Stuart Little (film)
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| Stuart Little | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Rob Minkoff |
| Screenplay by | M. Night Shyamalan Greg Brooker |
| Produced by | Douglas Wick |
| Starring | Geena Davis Hugh Laurie Jonathan Lipnicki |
| Cinematography | Guillermo Navarro |
| Edited by | Tom Finan |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
Production companies | Franklin/Waterman Productions Global Medien GK |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 84 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $133 million[1] |
| Box office | $300,135,367[1] |
Stuart Little is a 1999 American family comedy film, directed by Rob Minkoff. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by E. B. White. It combines live-action and computer animation. The screenplay was co-written by M. Night Shyamalan and Greg Brooker, with uncredited script doctoring by David O. Russell and Billy Ray. The plot bears little resemblance to that of the book; only some of the characters and one or two minor plot elements are the same. The movie's sequel more closely resembles the original novel.
Michael J. Fox is the voice of Stuart Little. Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie star as Eleanor and Frederick Little, with Jonathan Lipnicki as Stuart's big brother George Little and Nathan Lane as the voice of the family cat Snowbell.
The film was released on December 17, 1999 by Columbia Pictures.
It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects, but lost to The Matrix. The film spawned a sequel in 2002, Stuart Little 2, the short lived TV show called Stuart Little: The Animated Series in 2003, and another sequel in 2006, Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild.
Plot
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (December 2011) |
Eleanor and Frederick Little and their son George are intending an adoption. While George is at school, his parents go to the orphanage where they fall in love with a thoughtful, observant "mouse" (who is treated by all the other characters as a normal small boy) named Stuart who knows almost everything about the other children, having been there for a long time. Despite the warnings of Mrs. Keeper (the woman in charge), who says that humans should not be adopting "mice", they decide to adopt him as their second son.
Immediately after getting home, Stuart meets Snowbell (voiced by Nathan Lane) the family cat, who immediately attempts to eat him. George is surprised when his parents introduce Stuart as his new brother. He thinks it is a joke at first, but is shocked when he sees they are serious. That night, Snowbell visits Stuart and requests that he keep a low profile, so as to avoid getting seen by the other cats and damaging Snowbell's reputation.
George is at first sullen and somewhat disappointed and treats Stuart with contempt. He eventually snaps at a family gathering when they encourage him to play "catch" with him. He also earns Snowbell's wrath when his friend, Monty the Mouth visits for food. As Snowbell tries to keep him from seeing Stuart, he makes a scene trying to get a cereal box from a cupboard. When he sees him and discovers he is a member of the family, Monty cannot contain himself. Enraged, Snowbell chases him, who narrowly escapes by fleeing into the basement. Here, he learns that George keeps a playroom and the two interact and eventually, George comes to accept him as his brother. He also finds that George keeps a toy car just his size. They decide to work together to finish George's homemade model boat, the Wasp, for the Central Park Boat Race the following week, but Snowbell is not finished.
He and Monty head to an alley that night to visit Smokey (voiced by Chazz Palminteri), a Mafia Don-like Russian Blue who is the leader of the alley cats. Since Snowbell doesn't want Stuart killed, he makes a plan with the alley cats to remove him from the Littles' house. On the day of the 92nd annual Central Park Boat Race, the Wasp is finished, and they arrive at Central Park. George discovers his nemesis, Anton, is there. At the same time, Stuart accidentally destroys George's remote control, rendering his boat inoperable. To make up for this, he takes control of it himself. Anton, however, attempts to cheat by ramming his much larger boat into other ones and sinking them. When he attempts to do the same thing to the Wasp, Stuart manages to bite into the line of his sail, rendering Anton's boat inoperable. He subsequently wins the race.
That night, the Littles are visited by Reginald and Camille Stout, a mouse couple claiming to be Stuart's parents. After discussion, he reluctantly leaves with his parents, taking the toy car with him as a goodbye present from George and they go to their home, a small toy castle on a golf course. Three days later, the Littles are visited by Mrs. Keeper, whom they had asked to do some background research on Stuart. She tells them that, according to the records, his parents died several years ago after a pile of canned food fell on them. The Littles realised that he had been kidnapped and call the police.
A terrified Snowbell rushes to the alley and warns Smokey and the others about the Littles' discovery. He then decides that the only way to rectify things is to kill him. They call a meeting with Reginald and demand that he and Camille hand Stuart over. But the Stouts, having grown to care for him, reveal the truth and Reginald orders him to escape before the cats find him. He does so after saying goodbye to his "fake parents". Meanwhile, the Littles decide to place "missing" posters around the city to get help in finding him. At the Central Park, he is ambushed by Smokey and a few cats and manages to evade them by driving his car into the sewer, but he loses both the car and his luggage while escaping the storm drain. Eventually, he finds his way home just as the Littles leave to hang the posters. The only one home is Snowbell, who tells him a lie about how they are enjoying life without him, and shows him the family picture with his face cut out (they had actually removed it to provide one for the missing posters). He leaves again. But, Snowbell sees the pain his absence has caused and realizes his selfishness.
Discovering Stuart's location from Monty and the other cats, who intend to eat him, Snowbell heads to Central Park and finds him sitting alone in a bird's nest. Snowbell turns on the other cats and escapes with him, admitting his lie to him and that the Littles actually do love him, he is in fact the only one who hates him. The cats catch up with them and Snowbell attempts to convince Smokey to call off the hit on Stuart, but is refused. Instead, he orders the cats to kill them both. Stuart responds by taking off Snowbell's collar and using it to lure them.
