The soundtrack album for Stuart Little 2 is dominated by cheery pop/rock songs performed by artists affiliated with its releasing label, Epic Records. (Since this is a "music from and inspired by" album, some may not really be in the film.) Celine Dion occupies the position taken by Trisha Yearwood on the soundtrack to Stuart Little in 1999, singing an upbeat rhythm number called "I'm Alive." Other songs, such as Chantal Kreviazuk's "Another Small Adventure," Shawn Colvin's "Hold on to the Good Things," and Billy Gilman's "Count on Me," continue the sunny sentiments, and while Vitamin C's "Smile" acknowledges that life is not always peaches and cream, she admonishes "put a smile on your face, make the world a better place" over and over in the chorus. Making the world a better place is also the message of Mary Mary's remake of Jackie DeShannon's 1969 hit "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," one of several old songs presumably included to make parents and grandparents feel at home in the theater. The other revival of such a song is Nathan Lane's big-band version of "One," the 1969 hit by Three Dog Night written by Harry Nilsson. Lane provides the voice of a cat in the picture. Just where Steppenwolf's 1968 heavy metal anthem "Born to be Wild" or Gilbert O'Sullivan's maudlin 1972 chart-topper "Alone Again (Naturally)," in which he contemplates suicide and describes the death of his parents, fit into this scenario is not clear. But soundtrack albums of pop songs often don't make much sense unless you've seen the movies they come from. As with the first Stuart Little soundtrack, Alan Silvestri's score is restricted to two tracks. On them, he sounds like a John Williams wannabe, trying for grand themes among the by-the-numbers suspense and resolution music. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
Garry Hughes (Producer), Shawn Colvin (Performer), Celine Dion (Performer), Marc Tanner (Producer), Mike Berkowitz (Music Contractor), Bob Clearmountain (Mixing), Humberto Gatica (Mixing), Marc Greene (Engineer), John Kalodner (?), Jack Kugell (Arranger), Jack Kugell (Producer), Jack Kugell (Vocal Arrangement), Manny Marroquin (Mixing), Andy Marvel (Arranger), Andy Marvel (Producer), Mark McKenzie (Orchestration), Gabriel Mekler (Producer), Gordon Mills (Producer), Michael Patterson (Mixing), Lloyd Puckitt (Engineer), Dennis Sands (Engineer), Dennis Sands (Mixing), Alan Silvestri (Conductor), Alan Silvestri (Producer), Peter Solley (Producer), Steppenwolf (Performer), David Thoener (Mixing), Rick Wake (Producer), Glen Brunman (Soundtrack Producer), Josh Deutsch (Producer), Larry Blank (Producer), Billy Mann (Arranger), Billy Mann (Producer), Raine Maida (Producer), Sandy DeCrescent (Orchestra Contractor), Chantal Kreviazuk (Performer), Kenneth Karman (Music Editor), David Slonaker (Orchestration), Matty Spindel (Mixing), Chuck Zwicky (Engineer), Jacqueline Tager (Assistant Music Editor), Lia Vollack (Soundtrack Producer), Richie Jones (Producer), Warryn Campbell (Producer), Mandy Moore (Performer), Gina Fant-Saez (Assistant), Kristian Lundin (Producer), Billy Gilman (Performer), Gregg Wattenberg (Producer), Gregg Wattenberg (Engineer), Ross Peterson (Engineer), No Secrets (Performer), Kevin Harp (Assistant), Chris Holmes (Assistant Engineer), Jeff Rothschild (Assistant), Jason Pennock (Producer), Lucy Fisher (Executive Producer), Douglas Wick (Executive Producer)
Based on E.B. White's creation, Stuart Little once again comes full circle from literary character to movie star to video game in Stuart Little 2 for PC. A 3D adventure based on scenes from the 2002 movie, Stuart and his new friend Margalo embark on five adventures while avoiding their thieving adversary, Falcon. Whether skateboarding across rooftops of New York Skyscrapers or hopping to and from colorful, ascending balloons, players choose from three difficulty levels to play the five games in either Story Mode or Free Play.
Playing to beat the clock and the top ten recorded scores, each game features Stuart on the move searching for his mother's lost ring. Daredevil Driving features a roadway full of obstacles to avoid, such as discarded takeout containers and rolling baseballs, as players drive Stuart in his little red convertible to the end of the level. In Drain Escape players control Stuart through a maze of pipes as they avoid health sucking insects. Balloon Jump is an up and down adventure as Stuart ascends via balloons to the top of the Pishkin Building to save Margalo from Falcon. In Roof Skate, Stuart gets air as he zips from building to building collecting pieces for his model airplane, which he needs for the final game -- Air Dodge. In this final game, Stuart flies his airplane to the spot where Falcon has hidden Stuart's mother's ring.
Though both Story Mode and Free Play Mode feature the same games, Story Mode presents them sequentially, while Free Play allows players to choose the games in any order (or play one game repeatedly). Helpful items include fruit for extra points, point bonuses for timely finishes and flowers to boost Stuart's health meter. Falcon must be avoided to preserve health in each game. Other features include a bonus gallery for viewing still pictures of movie scenes, printable certificates of achievement, and automatic recording of the top ten scores from each game.
