Stuart Little (film)

Stuart Little is a 1999 live action/computer-animated family 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 "". It was Estelle Getty's final film before her retirement in 2001 and her death in 2008.
Plot.
Eleanor and Frederick Little are intending to adopt a new family member. They go to an orphanage where they meet an anthropomorphic mouse named Stuart. Stuart is greeted coldly by their older son George, who refuses to acknowledge him as his brother, and the family cat, Snowbell, who is disgusted at having a mouse for a "master". Stuart admits his feelings of loneliness to his adoptive parents, who ask Mrs. Keeper to search for the whereabouts of Stuart's biological parents.
Stuart finally bonds with George when they start playing together and plan to finish George's remote-controlled racing sailboat, the "Wasp", for an upcoming boat race on Conservatory Water in Central Park. However, Monty, Snowbell's alley cat friend, visits the house and discovers Stuart. Snowbell later goes with Monty to an alley for a meeting with Smokey, an alley cat mobster working for a mafia gang of other alley cats, who agrees with Snowbell to have Stuart removed from the household at his request.
Stuart and George finish the "Wasp" in time for the race, but on the day of the race, the controller is smashed by accident. Stuart pilots the "Wasp" himself, but ends up in a tussle with a larger boat piloted by George's bully, Anton. Stuart manages to win the race, gaining George's respect. However, during the family celebration, the Littles are visited by a mouse couple, Camille and Reginald Stout, who claim to be Stuart's birth parents who sent him to the orphanage due to poverty. Reluctantly, Stuart leaves with the Stouts and George gives him his favorite toy car as a farewell gift. 
A few days later, Mrs. Keeper arrives at their house and reveals the truth to the Littles that Stuart's real birth parents died many years ago in an accident at a supermarket. Realizing that the Stouts are imposters, the Littles call the police, who begin a search operation. However, it is revealed that the Stouts were actually sent by Smokey, who had tricked them into posing as Stuart's parents and forced them to abduct Stuart from the Little household with the intention of having him brought over to the alley cat gang so they can kill Stuart.
Snowbell talks with Smokey, who insists that he and his gang should kill Stuart instead and calls a meeting with Reginald. However, he and Camille have grown to love Stuart like the Littles did and reveal the truth to him. In Central Park, Stuart finds himself confronted by Smokey and his gang, who chase him through the park and into a sewer drain, where he manages to outrun them, but loses his car and luggage in the process. Stuart returns home, only to find that the Littles are already gone. Stuart enters the house where he meets Snowbell, who lies to him about the Littles enjoying themselves greatly since Stuart's departure. Feeling unwanted, a heartbroken Stuart leaves and becomes discouraged.
The Littles return home with no success in finding Stuart. Meanwhile, Smokey, Monty and the other alley cats manage to trace Stuart's location back to Central Park and bring Snowbell along for the hunt. Snowbell, having redeemed himself since he felt guilty over his selfishness, finds Stuart and rescues him from the cats while admitting that he lied. Although Snowbell defeats Monty and the other cats by snapping a tree branch they are standing on which causes them to land in a river, Smokey attempts to kill him upon discovering his betrayal, only for Stuart to intervene and save Snowbell by hitting Smokey in the face with another branch, causing Smokey to land in the same river and storms off, only to be chased away by some stray dogs. Stuart and Snowbell eventually return home, where Stuart happily reunites with the Little family, telling them that Snowbell actually found him and helped him on the way back.
Lost painting unknowingly used on set.
One of the paintings used as set dressing for the Littles' home was the 1920s painting "Sleeping Lady with Black Vase" by Hungarian avant garde painter Róbert Berény, which had long been considered a lost painting. 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.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 97 responses with an average rating of 6.3/10. 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.
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 to VHS and DVD on April 18, 2000, and in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2000. It was later re-released on a Deluxe Edition on May 21, 2002, and on Blu-ray on June 28, 2011.
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.