Stuart Little: The Animated Series (2003)

Stuart Little, the creation of E.B. White, really took off in a couple of live action films released a few years back. You see, Stuart Little is a mouse adopted by a human family. He has a Mom, a Dad, a brother named George, a sister named Martha, and a family cat named Snowball. Stuart can talk, is understood, and the family and those around him do not seem to notice that he is a mouse. The third film in the series was computer animated and released straight to video, and this brief two dimension animated television series followed. Hugh Laurie, voicing Mr. Little, is the only cast member returning from the films. The other voices in the series kind of sound like Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane, Geena Davis, and the other film performers, but are obviously not. Each episode is book-ended by a computer animated Stuart giving a brief life lesson for the kids. The first three episodes in the series were: "The Meatloaf Bandit" In the first episode, Stuart and George must protect the Little house from whomever is stealing meat loaves in the neighborhood. While the animation is okay, the story is too mild, resulting in a quiet boredom. Nathan Lane's Snowball the cat was ten times funnier than the series' imposter. (* * *) "A Model Driver" A better episode than the first has older sibling George jealous of Stuart's miniature boat, car, and flying kite, and his ability to have more fun than a human boy, thanks to his size. George decides to build himself a full sized car, and the Little parents worry. More laughs and excitement help, and kids learn that parents might look like they favor one child over another, but actually love them all equally. (* * * *) "Team Little" The third episode has the Little family taking on another family that cheats in neighborhood games like three-legged races and water balloon tosses. This one is pretty amusing, thanks to Hugh Laurie's voice work, and the message for kids is demonstrated well. (* * * *)