Stuart Little 2 (2002)

Stuart Little 2 (2002)

6/10

Starring

Michael J. Fox

Geena Davis

Hugh Laurie

Directed by Rob Minkoff

After the wonderful ride that was Stuart Little in 1999, I was so expecting a second part, even though I expected it to suck. It didn’t, in my book, and just felt like the first movie with a few more characters.

The movie has everyone back from the first movie: Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane returning to voice Stuart and Snowbell, and Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie returning as Mrs. and Mr. Little. Unlike the first movie, which digressed a lot from the original plot, this one stayed closer to E.B. White’s book, on which the movies are based.

Here’s a tale of how Stuart and Snowbell go way out of their way to save a canary named Margalo (voiced by Melanie Griffith) from an evil falcon (voiced by James Woods).

Everything about this movie seems like it just picked up from where the last one stopped. We see a lot more bonding between Stuart and George, with Snowbell now well acclimatized to having a mouse as his owner. We’re taken through more adventures and introduced to Stuart’s new car, which, on one fortunate ride, picks up a passenger: a canary named Margalo.

Margalo is being chased by a falcon, and Stuart is able to race her to safety. He takes her home and tries to mend her wing, which allows Margalo to be introduced to the other members of the family. Snowbell is also pissed that he cannot eat her.

Soon, we see that there is more to Stuart meeting Margalo than just the coincidence we saw, and the bravery of Snowbell is beyond words as he does everything he can to save his family.

Unlike the first movie, M. Night Shyamalan was not involved in the screenplay, but the director, Rob Minkoff, was back to direct. This was the last CGI/live-action take on the character, as this movie didn’t do as well as the first one, and the third was a completely traditional animation.

The movie also has a step-up in the graphics and did better critically than the first, even though I still feel the first one was slightly better.

One thing you can notice in the movie is the removal of the Twin Towers, as after the September 11 attacks, the producers felt it was best to have them digitally removed. This movie is all the fun you can get when you sit through it with your family. Here’s a sequel that you can just pop in after seeing the first movie.

I have not seen the third movie in this series and do not plan to, but let me know if you feel it’s worth seeing in the comments below.