December 16, 1999
Web posted at: 12:26 p.m. EST (1726 GMT)

By Paul Clinton
Turner Entertainment Report Correspondent

(CNN) -- In the search for promotional tie-ins, Sony Studios has a first with its film "Stuart Little," going into wide release Friday. There's a scene in which the animated mouse Stuart and his human brother brush their teeth before bedtime. And that's being used in television commercials for Smileworks.com., an interactive Web search site for dental referrals.

It's nice that the people at Sony have come down firmly in favor of dental hygiene. But is this glossy movie good for anything other than flossing?

E.B. White's 1945 "Stuart Little" is a charming bedtime story containing nice messages about the importance of family and the acceptance of others' differences. It was meant to be read by parents to their preschool children.

Now, "Stuart Little," the major motion picture -- with some major plot changes -- is a slick, commercial vehicle that maintains only some of the original charm of White's work. This screenplay, by M. Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense") and Gregory J. Brooker retains some nice messages. It's still aimed directly at preschool children, but its feel-good, "golly gee" attitude wears out its welcome long before the final credits roll.

When George Little, played by the irrepressible Jonathan Lipnicki ("Jerry Maguire," 1996), begs his parents (Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie) for a younger brother, they dutifully head off to an adoption agency. The original story had Mama Little give birth to a mouse, supposedly a concept too hard to swallow in this day and age, even for a small child.

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When Mom and Dad come home from the agency with a talking, well-dressed mouse named Stuart, George is less than pleased. How's he supposed to ride bikes and play ball with a rodent? Also underwhelmed is the family cat, Snowbell, scathingly voiced by Nathan Lane.

After Snowbell mistakes Stuart for lunch and is admonished that he "shouldn't eat family members," he turns for help to a bunch of lowlife alley cats "high on catnip." These wild and crazy felines provide what comic relief is available in the film. Chazz Palminteri, who does a great job voicing the head alley cat Smokey, hatches a diabolical plot with Monty (Steve Zahn) and Red (David Alan Grier).

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They arrange for Snowbell's unwelcome new family member to be kidnapped by a couple of crooked mice, Mr. and Mrs. Stout (voiced by Jennifer Tilly and Bruno Kirby), who pose as Stuart's biological parents. Then the adventure begins -- and lessons are learned -- as Stuart tries to return to his adopted family.

There's nothing in "Stuart Little" that works on dual levels -- for both adults and children -- as is the case in the two "Toy Story" films or in classic family pieces including "The Lion King." Nope, this ultimately grating adaptation of White's book, directed by Rob Minkoff, is aimed solely at kids.

Davis is overly-earnest as Mrs. Little, which becomes irritating after awhile, and Fox is unrelenting and gleefully enthusiastic in voicing Stuart. Whatever show there is to steal here is stolen by Lane in his role of the family feline Snowbell.

If you have kids, or have them visiting over the holidays, you may want to check out "Stuart Little" just for something to do as a family. But while the special effects that make "Stuart" possible are impressive (his head alone contains a half-million computer-generated hairs), this sticky-sweet story probably won't hold up for the repeated viewings required to make this kind of film a big hit.

"Stuart Little" opens nationwide on Friday and is rated "PG," with a running time of 92 minutes.