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Based on the classic children's book by E.B. White, STUART LITTLE is the story of a captivating little mouse and his adventures with his new family. When he's adopted by the Littles, Stuart finally sees his dreams come true. His new family fills the void in his life. But there's trouble brewing at the Little house in the form of Snowbell, the family cat who suddenly finds himself lower in the family hierarchy with a mouse for a master. Snowbell's not exactly happy with the new arrangement and sees to it that Stuart doesn't stick around too long.

STUART LITTLE is a wonder family film that can also be enjoyed by parents. Michael J. Fox stars as the voice of Stuart and his genuine appeal is what gives Stuart his soul. Other voices are provided by Jennifer Tilly, Bruno Kirby, David Allen Grier, Chazz Palminteri and Steve Zahn while the human connection is provided by Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie and Jonathan Lipniki. All elements come together for a truly spellbinding experience that might get a few out there misty eyed.

When I say that all the elements come together, I'm also talking about the visual effects. What is done in STUART LITTLE is simply amazing and I can see why they were nominated for an Academy Award. Stuart is an amazing creation that, while not always the best effect ever seen, is so endearing that it doesn't take long for you to forget that this is a talking CGI mouse. I also have to credit Michael J. Fox for much of Stuart's success, since it's his personality that brings him fully to life.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Previously released in separate widescreen and full screen editions on DVD back in 1999, this is the same full frame transfer as before. However, it sure looks mighty fine, although why Columbia chose not to offer a widescreen option on a "Deluxe Edition" remains a mystery. The picture is often amazing in depth and texture. Colors levels are well balanced and rock solid throughout, and there's no blooming or smearing anywhere. This is an extremely colorful, almost fairy tale like film and this disc's ability to accurately display the range of color without any problems at all is most impressive.

Detail is exemplary and is highlighted by the tiniest hairs you can see on Stuart. There's a clarity here that's pretty terrific and not marred by any edge enhancement. In fact, this picture may just be too clear, as some of the effects look obvious. However, as good as this transfer is, there is a bit more artifacting than is noticeable on the widescreen version, perhaps due to so many extras jammed packed on one DVD. Guess Stuart Little won't be getting the Superbit treatment anytime soon? Otherwise, this is a generally excellent presentation.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack appears to be the same as on the previous edition, and it's also topnotch. Full, aggressive and enveloping without being gimmicky or overbearing, the front soundstage images wide and deep with excellent directional effects and a solid presence. Dialog is crystal clear and never strains or crackles. Bass extension is never put to any major work, but I can't think of anywhere in the film that this would have been appropriate. There are a few bolts with the .1 LFE, mainly to emphasize the exaggeration of Stuart's size, but there's nothing that really gets so low as to shake the foundation.

Surround use is aggressive, mainly with Alan Silvestri's wonderful score. Surrounds are discrete with both music and effects while still imaging smoothly with both sidewall and backwall. Silvestri's music swells from all channels with a full- bodied richness that is rare. The soundtrack is not as "gee- whiz" turn your head as many others, but it suits the film perfectly and then gives you even more. A 2.0 Dolby Surround track is also include for accurate pro-logic decoding and the only subtitles provided are also in English exclusively.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

So much for truth in advertising. Although labeled a "Deluxe Edition," quite simply there is little here that is new versus previous editions, and all you really get is a glimpse at the upcoming sequel Stuart Little 2 and some new ROM extras. However, the old DVD was very good for its time and the supplements still hold up, so on its own this is certainly a fine assortment of extras.

What's new this time out? Not much. Aside from the short Stuart Little 2 Theatrical Teaser in anamorphic widescreen and a cute A Look With Stuart interactive game (which for some reason reminded me of Let's Make A Deal with a mouse), the main attraction is the On the Set featurette. This 6-minute coming attraction is just an EPK for the sequel and features interviews with all the main principals, including director Rob Minkoff, stars Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis, and little Jonathan Lipnicki, and some quick production and special effects production footage. No great shakes, and yep, that's it for the new stuff.

