STUART LITTLE

STUART LITTLE is a cute, funny family movie with excellent special effects that make its small hero’s adventures come alive. The story celebrates family, friendship, courage, and the possibility of redemption when even shady characters choose to help someone else.

The movie does include four mild obscenities, crude jokes about passing gas, and some mild peril involving cats, water, and a laundry chute. It also contains a very mild message about not fitting into the categories others expect—a minor concern in an otherwise moral universe.

Your children will likely enjoy the characters and the nutty action, while adults can appreciate the film’s warmth and its redemptive turn. WORTH THE TRIP for a family movie night.

A human family in New York City adopts Stuart, a little white mouse with a big courageous heart. Their son, George, is disappointed that his parents did not bring home a human baby brother, but Stuart’s kindness and cleverness slowly win him over.

When George and Stuart work together on a toy boat for a race in Central Park, Stuart begins to feel like part of the family. But the household cat and a group of alley cats have other plans for the plucky little mouse.

Three stars means a good family movie with real charm, though it has a few minor weaknesses. The special effects are excellent, making the action feel lively and helping Stuart function convincingly as the hero. The movie is also wonderfully nutty at times.

Michael J. Fox does a marvelous job voicing Stuart. Nathan Lane gives Snowball the housecat a sarcastic comic energy, and Geena Davis is positively endearing as Mrs. Little. The children at the screening seemed to enjoy the story and characters.

The pro-family message could have been stronger, and the identity-related element is a slight distraction. Still, the film’s warmth, humor, and redemptive developments give it much to recommend.

STUART LITTLE presents family as something marked by love, loyalty, and sacrificial care rather than merely by appearances or biology. George learns to welcome Stuart as a brother, and the story’s moral center is the conviction that family members should support and look out for one another.

The film also includes a very mild political-correctness element about Stuart not fitting into the human world or the cat-and-mouse world. One cat objects that his place in the family is “against the laws of nature.” The idea is handled within a moral universe, however, and the film ultimately emphasizes belonging, courage, and compassion.

The story’s redemptive element is especially meaningful: three shady characters change their hearts and help Stuart, potentially at the cost of their own safety. That movement toward self-sacrifice aligns with the biblical call to “look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4).

STUART LITTLE is a charming, inventive family comedy with excellent effects, memorable performances, pro-family values, and a redemptive heart. Its mild language, crude humor, and small worldview concern do not outweigh its warmth. For most families, it is WORTH THE TRIP.