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Stuart Little 2 is that rarest of movie breeds, a sequel that surpasses its charming, popular predecessor to achieve near-classic status. Mr. & Mrs. Little (Hugh Laurie, Geena Davis) are portrayed with good-natured, storybook purity, and the rest of the movie follows suit, beginning when their lonely mouse "son" Stuart (perfectly voiced by Michael J. Fox) befriends an orphaned canary (Melanie Griffith), who is reluctantly stealing from the Littles for the villainous Falcon (James Woods). The con game turns into a search-and-rescue thriller, with family cat Snowbell (Nathan Lane) quipping like a borscht-belt comedian, but the real fun of
Stuart Little 2 comes from Bruce Joel Rubin's hilarious, marvelously inventive screenplay and returning director Rob Minkoff's visually dazzling combination of live action and lavish computer animation. Matching the
Babe movies as a wondrous marvel of family entertainment,
Stuart Little 2 is an all-ages romp that's smart, sweet, and completely irresistible.
--Jeff Shannon
Without sacrificing any of the magical allure of the 1999 original, this sequel chronicles the further adventures of an enterprising mouse (voice by Michael J. Fox) and his adopted human family (played by Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, and Jonathan Lipnicki). The story here is more in keeping with E. B. White's cheeky children's classic. Stuart's dilemma-being scammed by a pretty bird (Melanie Griffith) and her falcon partner (James Woods) for his family's valuables-lets the movie explore themes of loneliness and trust playfully. The director Rob Minkoff paints an idealized vision of New York City, a land of doormen and afternoon tea. His movie feels like it's spun from sugar. -Bruce Diones
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The New Yorker