Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild (G, 2006)

Unlike the first two live-action films in the Stuart Little series, based on the classic book by E.B. White, STUART LITTLE 3: CALL OF THE WILD is a direct-to-DVD animated movie. In this installment, Stuart (voiced again by Michael J. Fox) and the rest of the Little family are off to spend the summer at a rustic lake house, and Stuart is excited to become a woodsman courtesy of the Lake Scouts summer program. Rumors of a mysterious beast circulate through both the camper and the wild animal community. When the family's city cat Snowball (Nathan Lane) meets the beast, it's time for Stuart and his new friends to come to the rescue.

Lacking the live-action energy of the first two films, Stuart Little 3 still manages to entertain due mainly to the eternal appeal of a family who loves their mouse son just as much as their human children. Stuart, too, is a great hero for children, small but able to leap great obstacles through ingenuity and perseverance. The characters are voiced by the same actors who appeared in the earlier films, maintaining continuity even if the animation doesn't break any new artistic ground.

There's plenty of comic relief too, from the perpetually disdainful Snowball to a smooth-talking but shady skunk Reeko (Wayne Brady). Parents won't find this a terribly entertaining movie, but they can rest assured that it's fine to share with the 5 and up crowd.