| 90 |
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
A wonderful thing to snuggle into, as full of heart and pep and innocence as the title character himself.
|
| 90 |
New Times (L.A.)
Jean Oppenheimer
Does a masterful job of combining digital imagery and voice performance to create totally believable animal characters.
|
| 90 |
Salon.com
Stephanie Zacharek
Hits every color note just right. It's a visual antidepressant.
|
| 80 |
LA Weekly
Chuck Wilson
Returning director Rob Minkoff (The Lion King) and screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin (Ghost) have done a fine job of updating White's dry wit to a new age, led in no small measure by Lane, who could probably make the IRS code book sound funny.
|
| 80 |
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
It's a pleasant experience. But that's what it is: a sequel that replays every aspect of the original movie.
|
| 80 |
The New York Times
Stephen Holden
What sets the "Stuart Little" franchise above most of the competition is its emphasis on sharply drawn character and its profusion of witty remarks (mostly from the mouth of Snowbell) that are cutting enough to amuse grown-ups without sailing over children's heads.
|
| 80 |
Variety
Joe Leydon
Slight but lively sequel. Aimed squarely at moppets with piddling attention spans.
|
| 80 |
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
Like many modern children's films, Stuart Little 2 can't decide between teaching good values ("You're only as big as you feel") and tossing out fake-hip jokes. Though it doesn't happen as often as it should, this is a better film when it allows itself simply to be sweet.
|
| 78 |
Austin Chronicle
Kimberley Jones
It's easy enough to forget there are special effects involved, so convincing is Stu's rippling fur and big beamy eyes filling up with tears.
|
| 75 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
May hit a few wrong notes, but it strikes an emotional chord.
|
| 75 |
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Very much a kiddie ride, Stuart Little 2 is lively without being hyperactive -- it's a bouncy mouse caper with a wee bit of soul.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Of the voices, Griffith makes Margalo lovable and as sexy as a little yellow bird can be, and Lane does a virtuoso job with Snowbell, the only cat with dialogue by Damon Runyon. Fox's Stuart is stalwart and heroic--the Braveheart of mice. As for the parents, Davis and Laurie deserve some kind of award for keeping straight faces.
|
| 75 |
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
May be the best family movie of the 2002 summer film-going season. There's a simple reason for this - the picture seems to have been put together with the recognition that some members of the audience may be above the age of ten.
|
| 75 |
Chicago Tribune
Chris Jones
A warm, witty, consistently funny family movie with a sweet message about loving yourself, be you a mouse or whatever.
|
| 70 |
Village Voice
Ed Park
The summer's most romantic interspecies love story.
|
| 70 |
Chicago Reader
Staff (Not Credited)
The film is fairly formulaic, though some of its puns and wisecracks are hilarious, especially those delivered by the Littles' lazy and cynical Persian cat (Nathan Lane).
|
| 70 |
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
It's hard to imagine spending $120 million on a film starring a computer-generated mouse -- an actor who barely demands a byte to eat -- but if that's how much it takes to provide innocent enchantment for the global hordes, so be it. This sequel beats the original paws down.
|
| 67 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
Wholesome, warm and energetic -- if predictable.
|
| 63 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
The moral of this softhearted tale is that family values can rehabilitate and tenderize even the toughest of birds. But you'll forgive me if I liked it less when Stuart smoothed Margalo's feathers than when Snowbell's fundamental cattiness made the fur fly.
|
| 63 |
USA Today
Claudia Puig
The plot is predictable and the dialogue often sticky sweet, but at least kids will identify with Stuart's desire for adventure and exploration.
|
| 63 |
Miami Herald
Christine Dolen
Neither man nor mouse nor any other critter has a prayer of holding his/her/its own once the real star of the sequel shows up: Snowbell, the worrywart feline voiced by Nathan Lane.
|
| 50 |
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
Nearly scrapes the bottom of the cracker barrel in search of suspense, now that the humans accept the polite mouse as one of their own.
|
| 50 |
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
Stuart and Margolo are genuine marvels of computer generated special effects, each feather, whisker and strand of fur beautifully rendered. But they're bland and rather boring characters, dumbed down for kids.
|
| 50 |
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Jennie Punter
Vacillating between sappy and snappy, Stuart Little 2 is featherweight family fare, perfectly timed for viewers with short attention spans.
|
| 50 |
Film Threat
Michael Dequina
Basically more of the same, and depending on who you are, that's either an encouraging statement or a warning.
|
| 40 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Keith Phipps
Never becomes more than a just-acceptable kiddie time-filler.
|
| 38 |
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
A lot more stupid action - and a lot less heart - than the character-driven original, as Stuart ends up rescuing Margalo from Falcon.
|
| 38 |
Baltimore Sun
Chris Kaltenbach
Manages to pretty much ignore all the strengths of the earlier film while exacerbating all its faults.
|
| 38 |
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Sure, go ahead and take the kids. But, for pity's sake, read them the book first.
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