Stuart Little (film)

''Stuart Little'' is a 1999 American live-action/animated comedy film loosely based on E. B. White's novel of the same name. Directed by Rob Minkoff in his live-action directorial debut, with a screenplay by M. Night Shyamalan and Greg Brooker, the film features an ensemble cast consisting of Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie and Jonathan Lipnicki, with the voices of Michael J. Fox as the titular character, Nathan Lane, Chazz Palminteri, Steve Zahn, Bruno Kirby and Jennifer Tilly.

''Stuart Little'' premiered in Westwood at Mann Village Theatre on December 5, 1999, and was released in the United States on December 17, 1999, by Columbia Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews and became a box office success, grossing over $300 million worldwide. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, but lost to ''The Matrix''. After its success, it also started a franchise with the sequel ''Stuart Little 2'' in 2002, the short-lived television series ''Stuart Little'' in 2003, and the direct-to-video sequel '' Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild'' in 2006. It was Estelle Getty's final film role.

Plot

In Manhattan, Frederick and Eleanor Little visit an orphanage to adopt a new brother for their son, George. Instead, they adopt an anthropomorphic mouse named Stuart. George refuses to acknowledge him as his brother and the family cat, Snowbell, is disgusted to be a new pet to a mouse. The next day, Stuart's life in the house goes off to a bad start when he is inadvertently trapped in the washing machine, but soon recovers from the incident.

The Littles invite their extended family to meet Stuart where George confesses he does not regard Stuart as a brother but simply a mouse. Stuart asks Eleanor and Frederick to enquire about his biological parents, feeling an empty space. Stuart encourages George to finish his model boat for an upcoming race and the duo start to bond. Meanwhile, Snowbell and his alley cat friend Monty meet with Monty's superior, Smokey, and formulate a plan to dispose of Stuart. On the day of the race, Stuart accidentally breaks George's remote control. He jumps into the boat and takes control himself, narrowly avoiding a crash and winning the race, finally enabling George to accept Stuart as his brother.

As the Littles host a celebration, a mouse couple, Reggie and Camille Stout, arrive and claim to be Stuart's biological parents who were forced by poverty to give him up. The Littles reluctantly allow Stuart to leave with the Stouts. The orphanage calls to ask how Stuart is doing and when the Littles explain he has gone home with his real parents, orphanage head Mrs. Keeper informs them that Stuart's real parents had died several years earlier. Realizing Stuart has been kidnapped, the family organizes a search party with "missing person" posters, using his photograph from the family photo. Fearing his involvement will be exposed and that he will be thrown out of the Little house, Snowbell informs Smokey about the news and Smokey settles on assassinating Stuart instead.

Remorseful about Stuart's sadness, the Stouts, now revealed to be reluctant pawns of Smokey, reveal their deception; he is delighted and makes his way back to the Little house. On the way, he is ambushed by Smokey and his gang but evades them by going into a sewer. At home, a jealous Snowbell lies that the family is out celebrating his absence, using the fact that Stuart's face has been removed from the family photo as evidence. Heartbroken, Stuart leaves, but Snowbell soon regrets his actions after the Littles return home. Snowbell finds Stuart at Central Park and admits his lie, encouraging Stuart to come home. When the duo are confronted by Smokey's gang, Snowbell refuses to hand Stuart over and Smokey tells his gang to assassinate Stuart and Snowbell. They give chase, cornering Stuart hanging from a branch over the park's pond. Snowbell breaks the branch beneath the cats, sending them plummeting into the pond. Smokey sneaks up on Snowbell, but Stuart releases a branch that hits Smokey, knocking him into the water. He emerges, but is immediately attacked by dogs.

Stuart is taken home by Snowbell and is reunited with the Littles. Stuart tells them he owes his life to Snowbell, who has realized Stuart truly is family.

Cast

Live-action cast

*Geena Davis as Eleanor Little, the matriarch of the Little family and Frederick's wife.
*Hugh Laurie as Frederick Little, the patriarch of the Little family and Eleanor's husband.
* Jonathan Lipnicki as George Little, the eldest son of the Little family and Stuart's adoptive older brother.
* Jeffrey Jones as Crenshaw Little, Frederick's elder brother, the younger brother of Beatrice and one of George and Stuart's two uncles.
* Connie Ray as Tina Little, Crenshaw's wife and Beatrice and Frederick's sister-in-law and one of George and Stuart's two aunts.
* Allyce Beasley as Beatrice Little, Crenshaw and Frederick's elder sister and one of George and Stuart's two aunts.
*Brian Doyle-Murray as Edgar Little, Beatrice, Crenshaw and Frederick's cousin and Grandpa Spencer's nephew.
* Estelle Getty as Estelle Little, Beatrice, Crenshaw and Frederick's mother and George and Stuart's grandmother.
*Harold Gould as Spencer Little, Beatrice, Crenshaw and Frederick's father and George and Stuart's grandfather.
* Patrick Thomas O'Brien as Stretch Little, the husband of Beatrice, the brother-in-law of Crenshaw and Frederick and one of George and Stuart's two uncles.
* Julia Sweeney as Mrs. Keeper, the head of the New York City Public Orphanage.
* Dabney Coleman as Doctor Beechwood, a medical doctor who visits the Littles' house following Stuart's entrapment in its washing machine.
* Miles Marsico as Anton Gartman, a mean-spirited boy who bullies George during the boat race.
* Jon Polito as Detective Sherman, a police detective who works for the New York Police Department.
* Jim Doughan as Detective Phil Allen, Detective Sherman's partner. Doughan also voices Lucky, a member of Smokey's gang, in the film.
*Joe Bays as the boat race starter
* Taylor Negron as a clothing salesman

