Cast
Mr. Little (Hugh Laurie)
Mrs. Little (Geena Davis)
Stuart Little (voice) (Michael J. Fox)
George Little (Jonathan Lipnicki)
Snowbell (voice) (Nathan Lane)
Directed by Rob Minkoff Written by Greg Brooker and M. Night Shyamalan Rated PG for brief language
Running Time: 92 minutes Distributed by Columbia

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Stuart Little is a crowd pleasing children's film. Mr. and Mrs. Little (Laurie and Davis) along with their son, George (Lipnicki) are a very happy family living in New York City. The Little's decide to expand their family by adopting a son, Stuart (Fox). However, Stuart is a not a young toddler, he is a very small white mouse. Stuart is a sweet and understanding character that just wants a family. George and the housecat, Snowbell (Lane), have a hard time accepting him into their family. As the film moves along, the whole family's friendship and love begins to become true and permanent.

Stuart Little is a very enjoyable and cute movie for the whole family. Stuart Little's focused audience is indeed children, however, this film will entertain any age range of audiences. Stuart Little is a new technological step into computer animation. The talented artists at Sony Pictures have combined one of the first live action films with ground breaking visual effects. An example is that Stuart is computer generated through the whole film.

M. Night Shyamalan and Greg Brooker adapted the script of Stuart Little from the novel by E.B. White. The writing is terrific and an accurate characterization from White's classic children's novel. Co-writer Shyamalan has an another nice writing credit to his name after his other outstanding screenplay, The Sixth Sense. Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie are suitable for the roles of Mr. and Mrs. Little. Jonathan Lipnicki, who was the scene stealing charm of Jerry Maguire, shows some promise and will definitely get better in the future. The recognizable voices of Michael J. Fox as Stuart and Nathan Lane as Snowbell, help in adding structure to the effects and the film.

Really the best thing about Stuart Little is that it will light up children's eyes and put smiles on their faces. As I was watching this film in a crowded theater of children, I was amazed with the kids' reactions. An example is during a climatic chase scene in the film between Stuart and the bad guys, I saw a young child stand up out of his seat and yell at the bad guys on the screen. It wasn't only this child that was sucked into Stuart Little; it was all of the other children in the theater that's eyes were glued to the screen. When one sees something like this in a family movie, one realizes that the producers behind this film have done an amazing job.

Stuart Little is already a box office blockbuster and I predict it to rack in more millions with its video release. Also, this week I learned that there will be a Stuart Little 2 opening in a few years. I can't wait.

Report Card Grade: B+

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