Stuart Little (1999)

The Little family adopt a charming young mouse named Stuart, but the family cat wants rid of him.

Director:

Rob Minkoff

Writers:

E.B. White (book), M. Night Shyamalan (screenplay),

Stars:

Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael J. Fox	...	Stuart Little (voice)
Geena Davis	...	Mrs. Eleanor Little
Hugh Laurie	...	Mr. Fredrick Little
Jonathan Lipnicki	...	George Little
Nathan Lane	...	Snowbell 'Snow', the Little's house-cat (voice)
Chazz Palminteri	...	Smokey, the Chief Alley-Cat (voice)
Steve Zahn	...	Monty the Mouth (voice)
Jim Doughan	...	Detective Phil Allen / Lucky - Alley Cat (voice)
David Alan Grier	...	Red (Alley Cat) (voice)
Bruno Kirby	...	Mr. Reginald 'Reggie' Stout (voice)
Jennifer Tilly	...	Mrs. Camille Stout (voice)
Stan Freberg	...	Race Announcer (voice)
Jeffrey Jones	...	Uncle Crenshaw Little
Connie Ray	...	Aunt Tina Little
Allyce Beasley	...	Aunt Beatrice Little

Storyline

The adventures of a heroic and debonair stalwart mouse named Stuart Little with human qualities, who faces some comic misadventures while searching for his lost bird friend and living with a human family as their child.

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Plot Keywords:

mouse | cat | orphanage | brother brother relationship | first of series | 

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Taglines:

The Little Family Just Got Bigger

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Showbizz.net [ca][fr] Sony Pictures

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English Dutch

Release Date:

17 December 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stuart Little, un ratón en la familia

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$133,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£244,077 (UK) (30 June 2000)

Gross:

AUD 11,853,831 (Australia) (15 December 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Franklin/Waterman Productions, Global Medien KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min 81 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Almost all the scenes involving the Littles are shot with heavy amounts of blue and red in the shot, most noticeably in their clothing.

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Goofs

Snowbell loses his collar and tags into the lake when the Central Park altercation takes place, but he is wearing them again when he returns to the Littles' house.

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Quotes

Anton, the stuck-up bully: Gee George, you all done crying?
George Little: Yeah! Are you all done being a jerk?
Anton, the stuck-up bully: No!

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Crazy Credits

During the first portion of the end credits, George and Stuart are shown fooling around in Stuart's bedroom as Snowbell tries to catch Stuart. Snowbell goes as far as he can to catch Stuart to the point where he is launched out the side window and into a nearby dumpster.

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Connections

Referenced in Troldspejlet: Episode #40.17 (2008)

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Soundtracks

"That's Amore"
Composed by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Jack Brooks
Performed by Dean Martin
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under lisense from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets

User Reviews

Not just a mouse - a brother

The "Little" family is the gentlest, most genial movie family in recent memory. They live in a quiet house amidst the hustle and bustle of New York City life. They are the straight-shooter Frederick (Hugh Laurie), understanding Eleanor (Geena Davis), and spunky tike George (Johnathan Lipnicki), who is excited as can be the day his parents set out to adopt a new member of the family. They go in hoping to walk out with a younger sibling, but walk out with a whole other creature. Literally.

They adopt Stuart, a precocious, easily lovable mouse with the cutest smile you'll ever see, the most impeccably charming voice (thanks to Michael J. Fox), and the most adorable little clothes this side of Barbie and Ken. When the Little's take him into their home, they find "difficulties" plaguing them from the start. George is a tad underwhelmed when he finds out his new brother is a five inch rodent and the house cat isn't happy that his master also serves as lunch. The cat is Snowbell (voiced by Nathan Lane) and he develops a plan to get back at Stuart for coming into his house, allegedly trying to take over his home.

But how you could hate Stuart? One look in those eyes and you melt under the weight of his cuteness. Rob Minkoff's (co-director of Disney's The Lion King) Stuart Little pays careful attention to little background details and cinematography, but refuses to shortchange the people in the story. The screenplay, written by Greg Booker and the unlikely M. Night Shyamalan is sensitive to the idea of sibling adoption and never seems to exploit this idea or turn it into a laugh riot. E.B. White's original story sort of muted the concept, while its film counterpart puts more of an emphasis on this event.

There's a wide array of side-character voices you're likely to pick up on. David Alan Grier, Chazz Palminteri, and Steve Zahn are among them, as well as cameos by Estelle Getty, Harold Gould, and Julia Sweeney. All the characters are portrayed under a wonderfully positive light, but the writing doesn't hesitate to take a dark turn and punctuate some rather depressing sequences within its delectably sweet interior. There's a word for films like Stuart Little and that word is "jolly." This is a completely acceptable and wonderfully told spin on the "new brother" formula.

Starring: Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, and Jonathan Lipnicki. Voiced by: Michael J. Fox, David Alan Grier, Nathan Lane, Chazz Palminteri, and Steve Zahn. Directed by: Ryan Minkoff.