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Stuart Little | 1999 | PG | - 0.3.3

The Littles (played by Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie) adopt a mouse named Stuart, who isn't so warmly welcomed by his older brother (Jonathan Lipnicki) and the family cat (voiced by Nathan Lane). Based on the story by E.B. White. Also with Julia Sweeney, Jeffrey Jones, Estelle Getty, Allyce Beasley, Dabney Coleman, Jon Polito and Lauren Schaffel, and with the voices of Michael J. Fox, Steve Zahn, David Alan Grier, Chazz Palminteri, Bruno Kirby and Jennifer Tilly. [1:20]

SEX/NUDITY 0 - A couple of chaste kisses.

VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - Mostly played for laughs; no one or no animal is ever injured. Clothes are thrown on a mouse, then the clothes and the mouse are thrown down a laundry chute and into a washing machine; the mouse yells and pounds on the glass door to get out and we see him floating in water before he's rescued (he coughs a bit and burps a soap bubble, then we see him recovering in bed). In a jump scene, a cat springs onto a table where a mouse is standing, then we see the mouse's tail hanging out of the cat's mouth. A mouse appears to be tied to a model train track and is nearly hit by a model train. Boys tackle each other and briefly scuffle. A mouse hits another in the head with a purse. Several cat-and-mouse chases (some are extended scenes) during which a mouse is flung off an ironing board into a wall, a cat lunges into a garbage can, a mouse lands on a roller skate and rolls down a staircase, a mouse drives a model car off a ledge and into a water-filled sewer pipe, a mouse nearly goes down a waterfall, cats fall off a tree branch and into some water and a mouse hits a cat in the face with a tree branch and knocks it into some water below. Cats talk to another cat about killing a mouse and hire it to do so. In several scenes a cat talks menacingly to a mouse and appears to want to hurt him (it never does, though). A model boat runs into and destroys a few others; also, a mouse nearly falls off a boat. Some reckless driving in a model car. A police officer shows two people a photograph from a book of "grisly murder photos" (we don't see the photograph) and we learn that two mice were crushed by cans of soup (neither are characters in the movie); both scenes are more comical than dramatic. A cat passes gas and we hear a few mild jokes about flatulence.

LANGUAGE 3 - A mild anatomical reference, a mild scatological reference, some mild obscenities and some name-calling.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Adoption, family, separation from family, jealousy, competition.

MESSAGE - You don't have to look alike or even be part of the same species to be members of a happy family.

(Note: A sub-plot involving mice pretending to be Stuart's birth parents and taking him away from his adoptive parents could be upsetting for adopted children and their parents.)

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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