Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Stuart Little Blu-ray Movie Review

Little things come with lots of extras.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 16, 2011

Fairy tales are real.

The mega-dollar special effects extravaganza Stuart Little is sure to excite the kids and touch the hearts of adults with its ever-relevant tale of the transcending powers of love and acceptance. Made on a big budget and riding the cutting edge of moviemaking technology, the picture is enjoyable and fit for the whole family while serving as an all-around good example of meshing live action with modern computer effects. The plot is certainly a bit stilted and the end result isn't a revelation within the medium of cinema, nor may this even remotely be considered to be an original picture, but Stuart Little's got a heart as big as its budget and a soul as pure as the title character's mousy white fur. Indeed, Stuart Little is wholesome and innocent cinema at its most basic. It means well and all of those good vibes more or less wipe out any disappointment that may begin to simmer as the generalities pile up and the predictable story runs its course. As is so often the case, good intentions and a big heart prove once again to be enough to carry a movie to success.

Stuart sails towards the hearts of audiences everywhere.

The Little family -- mother Eleanor (Geena Davis), father Frederick (Hugh Laurie), and son George (Jonathan Lipnicki) -- have decided to adopt a child and expand the Little clan by one. George wants a younger brother, but what he gets is Stuart (voiced by Michael J. Fox), an inches-tall talking mouse who's been living at the local orphanage for far too long. Stuart is immediately a big hit with the family, save for George and the family cat, Snowbell (voiced by Nathan Lane). George is upset that Stuart's not human, and Snowbell, well, suffice it to say it's awkward enough that Stuart is now the center of attention, not to mention that anywhere else the new addition would be dinner, not a family member. As George slowly comes around to accepting Stuart as a brother, Snowbell plots with other local felines to rid his life of Stuart forever.

Most obvious is that Stuart Little is a plainly generic Family movie, right down to its stringy, upbeat, and light heard-it-in-one-Family-movie-heard-it-a-million-times musical score. Innocence abounds as characters maneuver through various misadventures and emotions, learn from their mistakes, and enter the fast track to happily ever after. It's the bumps in the roads and the lessons learned that form the heart and soul of Stuart Little. First there's the question of acceptance; neither the family cat nor George see Stuart as a viable member of the family because of the way he looks. As he proves his worth as more than a mouse and someone capable of loving and being loved, he's accepted into the fold after a series of misadventures that give the movie a sprinkling of kinetic energy that nicely balances the underlying emotional content. Stuart Little tugs on the heartstrings -- blatantly so, even -- but it's nevertheless effective in the long run even as the movie proves terribly manipulative and almost painfully linear. That doesn't make it a bad movie. It's unoriginal, yes, but there's an underlying honesty and ease with which it goes about its business that lessens the impact of just how blatantly the film moves its audience to cheer on the inevitable fairy tale ending, which is even a running theme throughout the movie.

Beyond the force-fed emotions lies what is one of the more mesmerizing all-digital creations yet in this new wave of computer-enhanced cinema. Sony's massively-budget Stuart character is a thing of technological beauty; even with all of the effects that have dazzled since, little Stuart remains a hallmark special effects creation for detail, movement, and integration into a live-action picture. Viewers will marvel at the level of visible detail evident on each and every close-up shot throughout the movie, particularly the free-flowing and environment-influenced fur that's never clumpy and always natural in appearance. Maybe better still, there's no sense that the character has been artificially inserted into the film after the fact. The actors do a fine job of interacting with the digital character, and Michael J. Fox brings a much-needed final vocal touch and balance to Stuart. The actor manages to endow Stuart with a sweet and innocent yet awed and appreciative feel, in essence encapsulating all the movie stands for in terms of heart, adventure, and honesty. The human cast -- particularly the adults -- plays things with more than hint of excessiveness and exaggeration, but for a kid's movie the slight over-the-top feel seems to work in the picture's favor.

Stuart Little Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Stuart Little leaps onto Blu-ray with a steady 1080p transfer that's colorful and strongly detailed throughout. Details remain impressive in every scene -- whether real-world skin, clothing, wood, structural, and random textures or the intricate digital creations that make up Stewart's body, fur, and clothes -- as Sony's 1080p image often dazzles with how well it handles every little in-frame element. Of note in the real world is how nicely detailed and real the small model ships look as they race through the waters of Central Park midway through the film. Clarity is strong throughout, softness is never a problem, and even distant objects remain sharp and visible for the duration. However, while colors are most certainly vibrant, there's no doubt the image pushes towards a decidedly warm shade. Several hotter colors -- such as red -- tend to appear excessively boosted and exaggerated, while whites blow out from time to time. On the flip side, blacks can be a touch murky but not overly so, and flesh tones carry over that orange shading. Banding and edge enhancement are non-factors, but eagle-eyed viewers will catch a few chunky backgrounds. A fine layer of grain accentuates all the transfer's positives, and audiences should be very pleased with how good the movie looks on Blu-ray.