Voice cast

*Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little, a young anthropomorphic white mouse who is adopted as the middle child of the Little family.
*Nathan Lane as Snowbell, the family's Persian cat who initially dislikes Stuart, but later becomes his best friend.
*Chazz Palminteri as Smokey, a Chartreux who is the leader of a gang of alley cats and comes up with a plot to eliminate Stuart when summoned by Snowbell and Monty.
*Steve Zahn as Monty, a gray tabby cat, Snowbell's best friend and a former member of Smokey's gang.
* Jim Doughan as Lucky, a Siamese cat who is a member of Smokey's gang. Doughan also portrays Detective Allen in the film.
* David Alan Grier as Red, a ginger  American Shorthair tomcat who is a member of Smokey's gang.
* Bruno Kirby as Reginald Stout, Camille's husband.
*Jennifer Tilly as Camille Stout, Reginald's wife.
*Stan Freberg as the boat race announcer

Production

Development and pre-production

Development began at Columbia Pictures in 1997 when production stalled on a film adaptation of the musical ''Into the Woods'', which Minkoff was originally set to make his live action directorial debut with. Looking for an alternative route, the studio heads informed him that they had picked up the film rights to E.B. White's novel with Douglas Wick set to produce under his Red Wagon Entertainment banner. It was after reading Shyamalan's script that he then agreed to direct. In early 1998, Columbia officially announced Minkoff as director, with the budget originally set to be under $90 million.

While his first full-length live action film, Minkoff directed various short films combining live-action and animation earlier in his career, all of which helped him earn the job, alongside the overwhelming success of his co-directoral work on Disney's ''The Lion King'' (1994). All the cats featured in the film were real and were trained by Boone’s Animals for Hollywood. News outlets originally claimed the film would be G-rated, but the darker tone of the third act would result in the MPAA giving it a PG rating.

Filming

Principal photography began on August 3, 1998 both on location in New York City and Central Park, and on soundstages at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, where Stage 30 was converted into the set for the boat race scene and Stage 15 became the exterior of the 5th Avenue street on which the Little family lives. After twelve weeks, filming wrapped on November 11. The entire shoot was described as "smooth" and "enjoyable" by the crew members.

Lost painting unknowingly used on set

One of the paintings used as set dressing for the Littles' home was Hungarian avant-garde painter Róbert Berény'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.

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. It contains songs from and inspired by the film, including the end credits song " You're Where I Belong," written by Diane Warren and performed by Trisha Yearwood, which was submitted for Best Original Song consideration at the 72nd Academy Awards, but didn't make the initial shortlist. Also included are two tracks from the orchestral score by Alan Silvestri. Tracks in bold do not appear in the film.

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

''Stuart Little'' received positive reviews from critics upon release. 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. In 2008, the film was released as part of a double feature with ''Stuart Little 2''. ''Stuart Little'' and ''Stuart Little 2'' were released in a combo on Sony PSP's UMD format on January 3, 2006, and Blu-ray on June 28, 2011, by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

References

External links

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Stuart Little (franchise)
1990s adventure comedy films
1990s children's adventure films
1990s children's comedy films
1990s children's fantasy films
1990s fantasy comedy films
1999 children's films
1999 comedy films
1999 films
American adventure comedy films
American children's adventure films
American children's comedy films
American children's fantasy films
American fantasy adventure films
American fantasy comedy films
American films with live action and animation
Animated films about mice
Columbia Pictures films
Films about adoption
Films about cats
Films about child abduction in the United States
Films about orphans
Films about talking animals
Films adapted into television shows
Films based on American novels
Films based on children's books
Films based on novels by E. B. White
Films directed by Rob Minkoff
Films produced by Douglas Wick
Films scored by Alan Silvestri
Films set in New York City
Films shot in Los Angeles County, California
Films shot in New York City
Films with screenplays by M. Night Shyamalan
Motown soundtracks
1990s English-language films
1990s American films
English-language fantasy comedy films
English-language adventure comedy films