Stuart Little 2 premiered in Westwood on July 14, 2002, and was released in theaters for the rest of North America and the United Kingdom on July 19 by Columbia Pictures, and grossed $170 million against a $120 million budget, with it also receiving positive critical reviews.[3] It was followed by a third film, a direct-to-video sequel titled Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild in 2005.
Plot
Three years after being adopted by the Littles and defeating Smokey, Stuart Little has settled into family life with his parents, older brother George, and baby sister Martha, who has yet to say her first words. Stuart is becoming tired of his adoptive mother Eleanor's overprotectiveness due to his small size, and is finding himself lonely when George would rather play with his own friend, Will. When playing by himself, Stuart accidentally wrecks George's toy plane while trying to fix it, prompting George to furiously throw it into a trash can at Eleanor's request due to it being much too dangerous. Stuart is upset about the situation but his adoptive father Frederick tells him there is a 'silver lining' to every bad situation, and encourages him to find a new friend of his own.
When driving home from school in his roadster, Stuart meets Margalo, a canary who falls into his car. Margalo states she has injured her wing being chased by a predatory Falcon, and Stuart takes her home to recover. Unbeknownst to the Littles, Margalo is in fact physically healthy, and is working with Falcon to steal precious items from households. However, she soon bonds with the Littles, and feels immense guilt over what she is planning to do; Falcon warns her that if she does not complete their plan, he will kill Stuart. Margalo steals Eleanor's ring, prompting Stuart to venture down the Littles' kitchen drain in an unfruitful attempt to find it again. He soon finds himself in trouble, but Margalo rescues him; realizing the danger she is putting him in, she leaves the next morning. Stuart becomes convinced Falcon has kidnapped her, and sets off to find her with the family cat Snowbell, convincing George (who initially wants to go along with him) to conduct a series of elaborate (and extremely unconvincing) lies to Eleanor in order to cover for him.
Stuart and Snowbell seek out Smokey's right-hand street-cat Monty, who tells them that Falcon lives at the top of the Pishkin Building, and warns that he is an extremely dangerous foe. Stuart uses a balloon to fly to the summit of the Pishkin Building, but is taken aback when Margalo reveals her alliance with Falcon. Falcon traps Margalo in a paint can, and attempts to kill Stuart by dropping him from the sky; Stuart instead lands in a garbage truck and is taken to a garbage barge out at sea. Initially devastated at the series of events, Stuart soon remembers the time he saved Snowbell from Smokey and finds his silver lining by rediscovering and subsequently repairing George's broken toy plane, which he uses to fly back to land. Meanwhile, George, after being reprimanded by his parents for his deception and interrogated on Stuart's true whereabouts, confesses where Stuart is to them, prompting them to head out and look for him.
Back at the Pishkin Building, Snowbell makes his way to the top and frees Margalo from the paint can, only to become trapped in it himself. Margalo breaks free from Falcon's control, and flies away with Eleanor's ring, prompting Falcon to give chase. Stuart arrives in his toy plane, and a furious chase occurs through Manhattan, with the Littles and Snowbell following from behind. Stuart ultimately wins the battle by using the ring to blind Falcon's vision, before jumping from the plane and allowing it to crash into Falcon as he falls into a trash can and is presumably eaten by Monty. The day saved, Frederick and Eleanor forgive Stuart for running away, George for lying to them, and Margalo for taking the ring, telling them they are extremely proud of them for their bravery. Later, Margalo fulfills her dream of flying south for the winter, planning on returning to the Little household in the spring. Martha stuns everyone by using her first words to say goodbye to Margalo.
Melanie Griffith as Margalo, a young anthropomorphic yellow canary whom Stuart meets on his way home from school and becomes his love interest, though it is revealed that she is actually in cahoots with a falcon, who adopted her when she was only a fledgling and forced her into slavery to steal objects from households in exchange for a home.
The film had an opening weekend gross of $15.1 million, ranking in second place narrowly behind Road to Perdition.[5] The domestic total was $65 million and the worldwide total was $170 million against an estimated production budget of $120 million, less than its predecessor.[6]
Critical reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 124 reviews, with an average score of 6.90/10. The critical consensus reads, "Stuart Little 2 is a sweet, visually impressive sequel that provides wholesome entertainment for kids."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[9]
Ann Hornaday wrote a positive review in The Washington Post, noting how the film's idealized setting makes it family-friendly. Hornaday praised the vocal performances of Fox, Griffith, and Woods in their roles as Stuart, Margalo, and Falcon, respectively, as well as the characters' computer animation: "The animated characters engage in such natural movements and, more important, exude such subtle emotional expression that they mesh seamlessly with their live-action counterparts."[10] Tom Shen of the Chicago Reader, described the film as "fairly formulaic", but praised its jokes as "hilarious", especially those coming from the character of Snowbell, the Littles' cat.[11]
Stuart Little 2 was released in the United States on VHS and DVD on December 10, 2002, by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, and in the United Kingdom on November 25, 2002. In 2008, the film was re-released as part of a double feature with Stuart Little. Stuart Little and Stuart Little 2 were released in a combo on SonyPSP's UMD format on January 3, 2006. A Blu-ray/DVD combo pack was released on June 28, 2011, alongside the first film by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.[28]
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