Stuart Little Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Stuart Little doesn't feature a particularly memorable soundtrack, but that doesn't mean that Sony's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless presentation is in anyway deficient. On the contrary, the track handles the score-heavy elements with ease, playing the film's airy and smooth family-friendly-movie music with nary a hiccup. Crisp highs, a sound midrange, and heavy lows carry the day. The music spaces out with ease and nicely envelops the listener with each and every note of Alan Silvestri's music. The surrounds carry a hint of atmospherics and a few action effects, but are not particularly critical to the overall presentation outside of the music. There are a few memorable directional effects, such as when a train clearly and cleanly moves from one side of the soundstage to another, but such bustling elements and moving sounds are certainly the exception to the rule. Outside of music, dialogue is the only real critical factor, and Sony's lossless track delivers every syllable with a steady and natural cadence out of the center channel. There's not much to this track, but this is nevertheless a fine audio presentation of what is a fairly limited movie soundtrack.

Stuart Little Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Stuart Little arrives on Blu-ray with a mammoth assortment of extras, most of which concentrate on the film's digital effects.

• The Big Bad Boat Game (1080p): This three-level game challenges players to help Stuart navigate through various obstacles on his way to winning the Central Park Boat Race.
• Audio Commentary: Director Rob Minkoff and Animation Supervisor Henry Anderson tell the story of how Stuart Little become a movie, the arduous task of bringing Stuart to life, the challenges of working with both digital and live-action characters, the work of the human cast, and other tidbits. As one might expect, the track focuses most heavily on the digital work and shooting live action while assuming the later insertion of the digital character. Fans interested in how a hybrid digital/live action movies come to life will find much value in this track.
• Audio Commentary: Visual Effects Supervisors John Dykstra and Jerome Chen further elaborate on the nitty-gritty details of all the hard digital work that went into making Stuart Little.
• Deleted Scenes (480p, 5:20): The Family Tour, Mr. & Mrs. Little Becoming Strangers, George Asleep in Stuart's Room, Having Breakfast at Stout House, The Littles Describe Stuart to the Police, and Police Lineup. Available with optional commentary with Director Rob Minkoff.
• Gag Reels (480p): Visual Effects (0:35) and Production (3:32).
• The Making of a Mouse (480p, 2:27): Animation Supervisor Henry Anderson, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor John Dykstra, and Visual Effects Supervisor Jerome Chen guide viewers through the various layers involved in creating the digital Stuart in various states of existence and action.
• A Goodnight Kiss (480p, 2:26): Animation Supervisor Henry Anderson, Visual Effects Supervisor Jerome Chen, and Senior Visual Effects Supervisor John Dykstra discuss the making of a scene featuring a human character interacting with the digital Stuart.
• How a Mouse Brushes His Teeth (480p, 1:50): Animation Supervisor Henry Anderson, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor John Dykstra, and Visual Effects Supervisor Jerome Chen demonstrate through various stages of completion the construction of one of the film's special effects-heavy scenes.
• Dressing Up Stuart (480p, 1:54): Senior Visual Effects Supervisor John Dykstra, Visual Effects Supervisor Jerome Chen, and Animation Supervisor Henry Anderson cover the intricacies of creating the mouse's wardrobe.
• Stuart Steers the Wasp (480p, 1:44): Senior Visual Effects Supervisor John Dykstra and Visual Effects Supervisor Jerome Chen share the secrets behind the making of part of the boat racing sequence.
• In Bed with Mom and Dad (480p, 2:45): Senior Visual Effects Supervisor John Dykstra, Animation Supervisor Henry Anderson, and Visual Effects Supervisor Jerome Chen discuss another human-digital interaction scene.
• Artists Screen Tests (480p, 2:33): Digital artists showcase their talents through crude Stuart Little animations.
• Boat Race: Early Concept Reel (480p, 8:08): Director Rob Minkoff guides viewers through an early concept for the boat race sequence.
• Making it Big -- HBO Special (480p, 22:22): A general promotional overview of the film featuring cast and crew interviews, numerous clips from the film, and many behind-the-scenes segments.
• Read-Along (480p): Read-Along with Stuart's Narration (3:35) and Read Together with Your Family Without Stuart's Narration (3:35).
• Music Video (480p, 3:09): If You Can't Rock Me by The Brian Setzer Orchestra.
• Music Video (480p, 4:25): You're Where I Belong by Trisha Yearwood.
• Music Video (480p, 3:43): I Need to Know by R Angels.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.
• BD-Live.
• DVD Copy.

Stuart Little Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stuart Little banks on big special effects and broad, sweeping emotions to succeed. It's not the best movie in either category, but it's a heartwarming hard-worker that should please younger audiences and satisfy adults, despite its generalities and transparent plot. The acting is a little forced and unnaturally friendly but the humans effortlessly interact with the special effects. This is a harmless little motion picture that accomplishes all its sets out to achieve, which is primarily to showcase groundbreaking special effects and tug at the old heartstrings. Sony's Blu-ray release of Stuart Little yields strong technical qualities and an overload of extras. Recommended.