Stuart Little

***Stuart Little*** is a 1999 American animated family comedy film loosely based on the 1945 novel of the same name by E. B. White. Directed by Rob Minkoff, the screenplay was written by M. Night Shyamalan and Greg Brooker, and stars the voices of Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane, Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Lipnicki, Chazz Palminteri, Steve Zahn, Bruno Kirby, and Jennifer Tilly.

The film was released on December 17, 1999 by Columbia Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, losing to *The Matrix*. The first film in the *Stuart Little* series, it was followed by a sequel *Stuart Little 2* in 2002, the short-lived television series *Stuart Little* in 2003, and another sequel in 2005, the direct-to-video *Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild*. It was Estelle Getty's final film role before her retirement in 2001 and her death in July 2008.
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## Plot

Eleanor and Frederick Little are intending to adopt a new family member. They go to an orphanage where they meet and adopt an anthropomorphic mouse named Stuart. However, Stuart is greeted coldly by their older son George, who refuses to acknowledge him as his brother, and the family's cat, Snowbell, who tries to eat him.

Stuart's life with the Littles gets off to a bad start when George unknowingly throws him down the laundry chute with his pajamas, causing Eleanor to put him in the washing machine, where he almost drowns, and in the process swallows a lot of detergent, making him very sick. He begins to feel like an outcast in the family when they bring him gifts and George snaps at them claiming that Stuart isn't his brother but simply a mouse. When Stuart admits he is lonely, the Littles ask Mrs. Keeper to find Stuart's real parents.

Stuart finally bonds with George when they start playing together and plan to finish George's remote-controlled racing sailboat, *Wasp*, for an upcoming boat race on Conservatory Water in Central Park. However, Monty, Snowbell's alley cat friend, visits the house and discovers Stuart. Snowbell later goes with Monty to an alley to meet with Smokey, an alley cat mobster working for a mafia gang of other alley cats, who agrees with Snowbell to have Stuart removed from the household at his request.

Stuart and George finish *Wasp* in time for the race, but on the day of the race, the controller is smashed by accident. Stuart pilots *Wasp* himself, but ends up in a tussle with a larger boat piloted by George's bully, Anton. Stuart manages to win the race, gaining George's respect. However, during the family celebration, the Littles are visited by a mouse couple, Camille and Reginald Stout, who claim to be Stuart's birth parents who sent him to the orphanage due to poverty. Reluctantly, Stuart leaves with the Stouts and George gives him his favorite toy car as a farewell gift.

A few days later, Mrs. Keeper arrives at their house and reveals the truth to the Littles that Stuart's real birth parents died many years ago in an accident at a supermarket. Realizing that the Stouts are imposters, the Littles call the police, who begin a search operation. However, it is revealed that the Stouts were actually sent by Smokey, who had tricked them into posing as Stuart's parents and forced them to abduct Stuart from the Little household with the intention of having him brought over to the alley cat gang so they can kill Stuart.

Snowbell talks with Smokey, who insists that he and his gang should kill Stuart instead and calls a meeting with Reginald. However, he and Camille have grown to love Stuart like the Littles did and reveal the truth to him. In Central Park, Stuart finds himself confronted by Smokey and his gang, who chase him through the park and into a sewer drain, where he manages to outrun them, but loses his car and luggage in the process. Stuart returns home, only to find that the Littles are already gone. Stuart enters the house where he meets Snowbell, who lies to him about the Littles enjoying themselves greatly since Stuart's departure. Feeling unwanted, a heartbroken Stuart leaves and becomes discouraged.

The Littles return home with no success in finding Stuart. Meanwhile, Smokey, Monty and the other alley cats manage to trace Stuart back to Central Park and bring Snowbell along for the hunt. Snowbell, having redeemed himself since he felt guilty over his selfishness, finds Stuart and rescues him from the cats while admitting that he lied. Although Snowbell defeats Monty and the other cats by snapping the tree branch on which they are standing, Smokey attempts to kill him upon discovering his betrayal, only for Stuart to intervene and save Snowbell by hitting Smokey in the face with another branch and knocking him out of the tree. Stuart and Snowbell eventually return home, where Stuart happily reunites with the Little family, telling them that Snowbell actually found him and helped him on the way back.

