Stuart Little 2 (PG, 2002)

STUART LITTLE 2 takes place where the last one left off, with Stuart (voiced by Michael J. Fox) living in New York with his parents (Hugh Laurie and Geena Davis), big brother George (Jonathan Lipnicki) and a new baby sister. The lives of the Little family are already somewhat tumultuous, with the new baby, George making new friends, and Mrs. Little loving but a bit overprotective. Stuart meets a lovely little bird named Margalo (voiced by Melanie Griffith) with an injured wing, and he takes her into his home. They become close, but she's not who she makes herself out to be and although she cares very much about Stuart and his family she must leave unexpectedly. Stuart doesn't understand and enlists the Littles' grumpy cat Snowbell (Nathan Lane) to help him find her. In the meantime, George covers up for Stuart by lying to his parents, and Stuart and Snowbell encounter many obstacles on their journey, but it all works out in the end.

Stuart Little 2 is a sweet family movie with excellent voice talent and special effects. The story, a very watered down version of the second half of the classic book, is nothing to write home about, but it's a safe bet that fans of the first one will enjoy it.

The meticulous computer animation is still something to marvel at, with all the animated animals being realistic down to the last hair and feather. Also, Steve Zahn shines in a small role, and whoever cast James Woods as the villainous Falcon must've seen Disney's Hercules and realized that nobody can beat him as a bad guy.