~ Jennifer Beam, All Game Guide
Review: Overall
It's difficult to place Stuart Little into any equation and not have an instant classic since there's nothing little about the lovable Stuart. Though Stuart Little 2 for PC surely won't become a classic, it does deliver the sweetness of Stuart while offering a variety of games that aren't horribly affected with control issues. Based on key scenes from the same titled movie, Stuart Little 2 displays well, controls easily and is brought convincingly to life on the computer screen.
Players not only get to drive Stuart's cool convertible (his original mode of transportation), they also get to help him pilot his most recent conveyance -- the model bi-plane. By staying true to the familiar story, Stuart Little 2 easily draws kids into gameplay. Three difficulty settings allow a wider age range to equally enjoy the challenges, while the brevity of the overall game keeps familiarity from breeding contempt. Catering to a variety of player needs, each of the five games present a simple challenge preceded by a brief cut-scene explaining the objective. A help icon is always available for interactive explanations if a player should happen to be stumped.
In all five games, Stuart is mobile, yet the games including his car and plane are the most fun. Drain Game plays like an arcade maze game and features the most exciting action as Stuart unstops vegetable clogs in the drain with his plunger. Yet regardless of the game, the difficulty settings do help tailor the challenge to age appropriateness.
Though the game has periodic glitches in the movement, the graphics flow remarkably well, and for the most part Stuart responds admirable to the sometimes-quirky keyboard controls. During Roof Skate, older kids may be frustrated at Stuart's inability to turn mid-air, but smaller children will likely appreciate the delay should they decide to change direction. While driving the car and flying the plane, the controls are so basic that anyone can successfully navigate the game.
Possibly the biggest drawback to Stuart Little 2 is its short duration. Each of the five games is over before you know it, and had a few more games been included, it would have packed a bigger punch. Yet, with absolutely no offensive content, no violence, and no aggression, the game is appropriate for even the smallest of players, and the brevity allows for a quick sense of accomplishment. Whether five or nine, (or 59), Stuart's arcade-style adventures will prove entertaining to big Little fans.
~ Jennifer Beam, All Game Guide
Review: Enjoyment
A very simple and entertaining game for ages four and up.
~ Jennifer Beam, All Game Guide
Review: Graphics
A nicely animated Stuart Little displays nicely against colorful background scenery.
~ Jennifer Beam, All Game Guide
Review: Sound
Audible and yet not overpowering, the sound effects and music blend well. The commentary, though repetitive, does not easily grate the nerves.
~ Jennifer Beam, All Game Guide
Review: Replay Value
Being short and sweet by nature means children can accomplish gameplay quickly. Competing for high scores against other family members makes for a lot of fun.
~ Jennifer Beam, All Game Guide
Review: Documentation
A thorough instruction booklet is included as well as available help and easy to understand directions included with each game. Children familiar with a computer could honestly play without adult help.
~ Jennifer Beam, All Game Guide
Production Credits
Company 1: Infogrames Interactive Inc.; Assistant Producer: Sarah Perry; Principal Game Designer: Jennifer Fey McWilliams; Senior Brand Manager: Sue Bulson; Executive Producer: Eric Hayashi, Stacy Hendrickson; V.P. of Product Development: Scott Walker; Director of Marketing: Steve Arthur; Director of Creative Services: Steve Martin; Director of Editorial and Documentation Services: Elizabeth Mackney; Graphic Designer: Morgan Tomaiolo; Documentation Specialist: Randi Kravitz; Copywriter: Paul Collin; Director of Quality Assurance, North America: Michael Craighead; Senior Manager, Q.A. Certification Group: Kurt Boutin; Q.A. Testing Manager: Randy Lee, Bill Carroll; Q.A. Certification Lead: Mark Huggins; Lead Tester: Becky Madore; Company 2: Hyperspace Cowgirls; Producer: Jay Weisman; Associate Producer: Diana Kaplan; Executive Producer: Evan Skolnick; Game and Level Design: Sophocles Papavasilopoulos; Lead Programmer: Mathew Adams; Programmer: Hung Nguyen, Eric Tolman; Lead Animator - Characters & Models: Jurgen Brenkert; Lead Concept Artist - Environments: Alexander Reyna; Additional Modeling and Character Animations: Donnavon Webb; Interface Design: Shebani Basal; Storyboard Artist: Delfin Barral; Music: Sophocles Papavasilopoulos; Sound Design Supervisor: P. J. Cousins, Colin Wilkinson; Voiceover Artist: David Kaufman; Writer: Evan Skolnick; Production Coordinator: Shebani Basal; Production Team: Eva Weiss, Jae Kim, Tracy Chang; Cinematic Technical Director - Animations: Jurgen Brenkert; Cinematic Technical Director - Environments: Alexander Reyna; Cinematic Animator: Mark Bremerkamp, Brian Kirchdoerfer, Paul Mikulecky, Jason Zayas; Chief Technology Officer: Mathew Adams; Vice President: Conrad Cummings; President: Susan Shaw; Sony Pictures Cosumer Products: Mark Caplan, Laetitia May, Eric Thomsen
Questioning his ability after a grueling soccer match alongside George who kicked him with a soccer ball (Jonathan Lipnicki), Stuart (Michael J. Fox) gets even more downhearted after George's airplane gets broken in an accident because of him. However, Stuart's dad (Hugh Laurie) tells him that for every Little, there is a "silver lining", or a solution to every problem.
