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Technical Information
Studio: Columbia
Tristar Home Entertainment
Year of Theatrical Release: 2002
Disc Format: 1
single-sided, Dual Layer
Image Format: Anamorphic
(16x9 enhanced)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Region Encoding: 1
Sound Format: Dolby
Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 (pro logic)
Running Time: 78
minutes
Director: Rob
Minkoff
Stars: Geena
Davis, Hugh Laurie, (Voices) Michael J. Fox, Melanie Griffith, James
Woods
MPAA Rating: PG
Disc Supplements:
- Filmmaker commentary track
- Show and Tell behind the scenes feature
- A Touch of Evil featurette
- Life in the Fast Lane featurette
- Stuart Little's Big Adventure read-along
- Circle of Friends interactive game
- Celine Dion I'm Alive music video
- Playstation game demo
- Theatrical trailers
- Web links
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The odd thing about the world of Stuart Little
is not that it features a little mouse that talks and acts like
a human. No. The odd thing is that every single human in this
world is completely OK with this. And this is why the films
work so well. The minute we get an outrageous doubletake, the
illusion is shattered and the gimmick is lost.
The first film introduced us to Eleanor and
Frederick Little (Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie), a couple who
adopt a little mouse named Stuart (voiced by Michael J. Fox).
The adventure in that film centered around Stuart trying to
gain acceptance by the Little's other son, George (Jonathan
Lipnicki) and the family cat, Snowbell (voiced by Nathan Lane).
In Stuart Little 2, Stuart has been accepted
by his family, but finds himself wishing that, like his brother
George, he had some other friends to play with.
One day, while driving home from school (the
film handily solves the problem of a tiny mouse traveling across
town by giving him a little car to drive), Stuart's wish seems
to come true when a little bird falls from the sky and lands
in his car. The bird, Margalo (voiced by Melanie Griffith),
quickly explains that she's being chased by a falcon and Stuart
floors it to try and escape the pursuing bird.
Margalo is invited to stay with the Littles,
which is great for Stuart, who seems to be developing a crush
on the little bird.
It soon becomes apparent, however, that Margalo
is not all that she seems. In fact, she may even be working
with Falcon (voiced by James Woods) in a plot to steal from
the Littles.
All of this is handled with every ounce of
innocent charm that the world of Stuart Little can muster. The
turns in the plot will be obvious to anyone over the age of
10, but the story is clever and witty enough that even though
the overall story is predictable, the film still entertains
and surprises.
I have to admit that, jaded as I am by the
modern Hollywood action film, when Stuart takes flight in his
little plane to face off against the Falcon, well, I felt a
rush of adrenaline, if only because of the tenacity of that
little mouse. It's nice that Hollywood can come out with a family
film that is exciting and funny by virtue of its charm, rather
than vulgarity or intensity.
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top |
Stuart Little 2 is presented with
a lush, colorful transfer. This won't rank as a demo disc, but it's
a great looking picture anyway. You'll find bright, accurate colors,
with no digital artifacting and very little edge enhancement. Black
levels are deep, with some nice detail in the shadows. Overall,
a very nice looking transfer.
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There are some nice elements to
this 5.1 surround mix. This isn't an action film, so the majority
of the track is fixed to the front stage. However, there are plenty
of action scenes and during those moments, the surrounds really
come to life. Dynamic range is decent throughout and the dialogue
is crisp and clear. Again, this won't go down as a demo material,
but it's a fully capable sound mix.
:::back to top |
Columbia has put a decent array of extras on
this disc. There is a little bit here for everyone, even if a lot
of it is a tad light in insight and content.
First up is the feature length director and producer
commentary. Unfortunately, this isn't the most lively track you'll
ever listen to. There are some good bits of information offered
up here, but a lot of the track is pretty dry. A lot of time is
spent pointing out the various visual effects shots and the like.
If you can last through that, you'll pick up some tidbits about
the back story of the film and some elements that were eliminated.
Also running along with the film is a Show and
Tell feature. Nothing new to DVD, this allows you to access behind
the scenes segments when a special icon pops up on the screen. As
is usually the case, the segments accessed through this feature
are a little too short for my liking. Just about when you get into
it, it's over and you're returned to the film. For my money, I'd
rather have a separate, well-produced featurette.
Next up are a couple of featurettes. The first
is A Touch of Evil: Creating the Perfect Villain. This is actually
a nice little segment showcasing the creative process behind the
Falcon character. We're given a look at early production sketches,
computer model tests and even the recording the dialogue and interviews
with James Woods and the filmmakers.
The second featurette is Life In The Fast Lane.
This is an amusing, high-speed look at the making of the film as
told through time-lapse and sped up film. Though lacking any real
insight into the production, it does effectively illustrate the
massive amount of work that goes into any film production.
There are a number of features here for the kids.
The first of which is a Stuart Little's Big Adventure read-along.
This features a narrator reading a story, as well as the story displayed
on screen for the kids to read. There is also an option to record
your own read-along track.
Stuart's Circle of Friends is an interactive game
where the kids are given multiple choice questions about various
characters. This is a nice idea, but there is no real payoff for
finishing the game, making it rather disappointing.
Finally, the disc includes Celine Dion's I'm Alive
music video, theatrical trailers (for Stuart Little 2 and other
Columbia Tristar kids films), a Playstation game demo, playable
game level and web links.
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Overall, this was a very cute film. There is
enough humor and in jokes (for example, watch for the "drive
in" scene and you'll notice that Stuart and Margalo are watching
Vertigo -- a humorous omen to the plot of the film) to entertain
the adults, but this humor is still innocent enough for the kids.
With many kids films resorting to vulgar and crude humor, this is
a nice addition to the library. I have no problems recommending
this film for the entire family.
:::back to top |
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| Pop this one in and feel
confident that they'll be entertained by an essentially innocent and
cute story of a talking mouse. |
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| -- By Robert Wurth. Copyright
© 2003. |
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