Stuart Little (1999)

Director:

Rob Minkoff

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

17 December 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

The Little Family Just Got Bigger

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Mouse | Cat | Blockbuster | Cat Actor | Brother Brother Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

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 Allen / Voice of Lucky (Alley Cat)
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

Also Known As:

Küçük kardesim (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
O Ποντικομικρούλης (Greece) [el]
O Pequeno Stuart Little (Portugal) [pt]
Petit Stuart (Canada: French title) [fr]
Stuart Little (France) [fr]
Stuart Little (Spain) [es]
Stuart Little - pieni suuri hiiri (Finland) [fi]
Stuart Little - un topolino in gamba (Italy) [it]
Stuart Little, kisegér (Hungary) [hu]
Stuart Little, un ratón en la familia (Argentina) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief language.

Runtime:

84 min | Spain:81 min (DVD edition)

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English | Dutch

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:G | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:I | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:G | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:PG | Australia:G | Spain:T | Philippines:G | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Jenny McCarthy was offered the female lead role, but declined.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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.

Quotes:

Monty, the Mouth: Aren't you gonna' run?
Stuart Little: Why?
Monty, the Mouth: 'cause you're a mouse.
Stuart Little: I'm not just a mouse. I'm a member of this family.
Monty, the Mouth: A mouse with a pet cat?
[rolls over and laughs out loud, repeating that line over again]
Stuart Little: I guess that's pretty funny!
Monty, the Mouth: Pretty funny? I'm gonna wet my fur! A MOUSE WITH A PET CAT!
[laughs hard more, and looks down at Snowbell, who is embarrassed]
Monty, the Mouth: Your new little master? Wait 'til the boys hear all about this!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The King of Queens: Dougie Nights (#4.15)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Walking Tall

Mouse with Pet Cat Saves Day

If you told me five years ago that I'd be watching a movie about a mouse who is adopted by humans, I'd probably ask you what kind of drugs you were taking and how many would I need to take to enjoy such puerile piffle. But five years ago we didn't have the kind of technical wizardry we have now; witness Toy Story, the new Star Wars, or any of the recent Disney films. Five years ago, the mouse would have been a regular rodent with a not-too-subtle voiceover. Remember Homeward Bound, the movie about the two dogs and the cat? There was no computer animation there, and you were basically left with three animals who appeared to cavort onscreen while some humans talked in the background.

So now here we have Stuart Little, a tiny little mouse (voiced by the always-fresh Michael J. Fox) who has lived his entire life in an orphanage. One day, the Littles (Hugh Laurie and Geena Davis) come to the orphanage looking for a brother for their young son George (Jonathan Lipnicki). Of course, with so many cute little boys and girls, it's impossible to choose - until they come across Stuart, who seems smart, funny, and wise beyond his years. George isn't too fond of Stuart at the start - he expected something a little... um, taller - but this is a kids' movie, after all, so eventually they bond as only a boy and his mouse brother can - by winning a boat race against a nasty bully.

There are a few storylines jammed into this 85-minute extravaganza. Stuart wants to learn about his natural parents, the family cat wants to kill him, and the parents want Stuart and George to get along. The way most of it plays out will come off as standard movie fare - predictable to those of us over 10, perhaps - but the winning charm of Fox as the loveable Stuart coupled with an engaging and appealing cast of characters makes up for any familiarity you might feel. On top of it all - the special effects. Now, I'm not one to heap overweening praise on special effects, but at no point during the viewing of this movie did I consider Stuart (or the cat, voiced by Nathan Lane) to be an artificial computer creation. Sure, you have to suspend belief a little bit for this movie, but hey - don't you have to do that with almost any movie, anyway?