Stuart Little 2
Stuart Little 2 is a 2002 American family CGI animated/live-action comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff and starring Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, and Jonathan Lipnicki, and the voices of Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little and Nathan Lane as Snowbell the cat. Although a sequel to the 1999 film Stuart Little, the plot bears more resemblance to the original novel by E.B. White, in which Stuart and Snowbell must save a canary named Margalo (voiced by Melanie Griffith) from an evil falcon (voiced by James Woods).
Stuart Little 2 | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Rob Minkoff |
Produced by | |
Screenplay by | Bruce Joel Rubin |
Story by |
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Based on | Characters by E. B. White |
Starring | |
Music by | Alan Silvestri |
Cinematography | Steven Poster |
Edited by | Priscilla Nedd-Friendly |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing[1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 78 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $120 million[3] |
Box office | $170 million[3] |
The film was released to theaters on July 19, 2002 by Columbia Pictures, and grossed $170 million against a $120 million budget.[3] It was followed by a third film, a direct-to-video sequel titled Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild in 2005. However, unlike these previous two films, which were hybrids of live action and animation, the third film was entirely animated.
Plot
Three years after his adoption, Stuart Little questions his abilities following a disastrous soccer match alongside his adoptive older brother George. Stuart's relationship with George is strained further after Stuart accidentally crashes a model airplane he and George were creating in the house. Stuart's adoptive father, Frederick, tries to encourage him, telling him that "every cloud has a silver lining."
Later, Margalo, an apparently injured canary, falls into Stuart's roadster as he is driving home from school. Stuart invites Margalo to stay with his family for a while. However, Margalo is secretly assisting her master, a greedy falcon, to steal valuables from households. Orphaned as a fledgling, Margalo grows reluctant to steal from the Littles and becomes close friends with Stuart. The Falcon threatens to kill Stuart unless Margalo steals Eleanor's wedding ring. Concerned for Stuart's safety, Margalo complies.
When the Littles discover that Eleanor's ring is missing, they think it has fallen down their kitchen sink. Stuart offers to be lowered down the drain on a string to get it, but the string breaks, causing him to fall. Margalo saves Stuart and leaves the Littles' house that night in order to protect him. The next day, Stuart assumes Margalo has been kidnapped by the Falcon and decides to rescue her with the help of the Littles' cat Snowbell. Before he leaves, Stuart asks George to lie about his whereabouts to his parents.
Following advice from Snowbell's alley cat friend Monty, Stuart and Snowbell discover that the Falcon resides in the Pishkin Building. There, Stuart confronts the Falcon. Margalo assures Stuart that although she was following the Falcon's orders, she is still his friend. Stuart begs Margalo to come home with him, but the Falcon refuses to let Margalo quit her job. Despite Stuart's attempt to attack the Falcon, he drops Stuart over the side of the building, although Stuart survives by landing in a passing garbage truck. The Falcon captures Margalo and imprisons her in a paint can as punishment. However, Snowbell, who is getting worried about Stuart, makes his way to the building and finds Margalo while the Falcon is absent.
At the same time, Stuart awakens on a garbage barge that was leaving New York and considers giving up until he finds his and George's broken yet still-functioning model airplane on the barge. Cobbling it together using various pieces of trash, Stuart repairs the plane and escapes back to New York City to rescue Margalo. Meanwhile, the Littles discover George has lied because Stuart is nowhere to be found. George tries not to break his promise until Frederick says that he understands why George would make a promise to Stuart, since he himself has a brother, but that if he was in danger, that would matter more than the promise itself. George eventually admits Stuart was last seen at the Pishkin Building, prompting the Littles to head out and find Stuart.
Meanwhile, Snowbell frees Margalo from the paint can, but the Falcon arrives and attacks him. As he tries to push Snowbell off the building, the Falcon is intercepted by Margalo, who threatens to toss the ring off the roof if he kills Snowbell. Before the Falcon could reclaim the ring from Margalo, Stuart swoops in on his plane to catch her. The Falcon catches up to the two in Central Park, while the Littles and Snowbell follow them. Stuart succeeds in blinding the Falcon by reflecting sunlight off his mother's ring before jumping from the plane, which crashes into Falcon, clipping his wings and causing him to fall in the trash can below, where Monty presumably eats him. Margalo safely brings Stuart back to the Littles and returns Eleanor's ring while Snowbell also reunites with them. Sometime later, Margalo says goodbye to the Littles and leaves to migrate south for the winter.
