Susan Granger’s review of “STUART LITTLE” (Columbia Pictures)
It’s family entertainment that’s unabashedly sentimental but it’s difficult not to fall under the spell of this fanciful adaptation of E.B. White’s classic children’s tale. In the book, of course, a mouse was inexplicably born to a Manhattan family but, in the movie, artfully written by M. Knight Shamalyan and Gregory J. Brooker, directed by Rob Minkoff, teeny Stuart (cheerfully voiced by Michael J. Fox) is adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Little (pensive High Laurie, perky Geena Davis). They find him adorable, much to the consternation of their older son, George (Jonathan Lipnicki, memorable from Jerry Maguire), and the family feline Snowbell (hilariously voiced by Nathan Lane), who has been warned that Stuart is now family “and we don’t eat family members.” Affable and helpful, Stuart soon recruits George as a friend but Snowbell’s a different matter. After all, no one has ever seen a chipper rodent with a fluffy cat as a pet! Chagrined, Snowbell consults the local alley cat (Chazz Palminteri) who enlists a couple of malicious mice (Bruno Kirby, Jennifer Tilly) to pose as Stuart’s biological parents and claim him as their long-lost son, thus kidnapping him and providing, for the cats, a picnic in the park. Their comedic portrayals are eerily reminiscent of two similar sleazy characters in the musical Annie. Obviously, resourceful Stuart is eventually reunited with his loved ones and the dastardly “bad guys” get a well-deserved dunking in a cold stream. Technically, the blend of the digital characters with humans is seamless and superb. Stuart is minutely etched, along with his magnificently tailored clothes and emotionally expressive whiskers. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Stuart Little is an engaging 8. This wee mouse could roar, stealing your heart for family fare this weekend.
