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Stuart Little 2
Columbia/Tri-Star // PG // December 10, 2002
List Price: $24.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
An expensive sequel that wasn't quite the success that the original was, it's difficult to figure why the film didn't do better. A rare instance of the sequel being equal to (or maybe even a little better than) the original, "Stuart Little 2" is charming family fare that offers impressive effects, fine performances and good humor.
The film once again stars the voice of Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little, a computer-generated mouse who was taken in by the Little family in the original film. This time around, Stuart is getting older, but his human mother (Geena Davis) is still treating him as if he was, uh, little. In an early scene, she gets nervous when he tries to play soccer on a team with a bunch of other kids. To make matters worse, Stuart's older brother George (Jonathan Lipnicki) is also getting older and instead of playing with Stuart, he's spending more time hanging out with other kids.
One day, a little bird named Margalo (voiced by Melanie Griffith) drops (literally) into his life when she's being chased by a falcon. Stuart befriends the injured bird and the Little family takes her in as if she was one of their own. When Stuart thinks Margalo could be in danger, he sets out to find her, only to find that she's not quite who he thought she was.
Once again directed by Rob Minkoff ("The Lion King"), the sequel offers the same kind of light humor as the original, with Nathan Lane's voice work as the Little's cat Snowball being the highlight (as Lane also gets the best lines). Michael J. Fox, Griffith, James Woods and Steve Zhan also provide good voice work, while Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie are good as the humans. There's also lessons without them being delivered in a heavy-handed or obvious fashion and a few surprisingly thrilling action sequences. This also quite a tight film - it comes in at a pretty speedy 75 minutes. The film's special effects - Stuart and the other talking animals - are also quite seamless.
Overall, a very enjoyable film that both adults and children should find equally fun and entertaining.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Stuart Little 2" is presented by Columbia/Tristar in both 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and 1.33:1 full-frame. Both editions can be chosen from the main menu. The picture's sunny appearance translates well to this DVD edition, which offers a very enjoyable presentation. Sharpness and detail are quite strong, as fine detail is often visible.
There really wasn't too much to be concerned about with the film's image quality. Slight edge enhancement was present in a few scenes, but was hardly distracting or even terribly noticable. Some minimal grain was present on occasion, too. The print used was in excellent condition, with only a speck or two throughout the entire feature.
The film's bright and warm color palette is reproduced wonderfully on this transfer, as it appeared well-saturated and vivid, with no smearing. Overall, quite a nice presentation.
SOUND: "Stuart Little 2" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 by Columbia/Tristar. The film's soundtrack is a step or two above the audio of most children's fare, with some scenes that use the surrounds especially well (see Stuart's scene early in the picture where he flies around the room in his toy plane). Surrounds are also used occasionally to reinforce the score. Audio quality is excellent, as dialogue is clear and the film's music (Mandy Moore's "Top of the World" is a highlight, as Moore continues to mature musically and provide better pop music) sounds dynamic and lively.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Rob Minkoff and visual effects supervisor Jerome Chen. The commentary is a mixture of interesting comments and stories about the production and technical comments about how the effects were achieved. Although some portions of the commentary many be a bit too technical for younger listeners, the majority of it may interest them, as the two provide a lot of good information about the story, working with the actors and trying to accomplish many of the film's big sequences. Both are enthusiastic and fun, talking throughout with only a couple of minor instances of silence.
Show and Tell: This option offers featurettes that play when the viewer clicks on a logo that appears at various instances throughout the film.
A Touch of Evil: This short piece offers a look at the casting of James Woods and both how Woods created the character and the CGI artists crafted an intimidating bad guy.
Life in the Fast Lane: This cute but brief supplement quickly takes the viewer through most of the steps that were done to get "Stuart Little 2" from script-to-screen.
Also: "I'm Alive" music video from Celine Dion; Read-Along for "Stuart Little's Big Adventure"; interactive game; Playstation game ad; filmographies and trailers for "Stuart Little 2", "Master Of Disguise", "Family Fun", "Kermit's Swamp Years" and "Little Secrets".
Final Thoughts: "Stuart Little 2" is great family entertainment that provides a good message, solid humor and a few inspired and exciting action sequences. Columbia/Tristar's DVD edition provides very good audio/video quality, along with a handful of enjoyable supplements. Recommended.
