1893. Stuart Little 2 (2002)

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie

Director: Rob Minkoff

Running Time: 77 mins

Stuart Little 2 is an American film and the sequel to Stuart Little. Now fully settled into the family, Stuart comes across an injured bird named Margalo who he takes in and cares for. However, when she goes missing, he and Snowbell must set out on an epic adventure across New York City to find her.

Much like its predecessor, Stuart Little 2 isn’t the most impressive, convincing or even entertaining film you’ll ever see, largely due to a preposterous story that reaches even less believable heights second time round, as well as very lightweight comedy that doesn’t prove particularly funny for audiences over 8 years old. However, like the first film as well, this does have a good bit of charm, and some nice performances, all of which make it a pleasant, albeit often underwhelming watch.

Let’s start on the plus side, with the fact that, despite its various faults, this is a fairly pleasant way to spend 77 minutes. It’s nothing to write home about, and you may not be thinking about it a few hours afterwards, but unlike a lot of the most generic family blockbusters from the early 2000s, it’s that little bit of charm that just gets it over the line, and prevents it from being a more annoying and overly simplistic movie.

While its story, which involves a couple of talking animals eventually ending up having to traverse a major American city, is as generic as can be, this film doesn’t fall into the trap of the likes of Garfield because you do care a little bit about Stuart Little himself, something that comes from the film’s very sweet, if not often a little sickly, emphasis on familial love.

In that, the main action side of the story isn’t too irritating, and can bring a little bit of joy along the way. However, there are times when the film goes a little too overboard on the sweet factor, and makes for a frustrating watch in a few other ways.

While in the first film there was a little bit of conflict as Stuart was first being accepted into the Little family, there’s something that seems a little bit too perfect about the situation here. Yes, his relationship with the bird Margalo is there to throw a few spanners in the works, but on the whole, it’s the overbearing (and frankly ridiculous) motherly love that the talking mouse Stuart receives from Geena Davis’ character that pushes the story a little too far over the edge.

I’m not looking for pure realism in a Stuart Little movie, and the cutesy, perfect family performances from Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie are pretty pleasant, but when the core of the story is based around a mouse being treated 100% like a normal human, by every single person around him, things do just get a bit silly, and can throw you off from being genuinely interested in the story.

Overall, I did like Stuart Little 2, but only from a pleasant, relaxing perspective. It’s not a particularly impressive film, and its schmaltzy happiness does get a little overbearing at times, which is why I’m giving it a 6.5.