The cats give chase, and eventually corner Stuart hanging from a tree branch. They group together on a lower one to catch him, but Snowbell breaks it at the last minute and sends them into the water below. Smokey sneaks up behind Snowbell and is about to kill him when Stuart releases a thin branch that hits him in the face and knocks him into the water. Enraged and humiliated, he walks off, only to be chased away by dogs upon turning a corner. Monty and the other cats also climb out of the water, whimpering and embarrassed. Snowbell and Stuart walk home and he shares a warm reunion with his family, telling them that Snowbell helped him get there. The Littles bring them inside and close the windows, ready for bed.
Cast
Live-action
- Geena Davis as Eleanor Little – Wife of Frederick and George's biological mother and Stuart's adopted mother.
- Hugh Laurie as Frederick Little – Husband of Eleanor and George's biological father and Stuart's adopted father.
- Jonathan Lipnicki as George Little – Eleanor and Frederick's biological son and Stuart's adopted older brother. At first George dislikes the idea of having a mouse for a brother learns to accept Stuart for who he is and realizes that having a mouse for a brother isn't so bad after all.
- Jeffrey Jones as Crenshaw Little – George's uncle and Frederick's brother.
- Connie Ray as Tina Little – One of George's aunts and one of Frederick's sisters.
- Allyce Beasley as Beatrice Little – One of George's aunts and one of Frederick's sisters.
- Brian Doyle-Murray as Edgar Little – George's cousin and Frederick's nephew.
- Estelle Getty as Estelle Little – George's grandmother and Frederick's mother.
- Harold Gould as Spencer Little – George's grandfather and Frederick's father.
- Julia Sweeney as Mrs. Keeper – The orphanage owner.
- Jon Polito as Detective Sherman
- Jim Doughan as Detective Allen
Voice
- Michael J. Fox as the voice of Stuart Little — A small white mouse based on the book character of the same name and the main protagonist of the film.
- Nathan Lane as the voice of Snowbell — The Little's cynical but timid pet cat, he's a Persian. He acts like a villain but reforms after hearing Smokey's plans.
- Chazz Palminteri as the voice of Smokey the Chief — the main antagonist of the film and the Russian Blue leader of a group of Mafia-like alley cats who all desire to eat Stuart, but is chased away by a pack of dogs offscreen.
- Steve Zahn as the voice of Monty the Mouth — One of Snowbell's closest friends who also has a desire to eat Stuart. He is also one of Smokey's henchcats and an American Shorthair.
- Jim Doughan as the voice of Lucky — an alley colorpoint shorthair cat
- David Alan Grier as the voice of Red — an alley red tabby cat
- Bruno Kirby and Jennifer Tilly as the voices of Reginald Stout and Camille Stout — the mouse couple who claim to be Stuart's parents.
DVD Menus
Scene Selections
1. Start
2. The First Day of School
3. Stuart
4. Opening Credits
5. A Family House
6. George meets Stuart
7. A Delicious Dinner
8. Snowbell/Stuart Gets Sank
9. Ben's Shop
10. The Party Surprise
11. Somnething's Missing
12. Monty
13. Stuart Little's Train Scare
14. Smokey
15. The Sailboat Race
16. A Smoothie Ride
17. A Special Picture
18. Stuart's Parents
19. Stuart Comes Back
20. A Cozy Room for Stuart
21. High Tea
22. The Police
23. The Office
24. Tell Him the Truth
25. George misses Stuart
26. The Roadster Chase
27. Going to the Park
28. Cat Tale
29. Monty's Plan
30. Stuck in a Tree
31. Snowbell Helps Stuart
32. The Cats Fall off the Tree
33. Ending Fairy Table
34. End Credits
Soundtrack
- "I Need to Know" – R Angels
- "The Two of Us" – S Club 7
- "You're Where I Belong" – Trisha Yearwood
- "If You Can't Rock Me" – Brian Setzer Orchestra
- "1+1=2" – Lou Bega
- "He Rules" – 702
- "Home" – Brian McKnight
- "Walking Tall" – Lyle Lovett
- "Lucky Day" – Matt Goss
- "Mouse in the House" – Colby O'Donis
- "As Long as I Can Dream" – Debelah Morgan
- "You're Where I Belong" (dance version) – Trisha Yearwood
Original score by Alan Silvestri
- "The Boat Race"
- "I'm Gonna Miss You"
In addition, "Give a Little Bit" by Supertramp was included in the original trailers, but did not end up in the final film.
Release
Box office
On its opening weekend, Stuart Little grossed $15,018,223, placing it at #1. On its second week it dropped down, but went back to #1 on its third weekend with $16,022,757. According to Box Office Mojo, its final gross in the United States and Canada was $140,035,367, it grossed $160.1 million at the international box office, with a total of $300,135,367 worldwide.[1] It covered its budget and was a box office success.
Critical reception
Stuart Little received generally positive reviews from movie critics. According to Rotten Tomatoes, 66% of critics gave the film a positive review, making the movie gain a "Fresh" rating.[2]
Video game
Stuart Little: The Adventure Home is a video game for the Game Boy light system based on the book.