and entirely realistic; and the cats are superb! The movement of their mouths is just slightly exaggerated, but still quite believable. As a cat-owner (can one ever really "own" a cat?), the funniest scene is the one in which Snowbell sends the pack of alley cats into the drink. I looked for a blurb at the end of the credits saying that "no cats were harmed in the filming of the production," but I didn't find such a statement. It was totally realistic--and hilariously funny!Only a concern or two: I don't know what constitutes a "PG" rating, but that is the rating given to this film. I did notice--and do NOT LIKE--that the word "damn" is used at least once, the phrase, "what the hell" occurs about twice, and I really don't think the film would've suffered if those phrases had been left out. Fortunately, we always watch TV at home with the closed-captioning on, and the words often pop up at the bottom of the screen just a couple of moments before the dialogue is heard; that gives Mom or Dad time to hit the "mute" button on the remote for just a second, or to distract the small children who are watching the movie. There is no overt violence in the film, but Stuart is threatened quite frequently by the cat(s) in the film, and sometimes my young children are sensitive to certain phrases which allude to a movie character being killed or being threatened with death.Normally I'm not a Geena Davis fan, but she was sweet in this movie, and I enjoyed her performance. It seems like I should know who Hugh Laurie is, but I just can't place him, and that makes him the perfect choice to portray the nerdy-but-well-meaning dad. I've been unable to see the credits at the end of the film; they are too tiny to read from a reasonable distance, and I couldn't carry the baby to the TV fast enough to get a better look. Maybe Columbia Pictures could use a larger type-style in future--and give the credits the full screen rather than making them compete with the additional footage at the end of the film. Many movie buffs like me stay in the theatre until the credits have rolled to a complete stop; we want to see who all the actors in a film were, even the minor ones. (Wasn't that one of the Tilly sisters who played the "fake" mouse-mother? Even her make-up and mannerisms pegged her as a Tilly for me.)After the movie is over, the VHS version includes a couple minutes of out-takes and bloopers from the making of "Stuart Little." They're fun to watch, too, and give ordinary people like me a glimpse into the world of movie-making. It must be a fabulous job to be an actor.Just be aware of the handful of expletives that occur in this film before you plunk your children down in front of the set if you want them to watch "Stuart Little" unsupervised. My kids are just the age that they pick up every new word they hear, and it's not at all cute to have your "baby" say swear words in public. Maybe Columbia could edit out the cuss words are re-issue "Stuart Little" with a "G" rating.