The rest of the extras are all ported over from the previous DVD releases, though again this is certainly a nice selection of supplements. Two screen-specific audio commentaries are included. Commentary one is with Minkoff and animation supervisor Henry Anderson. Minkoff discusses the differences between directing animation (his last directing gig was as co-director of THE LION KING) and live action. As expected the talk is geared heavily towards the subject of the effects work but also covers elements of the actual production and cast. More effects stuff can be found though on track two, which showcases senior visual effects supervisor John Dykstra and visual effects supervisor Jerome Chen. I found their chat a bit more interesting, with revealing tidbits about the arduous production process, like sweater that Stuart wears which took six month to create. They also discuss the methods of getting actors on set to interact with the missing CG elements realistically. Both tracks are definitely worth a listen if you're at all intrigued by the effects and logistical work involved to bring Stuart to life.

The Visual Effects Interactive Featurette is a section that breaks down six specific moments with Stuart and then gives a four stage look at them with commentary from the various effects wizards. Highlight "A Kiss Goodnight" and you're taken to another screen where the four stages of that five-second moment all show up waiting for you to highlight them individually. This is a fabulous way to get a visual explanation of how computer effects are done. I hope to see this more in the future.

Basement Treasures houses five unique different concept sections. Just like an actor auditioning for a role in a film, animators have to audition for their jobs with short samples of their animation. A few of these can be found in Artists' Screen Tests and the final submission, by Todd Pilger, is particularly clever. Six Deleted Scenes are included and range from an extended cut of Stuart's first tour of his new home to a police line up involving several mice. These scenes are all in non- anamorphic widescreen and can be viewed either with or without director Minkoff's commentary. It's amazing that some of the included scenes actually have finished animation that obviously cost a lot but just didn't fit.

Further down in the Basement Treasures you'll find both a Production Gag Reel and a Visual Effects Gag Reel. Neither one is gut busting funny, but the kids might like them. Finally in the basement, is the Boat Race Early Concept Reel which is an eight minute series of the original storyboards for the boat race sequence with music to accompany it. Many things were changed in the final rendition of the scene and again director Minkoff can be heard over this discussing the changes and the concepts.

Three Music Videos are included, although I only remember one song from the actual movie. I guess I'll have to watch it again to catch them. The videos are for "If You Can't Rock Me" by The Brian Setzer Orchestra, "You're Where I Belong" by Trisha Yearwood and "I Need To Know" by R Angels. All three are full-frame with 2.0 stereo. There's also a Read-Along storybook feature that can be done either with Stuart reading the story or by reading the storybook yourself without Stuart's involvement. Stuart's Central Park Adventure Game is a great trivia game where with each right answer you bring Stuart closer to the Little home. There are three levels: Little Mouse, Big Mouse and Professor Mouse and I was able to ace the Professor Mouse questions, but just barely. One great thing is about the game is that it follows the film and if you miss a question, it moves you back and gives you a different one, it won't just rehash the same questions until you pass.

OK, now we're on to page two of the special features. The Scrapbook offers production sketches and designs for three areas of the film: Stuart, Concepts and Cars & Boats. They're sometimes a little small to see well but they're great to have as you can see the original idea for the look of Stuart and his evolution. The HBO First Look special Making It Big is a twenty-two minute look at the production of the film. Normally I don't like this type of theatrical promotion program, but this one takes a bit of mockumentary style with the character of Stuart and that made it more enjoyable for me.

Rounding out the extras are some Talent Files for the principal human and animal stars are included but are, in usual Columbia TriStar style, a little light in actual facts. And finally, Theatrical Trailers are included for STUART LITTLE, THE ADVENTURES OF ELMO IN GROUCHLAND, MADELINE, THE NUTTIEST NUTCRACKER, BABY GENIUSES and MUPPETS FROM SPACE. All of the trailers are full-frame and 2.0 except for STUART LITTLE, which has a 5.1 track.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

At first, it seems like there might be some cool new stuff on the ROM side, but alas it is a bit of a cheat. Pop the disc in your drive and be greeted by a shiny (and very yellow) menu offering you the choice to explore the DVD, enter the Stuart Little website, or a link to the Hasbro Stuart Little 2 game portal. Alas, the website is simply the original film's old site housed on the DVD, and while very well-designed for its time, is simply out of date. Likely any dedicated Stuart Little fan will have already checked this out over two years ago, so packaging aside, this is a pretty slight ROM extra.

Parting Thoughts