Stuart Little (film)

Stuart Little is a 1999 American family comedy film loosely based on the novel of the same name by E. B. White. Directed by Rob Minkoff in his live action debut, the screenplay was written by M. Night Shyamalan and Greg Brooker, and stars Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, and Jonathan Lipnicki, alongside the voices of Michael J. Fox and Nathan Lane. The plot bears little resemblance to that of the book, as only some of the characters and one or two minor plot elements are the same. The film's sequel more closely resembles the original novel.

The film was released on December 17, 1999 by Columbia Pictures.[5] It received an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects nomination, losing to The Matrix.[6] 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: The Animated Series 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 before her retirement in 2001 and her death in 2008.

Plot
Eleanor (Geena Davis) and Frederick Little (Hugh Laurie) and their young son George (Jonathan Lipnicki) are intending to adopt. While George is at school, his parents go to an orphanage where they meet an anthropomorphic teenage mouse named Stuart (voice of Michael J. Fox). Despite misgivings from Mrs. Keeper (Juila Sweeney), they adopt Stuart and take him home. However, Stuart is greeted coldly by George, who refuses to acknowledge the mouse as his brother, and the family cat Snowbell (voice of Nathan Lane), who is disgusted at having a mouse for a "master". Despite Eleanor and Frederick's intentions, Stuart quickly feels like an outsider in the large Little family (Jeffrey Jones, Connie Ray Allyce Beasley, Brian Doyle-Murray, Estelle Getty, Harold Gould and Patrick Thomas O'Brien), especially when their relatives bring Stuart large presents and George snaps at his family, claiming that Stuart is not his brother. When Stuart admits his feelings of loneliness to his parents, they ask Mrs. Keeper to do some background research on Stuart's biological family.

After accidentally stumbling across George's playroom in the basement, Stuart finally bonds with George when they play together and plan to finish George's remote controlled boat, the Wasp, for an upcoming boat race in Central Park. At the same time, however, one of Snowbell's alley cat friends, Monty (voice of Steve Zahn), visits unexpectedly and discovers Stuart. Determined not to have his reputation destroyed, Snowbell meets with Monty's leader, Smokey (voice of Chazz Palminteri), a mafia don-like Russian Blue, and plots revenge to have Stuart removed from the household.

Stuart and George finish the Wasp in time for the race, but on the day of the race, the controller is smashed when a bystander accidentally steps on it. Stuart pilots the Wasp himself, but ends up in a tussle with a larger boat belonging to George's rival, Anton (Miles Marsico), who has already wiped out the other boats. Stuart snaps the wires of Anton's boat and wins the race, finally winning George's respect. During the family celebration, the Littles are visited by a mouse couple, Reginald and Camille Stout (voices of Bruno Kirby and Jennifer Tilly), who claim to be Stuart's parents who gave him up to the orphanage years ago due to poverty. Reluctantly, Stuart leaves with the Stouts, George presenting him a toy car as a farewell gift. A few days later, however, Mrs. Keeper arrives to tell the Littles that Stuart's parents actually died years ago in a supermarket accident, prompting them to call the police believing he was kidnapped.

Meanwhile, Snowbell meets with Smokey and the alley cats (voices of David Alan Grier and Jim Doughan), who reveal that they had forced the Stouts to pose as Stuart's parents, in order to remove Stuart from the household. Fearing retribution should the Littles discover Snowbell's deception, Smokey orders the Stouts to hand Stuart over to them. But the Stouts, having grown to love Stuart like their own, tell him the truth and instruct him to escape. Furious, Smokey orders a manhunt for Stuart, with the other cats (minus Snowbell and Monty) cornering him in Central Park and causing a chase. Despite losing his car and almost falling down a storm drain, Stuart manages to evade Smokey's gang and return home, despite the Littles having put up posters of him all over the city. The only one present is Snowbell, who lies that the Littles have been enjoying themselves greatly since Stuart's departure, and uses his removed face from the family photograph as proof (which was actually used for the posters). Heartbroken, Stuart leaves the house again.