An expensive sequel that wasn't quite the success that the original was, it's difficult to figure why the film didn't do better. A rare instance of the sequel being equal to (or maybe even a little better than) the original, "Stuart Little 2" is charming family fare that offers impressive effects, fine performances and good humor.
The film once again stars the voice of Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little, a computer-generated mouse who was taken in by the Little family in the original film. This time around, Stuart is getting older, but his human mother (Geena Davis) is still treating him as if he was, uh, little. In an early scene, she gets nervous when he tries to play soccer on a team with a bunch of other kids. To make matters worse, Stuart's older brother George (Jonathan Lipnicki) is also getting older and instead of playing with Stuart, he's spending more time hanging out with other kids.
One day, a little bird named Margalo (voiced by Melanie Griffith) drops (literally) into his life when she's being chased by a falcon. Stuart befriends the injured bird and the Little family takes her in as if she was one of their own. When Stuart thinks Margalo could be in danger, he sets out to find her, only to find that she's not quite who he thought she was.
Once again directed by Rob Minkoff ("The Lion King"), the sequel offers the same kind of light humor as the original, with Nathan Lane's voice work as the Little's cat Snowball being the highlight (as Lane also gets the best lines). Michael J. Fox, Griffith, James Woods and Steve Zhan also provide good voice work, while Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie are good as the humans. There's also lessons without them being delivered in a heavy-handed or obvious fashion and a few surprisingly thrilling action sequences. This also quite a tight film - it comes in at a pretty speedy 75 minutes. The film's special effects - Stuart and the other talking animals - are also quite seamless.
Overall, a very enjoyable film that both adults and children should find equally fun and entertaining.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Stuart Little 2" is presented by Columbia/Tristar in both 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and 1.33:1 full-frame. Both editions can be chosen from the main menu. The picture's sunny appearance translates well to this DVD edition, which offers a very enjoyable presentation. Sharpness and detail are quite strong, as fine detail is often visible.
There really wasn't too much to be concerned about with the film's image quality. Slight edge enhancement was present in a few scenes, but was hardly distracting or even terribly noticable. Some minimal grain was present on occasion, too. The print used was in excellent condition, with only a speck or two throughout the entire feature.
The film's bright and warm color palette is reproduced wonderfully on this transfer, as it appeared well-saturated and vivid, with no smearing. Overall, quite a nice presentation.
SOUND: "Stuart Little 2" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 by Columbia/Tristar. The film's soundtrack is a step or two above the audio of most children's fare, with some scenes that use the surrounds especially well (see Stuart's scene early in the picture where he flies around the room in his toy plane). Surrounds are also used occasionally to reinforce the score. Audio quality is excellent, as dialogue is clear and the film's music (Mandy Moore's "Top of the World" is a highlight, as Moore continues to mature musically and provide better pop music) sounds dynamic and lively.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Rob Minkoff and visual effects supervisor Jerome Chen. The commentary is a mixture of interesting comments and stories about the production and technical comments about how the effects were achieved. Although some portions of the commentary many be a bit too technical for younger listeners, the majority of it may interest them, as the two provide a lot of good information about the story, working with the actors and trying to accomplish many of the film's big sequences. Both are enthusiastic and fun, talking throughout with only a couple of minor instances of silence.
Show and Tell: This option offers featurettes that play when the viewer clicks on a logo that appears at various instances throughout the film.
A Touch of Evil: This short piece offers a look at the casting of James Woods and both how Woods created the character and the CGI artists crafted an intimidating bad guy.
Life in the Fast Lane: This cute but brief supplement quickly takes the viewer through most of the steps that were done to get "Stuart Little 2" from script-to-screen.
Also: "I'm Alive" music video from Celine Dion; Read-Along for "Stuart Little's Big Adventure"; interactive game; Playstation game ad; filmographies and trailers for "Stuart Little 2", "Master Of Disguise", "Family Fun", "Kermit's Swamp Years" and "Little Secrets".
Final Thoughts: "Stuart Little 2" is great family entertainment that provides a good message, solid humor and a few inspired and exciting action sequences. Columbia/Tristar's DVD edition provides very good audio/video quality, along with a handful of enjoyable supplements. Recommended.
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