Expect more of the same in smaller proportions the second time around -- a general rule for most sequels, and one that unfortunately applies to Stuart Little 2. Due to the box office success of the 1999 original, parents may feel the second film is more deserving of their attention, but sad to say, the sequel comes up a few laughs short, despite providing a quick little adventure and tale of friendship that the entire family can share. Robert Minkoff (Stuart Little, The Lion King) returns to direct and plays his cards as simply and safely as possible.

      Based on the classic children’s story by E.B. White, we find the talking mouse Stuart (once again voiced by Michael J. Fox) living comfortably with the Little family. He attends school in his red-hot convertible and even plays in George (Jonathan Lipnicki)’s soccer game. But George has interest in playing with his other friends, leaving Stuart alone. Desperate for companionship, Stuart’s problems appear to be temporarily solved when a parakeet named Margalo (voiced by Melanie Griffith) crashes into his car.

      While nursing her injured wing, the two become fast friends, but it turns out their meeting was not by accident -- Margalo actually works for Falcon (voiced by James Woods), a con artist, and after doing her job, she leaves Stuart and the welcoming Little family. But with the help of his longtime friend, Snowball (voiced by Nathan Lane), Stuart sets out to find Margalo and help her escape from Falcon’s control.

      It’s essentially your cookie-cutter sequel: Our hero, Stuart Little, goes on a journey and befriends someone similar to him; after establishing himself in the Little home in the first film, the character development process can begin. No thanks to writers Douglas Wick and Bruce Joel Rubin, though, there’s little development on any character -- especially with George, who, once the film is under its own steam, doesn’t seem to play nearly as big a part as he did in the first. This is really Stuart’s film.

      Fortunately the computer generated images -- as well as the production design and the cinematography -- were remarkable. Stuart’s hair alone is an indication of the amazing care that was put into the movie’s effects. Credit Rick Bongiovanni (he did the effects on Snow Dogs and The Country Bears) with the precision. He managed the visuals on Falcon, which, with the dark accompaniment of James Woods’s voice, only made him scarier as the villain du jour.

      Bill Brzeski, production designer, and Lisa Sessions, set decorator, were brought on board again to master the film’s physical details, especially all of Stuart’s little knick-knacks. Cinematographer Steven Poster was also able to accomplish some interesting camera angles of the animated creatures’ adventure -- from up high to down low, he brought an almost theme park-like atmosphere to the film.

      Also commendable were the voicing efforts from Woods and Melanie Griffith. Woods is as finely tuned as they come, and he can play evil as well as good. Griffith, surprisingly, comes off as perfect for the role of Margalo. Her distinctly nasal voice is toned down to bring out her gentler, more soothing qualities; it’s safe to say that in this film, the animated characters and their accompanying voices had more depth and character than all the live actors put together. (As for the live actors, Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie reprise their roles like Stuart Little never ended -- their Cleaver-esque demeanor works for the most part, but you wish there was something more to them.)

Michael J. Eiff, 2002