Stuart Little 2 *** (2002, Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Lipnicki) – Classic Movie Review 1773

Another Little gem. Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie and tiny lad Jonathan Lipnicki re-create their tasty turns as the Little family in returning director Rob Minkoff’s gleaming 2002 sequel to the 1999 kids’ hit.

This time mighty mouse Stuart (again the voice of Michael J Fox) takes flight as he sets off in his new plane, which promptly crashes. Luckily, a new feathered friend, Margalo (voice of Melanie Griffith), flies in to cheer him up. But it turns out that she’s been sent by the evil Falcon (voice of James Woods) to nab momma Davis’s ring.

With a crisp, dynamic script, a polished production and seamless animatronics, this cute, stylish retro entertainment is a worthy successor to the original. Fox is ideal as the voice of Stuart Little and so’s Nathan Lane again as the baddie pussycat Snowbell, who sets out with Stuart on a journey across the city to find the missing canary Margalo, while George covers for Stuart, who has to tell a lie for the first time to his parents. Other voices include Steve Zahn back as Monty.

The screenplay is by Bruce Joel Rubin, with a story by him and Douglas Wick, based on characters from the book by E B White. Rubin is the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Ghost (1990), plus Jacob’s Ladder (1990) and Deep Impact  (1998).

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1773

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