When the Littles return home with no success of finding Stuart, Snowbell begins to realize his selfishness and starts to feel incredibly guilty for everything he's done. Later, Smokey, Monty and the other alley cats pinpoint Stuart's location back to Central Park and bring Snowbell along for the hunt. Snowbell finds Stuart in an empty bird's nest and saves him from the cats, confessing that the Littles truly do love him. Smokey, Monty and the other cats eventually catch up and corner Stuart on a branch. Before the cats can catch him, Snowbell breaks the branch they are standing on, sending them (Monty included) falling into the river below. Smokey then tries to ambush Snowbell from behind, but Stuart hits him off the tree with another branch. Smokey then leaves angrily, but is chased off by stray dogs as Stuart and Snowbell return home and reunite with the Little family.

Live action cast

 * Geena Davis as Eleanor Little
 * Hugh Laurie as Frederick Little
 * Jonathan Lipnicki as George Little
 * Jim Doughan as Officer Allen
 * Stan Freberg as Race Announcer
 * Jeffrey Jones as Uncle Crenshaw
 * Connie Ray as Aunt Tina
 * Allyce Beasley as Aunt Beatrice
 * Brian Doyle-Murray as Cousin Edgar
 * Estelle Getty as Grandma Estelle
 * Harold Gould as Grandpa Spencer
 * Patrick Thomas O'Brien as Uncle Stretch
 * Julia Sweeney as Mrs. Keeper
 * Manuel Ojeda as Manuel
 * Dabney Coleman as Dr. Beechwood
 * Miles Marsico as Anton
 * Jon Polito as Officer Sherman
 * Francisco Gattorno as Jose Maria
 * Joe Bays as Race Starter
 * Taylor Negron as Salesman
 * Cesar Evora as Gabriel

Voice cast

 * Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little
 * Nathan Lane as Snowbell
 * Chazz Palminteri as Smokey
 * Steve Zahn as Monty
 * Jim Doughan as Lucky
 * David Alan Grier as Red
 * Bruno Kirby as Reginald Stout
 * Jennifer Tilly as Camille Stout

Lost painting unknowingly used on set
One of the paintings used as a prop for the Littles' home was the 1920s painting Sleeping Lady with Black Vase by Hungarian avant garde painter Róbert Berény, which had long been considered a lost painting. A set designer for the film had purchased the painting at an antiques store in Pasadena, California for $500 for use in the film, unaware of its provenance. In 2009, art historian Gergely Barki, while watching Stuart Little on television with his daughter, noticed the painting, and after contacting the studios was able to track down its whereabouts.[7] In 2014, its owner sold the painting at an auction for €229,500.[8]

Box office
Stuart Little was released theatrically on December 17, 1999. On its opening weekend, Stuart Little grossed $15 million, placing it at #1. 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.[5]

Critical reception
Stuart Little received generally positive reviews from movie critics. According to Rotten Tomatoes, 66% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 97 responses (64 fresh and 33 rotten) with an average rating of 6.3/10. The site's consensus reads: "Stuart Little is charming with kids and adults for its humor and visual effects."[9] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 61 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[10]

Jesus Freak Hideout said that "from start to finish, Stuart Little is a near flawless family film"[11] while Stephen Holden of The New York Times had said that "the only element that doesn't completely harmonize with the rest of the film is the visually unremarkable digital figure of Stuart."[12]

Home media
Stuart Little was released to VHS and DVD on April 18, 2000. It was later re-released on a Deluxe Edition on May 21, 2002, and was released on Blu-ray Disc 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) 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) The Boat Race – Alan Silvestri (5:12)
 * 12) I'm Gonna Miss You – Alan Silvestri (4:43)
 * 13) You're Where I Belong (Soul Solution Remix) – Trisha Yearwood (4:04)
 * 14) That's Amore - Dean Martin (3:08)