Cast
Live-action cast
- Geena Davis as Mrs. Eleanor Little, the mother of the Little family who is overprotective of Stuart.
- Hugh Laurie as Mr. Frederick Little, the father of the Little family.
- Jonathan Lipnicki as George Little, the eldest child of the Little family and Stuart's older brother.
- Anna and Ashley Hoelck as Martha Little, the infant daughter of the Little family and Stuart and George's younger sister.
- Marc John Jefferies as Will Powell, George's friend and classmate.
- Jim Doughan as Stuart and George's soccer coach. Doughan previously voiced Lucky and played the role of Detective Allen in Stuart Little.
- Brad Garrett as Rob, a plumber called to find Eleanor's ring in the kitchen sink's pipes.
- Amelia Marshall as Rita Powell, Will's mother.
- Ronobir Lahiri as the cab driver
- Maria Bamford as Stuart and George's teacher
Voice cast
- Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little, an anthropomorphic teenage mouse adopted as part of the Little family.
- Melanie Griffith as Margalo, a canary who becomes Stuart's friend. The character originally appeared in E.B. White's novel.
- James Woods as The Falcon, a sadistic, nameless peregrine falcon who serves as Margalo's master.
- Nathan Lane as Snowbell, the family cat who is Stuart's best friend.
- Steve Zahn as Monty, Snowbell's alley cat friend.
Puppeteers
- Greg Ballora
- David Barclay - supervising animation puppeteer
- Kevin Carlson
- David Greenaway
- Greg Manion
- Drew Massey
- Karen Prell
- Michelan Sisti
Production
Filming began in New York City and Culver City, California on March 5, 2001, and lasted until June of that year. After the September 11 attacks, scenes of the Twin Towers were digitally removed and certain scenes were re-shot.[4]
Reception
Critical reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 81% approval rating based on reviews from 124 critics, with the consensus, "Stuart Little 2 is a sweet, visually impressive sequel that provides wholesome entertainment for kids."[5] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 66 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[6] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A" on an A+ to F scale.[7]
Ann Hornaday wrote a positive review in The Washington Post, noting how the film's idealized setting makes it family-friendly. Hornaday praised the vocal performances of Fox, Griffith, and Woods in their roles as Stuart, Margalo, and Falcon, respectively, as well as the characters' computer animation: "The animated characters engage in such natural movements and, more important, exude such subtle emotional expression that they mesh seamlessly with their live-action counterparts."[8] Tom Shen of the Chicago Reader, described the film as "fairly formulaic", but praised its jokes as "hilarious", especially those coming from the character of Snowbell, the Littles' cat.[9]
Box office
The film had an opening weekend gross of $15.1 million. The domestic total was $65 million and the worldwide total was $170 million against an estimated production budget of $120 million.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack, Music From And Inspired By Stuart Little 2, was released by Epic Records and Sony Music Soundtrax on July 16, 2002 on Audio CD and Compact Cassette. The final two tracks are score cues composed by Alan Silvestri.[10]
The next album features the entirety of Silvestri's orchestral score for the film.
