Stuart Little - Un topolino in gamba

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?

The Little family are looking to adopt a boy to give their son George a brother. When they go to the orphanage they meet an adorable mouse called Stuart and decide to adopt him. Despite early resistance from George, Stuart makes himself part of the family, much to the chagrin of the house cat Snowball. To get rid of Stuart, Snowball reaches out to some local alley cats to set up a whack on Stuart.

If my plot synopsis has talked up the mafia connotations of the cats, it is because that is the part of the film that I find the funniest part of the film because it is lacking in the syrup that kind of takes away from the rest of the film. The main story is quite sweet but also has a good sense of humour that will appeal to adults as much as children. It's not perfect for, like I said it does get a bit overly sentimental at times although it just about manages to stay sweetly sentimental and not fall into being sickly sentimental.

The animation is superb and only occasionally does Stuart look out of place in the frame. For the most part it all flows well together and was deserving of the Oscar nomination. Just as deserving is the animal training - anyone with cats will know how hard it is to get the little b*stards to do anything you want, so to have them do so much work is very impressive (although I understand it is all about food).

The cast are all pretty good. Davis and Laurie play it straight and are lumbered with carrying the emotional side of the film and don't have much comedy (a shame considering Laurie's talents). Michael J. Fox does the best work - he makes his Stuart very sweet and likeable; a true prince amongst mice! Lipnicki does OK but is basically just the `cute kid' that is legally required in all American family movies. The funny stuff comes from Lane, Zahn, Kirby, Tilly and, best of all, Palminteri, who's mafia cat is hilarious and sends up his own characters by doing so.

Overall this is an enjoyable family film. It may not be hilarious for adults in the way Toy Story and it's like are but it is not dull. It has characters for adults and plenty for children and it's all a bit of fun with a slightly overly sweet centre to it.

Stuart Little: The Little family set out to adopt a child, and choose a amiable talking mouse instead, much to the chagrin of their son and the family cat.

There are two words that describe this movie - words I swore I would never use in a review- : cute and sweet. Based on the children's story by EB White, the story is funny, cheerful, engaging and translates well to the screen.

The filmmakers obviously realized that making Stuart look real was essential to the movie's success and spared little expense (approximately half the film's $60 million budget went to Stuart). The results are phenomenal - you can see each individual hair on his face, his movement is amazingly fluid and when he talks, you forget he's animated . The same techniques are also utilized to make the film's felines talk. The voices - Michael J. Fox as Stuart and Nathan Lane as Snowbell - were ideal choices and help to enhance the experience.

Everyone left the premiere sporting a big silly grin and I think you will too. One note - you'll never look at pest control quite the same again.

Truly a family movie, especially made for kids. That explains all; the absurdity, the irrational acts, the incredible story and yet the finale.

Don't mess the story by thinking how can it happen in real life, because it won't.

The casts are well chosen, unfortunately Jonathan Lipnicki is less adorable than his appearance in Jerry MacGuire. Geena Davis is very standard as well as the other casts. But look at that little mouse! He's so adorable indeed, very sweet and beautifully made to make you fall in love with him from the first sight.

Well, it worked well, at least from the ratings and the gross income.

A family classic movie. Watch it on a Sunday morning. It will lift your spirit up.

I did not expect this movie to be this good. The commercials and previews that I saw did not do this movie justice! I took my 4 year old niece to see it, and I think I enjoyed it as much as she did.(and when we left for the theatre I had no interest in seeing it!) She was rooting for Stuart throughout the movie!