On his way home from school, Stuart encounters a female yellow canary named Margalo (Melanie Griffith) while she is pursued by a Falcon (James Woods). He drives her to safety. In a matter of time, Margalo, the canary, and Stuart have become best friends. But, Margalo has a secret. The Falcon that attacked her is a crime lord who uses her to steal from households, and he soon catches up to her, reminding her that if she doesn't find an object of good value, the sanctuary he promised her will be called off. But Margalo can't seem to concentrate on her assignment, as she begins to harbour tender feelings for Stuart.
The Falcon eventually loses patience and threatens to kill Stuart if Margalo doesn't deliver. Margalo sadly takes Stuart's mom's (Geena Davis) ring. When the family sees it is missing, they think it has fallen down the sink. Stuart offers to go down and get it, nearly succeeding. When he is in danger, Margalo saves him, and he thanks her, making her feel even more guilty, so she decides to leave. When Stuart can't find her, he assumes she has been kidnapped - and that the Falcon is somehow involved. He leaves on a quest with his reluctant cat Snowbell (Nathan Lane), but not before setting up a plan with George.
Stuart and Snowbell decide to get information on the Falcon's whereabouts, so they enlist the help of the alley cat Monty (Steve Zahn). It is revealed the Falcon's lair lies at the top of the fabled "Pishkin" Building.
The next morning, Stuart and Snowbell hatch a plan to get to the top. Snowbell gathers some balloons for Stuart, and the mouse ties them to a small basket, ascending him to the top. He soon finds out that Margalo is the Falcon's slave, and was forced to take the ring. He tries to save her, but the Falcon stops him short, and drops him from - from an immense height - into a garbage truck.
Meanwhile, Snowbell struggles to get to the top, as Stuart's family discover his absence and leave the house to save him. Up at the top, Snowbell hears that Stuart is dead, not knowing he is in the truck, from Margalo. He swears revenge as he frees Margalo - revealing that he truly does care about Stuart - but when the Falcon returns, Snowbell loses his confidence and hides in a paint bucket, which the Falcon kicks off the tower and causes to fall from the top. Snowbell survives the fall, as it is delayed, so the impact is not hard and the bucket protects him.
On the barge, Stuart blames himself for everything, and gives up. But suddenly, he finds George's broken plane, and with some materials, fixes it up, and flies to save Margalo, who has just fled the evil tyrant. Stuart begins an aerial adventure through the park, with Margalo at his side. The Falcon eventually loses them while the Little Family finds them and follows them in a taxi. Unfortunately Falcon catches up and rips off the top of the plane's two wings.
Stuart knows he can't run from the Falcon, and lets Margalo off. Stuart turns and flies the damaged plane in a kamikaze run while Falcon goes into an attack dive. Stuart temporarily blinds him using Mrs. Little's ring and jumps using a handkerchief as a parachute. The kamikaze attack works and Falcon is struck and defeated. Although Falcon survives the attack he's seriously wounded and lands in a garbage can that Monty is desperately scavenging in just after Monty asks if he can get a decent meal, then prepares to presumably eat the villain. Stuart's parachute is destroyed by the propeller of the destroyed plane, but Margalo saves him.
At the park square, Stuart is congratulated by his family and Margalo and Snowbell reunites with them as well. That evening, Margalo leaves with the other birds to migrate south, but not before saying goodbye to her friends, including Snowbell, who is at the point of tears. Stuart says the silver lining is that she'll be back in the spring. Stuart's baby sister says her first word, or words, "Bye bye, birdie."
Most of the shots in the movie were created using matte paintings and digital sky manipulation to give the movie a stylized, hyper-real look.
In the scene where Stuart pulls a spoon out of a jam jar, the spoon was CGI but the jar was real. It was rigged by a puppeteer.
Geena Davis was pregnant during some of the re-shoots. They used several techniques to hide her large belly. At one point they even considered using a CG waistline.
The baby who played Martha refused to knock the bowl of oatmeal off the table. The crew kept telling her do it and she still refused. Finally they made her think that knocking the oatmeal off was some kind of game.
There was originally a scene on the barge where the barge dumps the garbage in the ocean.
When the Littles are in the taxi and George notices Stuart's wrecked car and says mom, she clearly says "Yes Stuart" instead of "Yes George".
In the scene where the Littles are at Yankees Stadium, the shot where the outfielder is frantically running back toward the wall was actually taken from Kevin Costner's 1999 movie, "For Love of the Game."
At the end of the movie, when the baby sister says her first words, they are "Bye, bye, birdie", a possible reference to Bye Bye Birdie.