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "I'm Alive (End Titles)" (performed by Celine Dion) | Kristian Lundin, Andreas Carlsson | Kristian Lundin | 3:28 |
2. | "Put a Little Love in Your Heart (Opening Titles)" (performed by Mary Mary) | Jackie DeShannon, Jimmy Holiday, Randy Myers | VME | 3:09 |
3. | "Top of the World" (performed by Mandy Moore) | Jeff Cohen, Leah Haywood | 3:22 | |
4. | "Another Small Adventure" (performed by Chantal Kreviazuk) | 2:57 | ||
5. | "One" (performed by Nathan Lane) | Harry Nilsson | Rick Jarrard | 2:18 |
6. | "What I Like About You" (performed by The Romantics) | Wally Palmar, Mike Skill, Jimmy Marinos | Pete Solley | 2:56 |
7. | "Hold On To The Good Things" (performed by Shawn Colvin) | Roxanne Seeman, Holly Knight | 3:30 | |
8. | "Count on Me" (performed by Billy Gilman) | 3:42 | ||
9. | "Smile" (performed by Vitamin C) | Josh Deutsch, Colleen Fitzpatrick | Josh Deutsch, Garry Hughes | 3:58 |
10. | "Alone Again (Naturally)" (performed by Gilbert O'Sullivan) | Gilbert O'Sullivan | Gilbert O'Sullivan | 3:38 |
11. | "Born to Be Wild" (performed by Steppenwolf) | Mars Bonfire | Gabriel Mekler | 3:30 |
12. | "Little Angel of Mine" (performed by No Secrets) | Orrin Hatch[11] | 3:47 | |
13. | "Falcon Finito" (Alan Silvestri) | 6:51 | ||
14. | "Silver Lining" (Alan Silvestri) | 4:21 | ||
Total length: | 51:27 |
Video game
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | GBA: 59/100[12] PS1: 62/100[13] |
Publication | Score |
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AllGame | GBA: [14] PC: [15] PS1: [16] |
GameSpot | PS1: 5.3/10[17] |
GameZone | GBA: 6.9/10[18] PS1: 6.5/10[19] |
IGN | GBA: 5/10[20] PS1: 7/10[21] |
Jeuxvideo.com | PC: 5/20[22] |
Nintendo World Report | GBA: 6/10[23] |
ONM | GBA: 6/10[24] |
OPM (AU) | PS1: 5/10[25] |
Video games based on the film were released for the PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, and Microsoft Windows.
Accolades
Year | Awards | Category | Nominee | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | BAFTA Children's Award | Best Feature Film | Douglas Wick Lucy Fisher Rob Minkoff Bruce Joel Rubin | Nominated |
2003 | Golden Trailer Award | Best Animation/Family Film | Nominated | |
Visual Effects Society Award | Best Character Animation in an Animated Motion Picture | Tony Bancroft David Schaub Eric Armstrong Sean Mullen | Won | |
Best Visual Effects Photography in a Motion Picture | Earl Wiggins Mark Vargo Tom Houghton Anna Foerster | Nominated | ||
Young Artist Award | Best Family Feature Film | Rob Minkoff | Nominated |
Home media
Stuart Little 2 was released on VHS and DVD on December 10, 2002 by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. A Blu-ray/DVD combo pack was released on June 28, 2011 alongside the first film by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.[26]
References
- "Stuart Little 2". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- Laporte, Nicole (May 13, 2004). "Red Wagon raises Shane". Variety. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- "Stuart Little 2 (2002)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
- Youngs, Ian (September 9, 2002). "Has Hollywood forgotten 11 September?". BBC News. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- "Stuart Little 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-01-12.
- "Stuart Little 2".
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2018-11-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Hornaday, Ann (19 July 2002). "'Stuart Little 2': Cute as a Button". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- Ted, Shen (14 August 2012). "Stuart Little 2". Chicago Reader. Sun-Times Media. Retrieved 27 July 2016. Date is according to Rotten Tomatoes.
- "Stuart Little 2 - Original Soundtrack". AllMusic. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
- "Music bill puts Kid Rock, Mike Love, Donald Trump and Orrin Hatch on the same stage". Deseret News. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- "Stuart Little 2 for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- "Stuart Little 2 for Playstation Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- Beam, Jennifer. "Stuart Little 2". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- Beam, Jennifer. "Stuart Little 2". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- Beam, Jennifer. "Stuart Little 2". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- Shoemaker, Brad. "Stuart Little 2 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- Hollingshead, Anise (August 8, 2002). "Stuart Little 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 19, 2002. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- Cowboy, Code (July 29, 2002). "Stuart Little 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- Harris, Craig (July 22, 2002). "Stuart Little 2". IGN. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- Nix (July 30, 2002). "Stuart Little 2". IGN. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- "Test : Stuart Little 2". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). November 14, 2002. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- Kosmina, Ben (December 10, 2002). "Stuart Little 2". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- Wint, Dominic (August 2002). "Stuart Little 2". Nintendo Official Magazine. No. 119. p. 79.
- Ogilvie, Tristan (August 2002). "Stuart Little 2". Official PlayStation 2 Magazine-Australia. No. 5. p. 76.
- "Jumanji, Stuart Little 1 & 2, and Zathura: A Space Adventure Coming to Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. April 17, 2011. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
External links
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