Plot
Frederick and Eleanor Little are a happily married couple living in New York City, intending to adopt a younger brother for their son, George. When they visit the orphanage, they meet a smart, anthropomorphic mouse named Stuart and choose him instead. Upon returning home, Stuart struggles to fit in; George is disappointed and refuses to acknowledge Stuart as his brother, and the family cat, Snowbell, is sickened at the fact that he is now a pet to a mouse. Eleanor then goes on to accidentally trap Stuart in the washing machine one morning after a load of laundry. She rescues Stuart from swallowing too much detergent, but Stuart gets very sick as he coughs up soap bubbles. Stuart then recovers after a visit from Dr. Beechwood. After Stuart admits to the Littles that he feels an empty space inside him, they meet with Mrs. Keeper, head of the orphanage, to find out some information about Stuart's real parents, but are told nothing due to confidentiality. As time goes by, George and Stuart start to bond after Stuart encourages him to finish making his toy boat for an upcoming race. Meanwhile, Snowbell and his friend Monty host a meeting with a rogue alley cat named Smokey and hatch a plan to have Stuart removed from the household. On the day of the race, Stuart accidentally breaks George's remote control, rendering his boat inoperable. He jumps in and takes control of it himself, merely avoiding a crash on the water and subsequently winning the race. Later that night while celebrating, they are interrupted by a mouse couple who arrive at the house; they introduce themselves as Reggie and Camille Stout, and claim to be Stuart's biological parents who were forced to give him up due to poverty. The Littles reluctantly agree to allow Stuart to leave with the Stouts, leaving George forlorn. The orphanage contacts the Littles to ask how Stuart is doing, and when Frederick and Eleanor explain he has gone home, Mrs. Keeper informs them that Stuart's parents died several years earlier when canned food fell on them in a supermarket, hence why he was put up for adoption. Realizing Stuart has been kidnapped (a ploy organized by Snowbell and the other cats), the family organize a huge search party around the city. Fearing that his deception will be exposed, Snowbell informs Smokey that the Littles know about the Stouts, so Smokey decides Stuart must be killed instead. Filled with remorse due to Stuart's overwhelming sadness, Reggie and Camille tell him the truth and order him to run away for his own safety; he is delighted to hear he is not a Stout and makes his way back to the Little house. On the way, he is ambushed by Smokey and his gang but manages to evade them by going into a sewer. He makes it home, greeted by a jealous Snowbell who tells him the family are out celebrating his absence. Heartbroken, Stuart leaves. In Central Park, he stops to rest for the night in a birds nest, and is later found by Snowbell who admits he lied and encourages him to come home. When the pair are confronted by the other cats, Snowbell refuses to hand Stuart over and the cats give chase. They eventually corner Stuart as he hangs from a tree branch; Snowbell saves him by breaking the branch the cats are on, sending Monty and three others plummeting into the river below. Smokey sneaks up behind Snowbell but before he can kill him, Stuart intervenes by releasing a thin branch that smacks Smokey in the face, which send him plunging into the river. Snowbell takes Stuart home, just as the Littles are getting ready for bed. George spots Stuart through a window and everyone is happily reunited. When Frederick asks how he made it back, he tells them he owes his life to Snowbell, who has finally realized Stuart is family.Cast
Live-action cast
*Geena Davis as Mrs. Eleanor Little, the mother of the Little family and Frederick's wife. *Hugh Laurie as Mr. Frederick Little, the father of the Little family and Eleanor's husband. *Jonathan Lipnicki as George Little, the eldest child of the Little family and Stuart's older brother. *Jeffrey Jones as Uncle Crenshaw Little, the older brother of Frederick Little and the younger brother of Beatrice. *Connie Ray as Aunt Tina Little, the wife of Crenshaw and the sister-in-law of Beatrice and Frederick. *Allyce Beasley as Aunt Beatrice Little, the older sister of Crenshaw and Frederick. *Brian Doyle-Murray as Cousin Edgar Little, the cousin of Beatrice, Crenshaw and Frederick and the nephew of Grandpa Spencer. *Estelle Getty as Grandma Estelle Little, the mother of Beatrice, Crenshaw and Frederick. *Harold Gould as Grandpa Spencer Little, the father of Beatrice, Crenshaw and Frederick. *Patrick Thomas O'Brien as Uncle Stretch Little, the husband of Beatrice and the brother-in-law of Crenshaw and Frederick. *Julia Sweeney as Mrs. Keeper, the head of the New York City Public Orphanage. *Dabney Coleman as Dr. Beechwood, a medical doctor, doctor who came to the Littles' house. * Miles Marsico as Anton Gartman, a mean-spirited child who bullied George during the boat race. *Jim Doughan as Detective Phil Allen, Detective Sherman's partner. Doughan also voiced Lucky the Cat in the film. *Jon Polito as Detective Sherman, a police detective who works for the New York Police Department. *Joe Bays as the Race Starter *Taylor Negron as the Clothing SalesmanVoice cast
*Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little, a young anthropomorphic mouse who is adopted as the middle child of the Little family. *Nathan Lane as Snowbell, the Little family's Persian cat who initially dislikes Stuart. *Chazz Palminteri as Smokey, a sadistic and intelligent Russian Blue cat with a mafia-like personality who is the leader of a gang of Mafia-like alley cats and came up with a plan to kill Stuart when Snowbell and Monty summoned him. *Steve Zahn as Monty, a gray tabby cat, 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, Camille's husband and Stuart's fake father. *Jennifer Tilly as Mrs. Camille Stout, Reginald's wife and Stuart's fake mother. *Stan Freberg as the Race AnnouncerLost painting unknowingly used on set
One of the paintings used as set dressing for the Littles' home was Hungarian avant garde painter Róbert Berény's 1920s painting ''Sleeping Lady with Black Vase'', which had long been considered lost artworks, lost. 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 significance. 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. In 2014, its owner sold the painting at an auction for €229,500.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
On Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 97 responses with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's consensus reads: "Critics say ''Stuart Little'' is charming with kids and adults for its humor and visual effects." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 61 out of 100 from 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale. 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 in the United States on April 18, 2000 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 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, by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, and on Blu-ray on June 28, 2011, by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.Soundtrack
The soundtrack album ''Stuart Little: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture'' was released by Motown and Universal Records (defunct record label), Universal Records on November 30, 1999, on Compact disc, audio CD and Compact Cassette, audio cassette. Tracks in bold do not appear in the film.References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart Little Stuart Little (franchise) 1990s adventure comedy films 1990s children's adventure films 1990s children's comedy films 1990s children's fantasy films 1990s fantasy comedy films 1999 comedy films 1999 films American adventure comedy films American children's adventure films American children's comedy films American children's fantasy films American fantasy adventure films American fantasy comedy films American films with live action and animation Animated films about mice Columbia Pictures films Films about adoption Films about cats Films about child abduction in the United States Films about orphans Films adapted into television shows Films based on American novels Films based on children's books Films based on novels by E. B. White Films directed by Rob Minkoff Films produced by Douglas Wick Films scored by Alan Silvestri Films set in New York City Films shot in Los Angeles County, California Films shot in New York City Films with screenplays by M. Night Shyamalan Motown soundtracks 1990s English-language films 1990s American films