## Cast

* Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little, an anthropomorphic mouse who is adopted as the middle child of the Little family.
* Nathan Lane as Snowbell, the Little family's Persian cat who dislikes Stuart.
* Geena Davis as Mrs. Eleanor Little
* Hugh Laurie as Mr. Frederick Little
* Jonathan Lipnicki as George Little
* Chazz Palminteri as Smokey, a sadistic Russian Blue cat with the personality of a mobster and the leader of a gang of mafia-like alley cats.
* Steve Zahn as Monty, Snowbell's best friend and a former member of the alley cats.
* Jim Doughan as Lucky, a Siamese cat and a member of Smokey's gang. Doughan also played Detective Allen in the film.
* David Alan Grier as Red, a ginger American Shorthair tomcat and a member of Smokey's gang.
* Bruno Kirby as Mr. Reginald Stout, one of Smokey's pawns, Camille's husband and Stuart's fake father.
* Jennifer Tilly as Mrs. Camille Stout, one of Smokey's pawns, Reginald's wife and Stuart's fake mother.
* Jeffrey Jones as Uncle Crenshaw, the older brother of Frederick Little and the younger brother of Beatrice
* Connie Ray as Aunt Tina, the wife of Crenshaw and the sister-in-law of Beatrice and Frederick
* Allyce Beasley as Aunt Beatrice, the older sister of Crenshaw and Frederick
* Brian Doyle-Murray as Cousin Edgar, the cousin of Beatrice, Crenshaw and Frederick and the nephew of Grandpa Spencer
* Estelle Getty as Grandma Estelle, the mother of Beatrice, Crenshaw and Frederick
* Harold Gould as Grandpa Spencer, the father of Beatrice, Crenshaw and Frederick
* Patrick Thomas O'Brien as Uncle Stretch, the husband of Beatrice and the brother-in-law of Crenshaw and Frederick
* Julia Sweeney as Mrs. Keeper, an orphanage owner
* Dabney Coleman as Dr. Beechwood
* Miles Marsico as Anton
* Jim Doughan as Detective Phil Allen
* Jon Polito as Detective Sherman
* Stan Freberg as The Race Announcer
* Joe Bays as The Race Starter
* Taylor Negron as The Clothing Salesman

## Reception

### Box office

*Stuart Little* was released theatrically on December 17, 1999. On its opening weekend, *Stuart Little* grossed $15 million, placing it at #1 dethroning *Toy Story 2*. It dropped to #2 over its second weekend, but went back to #1 on its third weekend with $16 million. According to Box Office Mojo, its final gross in the United States and Canada was $140 million and it grossed $160.1 million at the international box office, for an estimated total of $300 million worldwide.

### Critical reception

According to Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 97 responses with an average rating of 6.3/10. The site's consensus reads: "Critics say *Stuart Little* is charming with kids and adults for its humor and animation." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 61 out of 100 from 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Jesus Freak Hideout said that "from start to finish, Stuart Little is a near flawless family film" while Stephen Holden of *The New York Times* had said "the only element that doesn't completely harmonize with the rest of the film is the visually unremarkable digital figure of Stuart."

## Home media

*Stuart Little* was released on VHS and DVD on April 18, 2000 by Columbia TriStar Home Video, and in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2000. It was later re-released on a Deluxe Edition on May 21, 2002, and on Blu-ray on June 28, 2011.

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack album *Stuart Little (Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture)* was released by Motown and Universal Records on November 30, 1999, on audio CD and audio cassette. Tracks in bold do not appear in the film.

1. "I Need to Know" – R Angels (3:54)
2. "The Two of Us" – S Club 7 (3:35)
3. "You're Where I Belong" – Trisha Yearwood (4:17)
4. "If You Can't Rock Me" – The Brian Setzer Orchestra (2:40)
5. "1+1=2" – Lou Bega (4:04)
6. "He Rules" – 702 (3:04)
7. "Home" – Brian McKnight (4:22)
8. "Walking Tall" – Lyle Lovett (3:16)
9. "Lucky Day" – Matt Goss (4:03)
10. "Mouse in the House" – Colby O'Donis (4:34)
11. "As Long as I Can Dream" — Debelah Morgan (4:27)
12. "The Boat Race" – Alan Silvestri (5:12)
13. "I'm Gonna Miss You" – Alan Silvestri (4:43)
14. "You're Where I Belong" (Soul Solution Remix) – Trisha Yearwood (4:04)