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Stuart Little (film)

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox film

| name = Stuart Little

| image = Stuart Little.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| alt = A smiling white mouse standing atop a big sneaker. A blue suitcase sits beside it.

| director = Rob Minkoff

| producer = Douglas Wick

| screenplay =

| based_on =

| starring =

| music = Alan Silvestri

| cinematography = Guillermo Navarro

| editing = Tom Finan

| studio =

| distributor = Sony Pictures Releasing

| released =

| runtime = 84 minutes

| country =

| language = English

| budget = $105133 million

| gross = $300.1 million

}}

'Stuart Little' is a 1999 American live action/computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1945 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, Nathan Lane, Chazz Palminteri, Steve Zahn, Bruno Kirby, and Jennifer Tilly.

The film was released on December 17, 1999 by Columbia Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, losing to 'The Matrix'. 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' 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 role before her retirement in 2001 and her death in July 2008.

Plot



Eleanor and Frederick Little are intending to adopt a younger brother for their older son, George. They visit the orphanage where they become attached to a young anthropomorphic white mouse named Stuart, adopting him. George is not pleased and refuses to acknowledge Stuart as his brother since he is an animal while the Littles' cat Snowbell also feels jealous of Stuart and treats him with contempt.

One day, Stuart gets stuck in the washing machine after George accidentally throws him down the laundry chute with his pajamas while Eleanor does a load of laundry. Eleanor saves Stuart from drowning in the washer, but he became sick from the incident as he coughs up soap bubbles from the detergent that he swallowed.

The Littles host a family gathering to introduce Stuart. Here, George openly says that Stuart is not his brother, but only an animal. After the party, Stuart admits he feels like an outcast - Eleanor and Frederick visit Mrs. Keeper at the orphanage to try and find out about Stuart's real parents, but Mrs. Keeper has no information at this point. George and Stuart begin to bond when the two of them finish off George's 'Wasp' boat for an upcoming race. That night, Snowbell and his friend Monty, who visited the Little's house earlier and discovered Stuart, host a meeting with Smokey, an alley cat mobster, hatching a plan to have Stuart removed from the Little household without killing him.

On the day of the boat race the next day, George's remote control is broken. Stuart agrees to pilot his boat, winning the race and enabling George to finally accept him as his brother. The Littles host another gathering which is then suddenly interrupted by the arrival of a mouse couple named Reggie and Camille Stout, who claim to be Stuart's biological parents who were forced to send him to the orphanage due to poverty. The Littles reluctantly agree to allow Stuart to leave with his "parents", with George giving Stuart his toy roadster as a farewell present but after they leave Eleanor becomes concerned about the Stouts' suspecting ways.

Three days later, Mrs. Keeper visits the Littles, informing them that Stuart's parents died in an accident in a supermarket years ago, leaving Stuart orphaned. Realizing Stuart has been kidnapped and believing the Stouts to be imposters because they are not his real parents, the Littles call the police. Fearing that his deception will be exposed and will get taken away, a frightened Snowbell informs Monty and Smokey that the Littles know about the Stouts while Smokey decides that Stuart must be killed instead. The Stouts have come to love Stuart and reveal the truth of their plan by informing him of Smokey and his gang's intention to kill him, convincing Stuart to flee for his own safety. On his way home, Stuart is confronted and ambushed by Smokey and his cronies in Central Park, but manages to evade them through the sewers, losing his car and luggage in the process.

Meanwhile, the Littles and their extended family have been putting up missing posters for Stuart around the city, using his face from the family photograph. Stuart arrives home too late, where Snowbell lies to him that the Littles have been happy since he left, using the fact that they cut his face from the family photograph as evidence. A heartbroken and tearful Stuart becomes depressed and leaves but Snowbell begins to regret his actions when he sees the pain the Littles are going through.

At the same time, Smokey and his gang return to Central Park along with Snowbell to track down Stuart so that they will try and kill him. However, Snowbell is the first to find him and redeems himself, regretting his actions and tries to help Stuart escape, revealing the Littles truly loved him. Smokey, Monty and the cats chase the two of them up a tree, where Snowbell causes a branch to break, sending the cats, including Monty, falling into the lake. Finally, Smokey tries to kill Snowbell for his betrayal, but Stuart intervenes by hitting Smokey in the face with another branch, sending him plummeting into the same lake, whereupon he is then attacked by a pack of stray dogs afterwards.

Afterwards, Snowbell gives Stuart a ride back to the Little's house, where Stuart finally reunites with the Littles, telling them that Snowbell found him and helped him on his way home.

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 doctor who came to the Littles' house.

* Miles Marsico as Anton, 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 Salesman

Voice cast

*Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little, an 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 boss of Monty, an associate of Snowbell and the leader of a gang of Mafia-like alley cats.

*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 gingerAmericanShorthairtomcat 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 Announcer

Lost painting unknowingly used on set



One of the paintings used as set dressing for the Littles' home was Hungarian avant garde painter Rbert Berny's 1920s painting 'Sleeping Lady with Black Vase', which had long been considered 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 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 on November 30, 1999, on audio CD and audio cassette. Tracks in bold do not appear in the film.

References




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