STUART LITTLE

1999, Columbia Pictures

Live action with CG

Rating: PG

Approx. 84 mins.

THE STORY:

The Littles (Hugh Laurie, Geena Davis) are a picture perfect family of 3 who long to be a family of 4. They set out to adopt a younger brother for their son, George, and come home with a mouse-son, Stuart (Michael J. Fox).  At first the inter-species adoption has some bumps, but soon Stuart becomes a vital member of the family, much to the consternation of the family cat (Nathan Lane).

Just when everything seems to have settled into a happy routine, however, Stuart's mouse parents show up to claim him. The Littles are devastated to see him go, but feel that being with his birth parents (Jennifer Tilly, Bruno Kirby) is what is best for him. His new-found parents, however, turn out to be impostors, and Stuart makes his way back to his true family, the Littles, trying to evade a group of cats with malign intentions as he does.

QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:

• stupid
• dumb
• hate
• damn
• hell

VIOLENCE:

• None beyond cats' talk of killing Stuart

TEACHING POINTS:

• Looking alike doesn't make people family; love makes people family
• It's wrong to dislike others just because others tell you to
• Being accepting of new people gives you a chance to discover their good qualities

THE UPSHOT:

It's a sweet and innocent 84 minutes of disbelief suspension. I love the idea of a world where a mouse can hail a taxi without anyone batting an eyelash. It's visually attractive, well-paced and easy to follow. It isn't exciting or overly funny, but it is... nice.

3/5