December 20, 1999 -- "Stuart Little" is a cute little cat and mouse movie for kids. Based on the novel by E.B. White, it takes place in a fanciful New York City dreamscape where mice are sometimes adopted instead of humans.

Stuart, the mouse, is digitally animated and, for the most part, fits seamlessly into the film with his human and feline counterparts. Only in one scene, where he is shown riding in mom's purse, does he look fake, and that was probably a mouse doll in place of the animated Stuart. The cats have digitally-animated mouths for their speaking roles, and of course, there are lots of famous voices to go in those mouths. Stuart's voice is that of Michael J. Fox, Snowbell the cat's voice is Nathan Lane's, and Chazz Palminteri provides the voice for the evil alley cat Smokey.

Stuart, an orphan, is adopted by the Littles, the mother played by Geena Davis of "The Long Kiss Goodnight" and the father is Hugh Laurie ("The Man in the Iron Mask"). They and most of the family get along well with Stuart. It is only their other child, George (Jonathan Lipnicki), who feels left out, and, of course, the family cat, Snowbell, who doesn't like the idea of a mouse master at all.

Some of this tension between characters sets off the story, which leads to Stuart being chased by cats through Central Park. There's also a thrilling yacht race with Stuart at the helm. The simple message of family relationships at the heart of the film comes across very well. Lipnicki, as he did in "Jerry McGuire," steals the show as the overlooked and under appreciated nerdy kid. He's quite a good actor. The rest of the cast also does a good job of looking to be right at home with a mouse as a member of the family. Kids will like this movie, it is funny and heartwarming. It rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.