Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Stuart Little Book To Movie Comparison

ED204-Childrens Literature
Spring 2011 – Professor Onuora
Book To Movie Review (20 points)

Candidate:  Joey O’Neill-Hollingsead                                                April 26, 20011
Book to Movie Title:  Stuart Little
Rating for Book: _____ Thumbs up __X__Thumbs down
Rating for movie: ___4 Stars___


            The movie/book Stuart Little had very few similarities outside of who the characters were.  Stuart, the main character remained a mouse and his human family stayed the same as well.  The movie and the book both took place in New York City.  The only other real similarity in the two was how the family cat “snowbell” dislikes Stuart so much.  During a scene in the book snowbell talked with a cat friend saying how he disliked Stuart and how embarrassed he was to have a mouse as a member of the family.  In the movie a similar situation occurred, but this dislike became a primary focus in the story line.
            The book while entertaining in its own way was written to reflect a different time.  The language used was very formal and many of the words would not be familiar to children today.  In addition the character of Stuart seemed much more mature in the book as opposed to Stuart in the movie.  The movie version of Stuart remained very articulate, but did so with out losing his youth.  Another noticeable difference of the movie is how George, Stuarts brother reacts to having a mouse as a brother.  George’s reaction to Stuart was not a welcoming one in the beginning.  Also, the circumstances of how Stuart came to be with the Littles were not addressed as clearly in the book as it was in the movie.   In the book Stuart fell in love with a bird that the Little’s rescued.  When that bird vanished

Stuart set out in search of her, which is how the story ended.  The movie’s story line was in no way similar. After expressing a feeling of something missing he inquired about his real parents.  Snowbells hearing that information schemed to have a family pose as his real family. This leads to the climax of the movie and finally Stuart makes his way home to the Little’s.
            I personally would not recommend the book.  I didn’t find it very interesting and I don’t believe a child would fully understand most of it.  I much preferred the movie version and the story line it provided.  The movie version used language that everyone could understand and presented Stuart in a fun loving way.  Stuart was animated in the movie with a very well known actor Michael J. Fox lending his voice to the character. The animation was necessary considering the main character was a mouse. The other actors in the movie fit the parts the played very well.  I did give the movie 4 stars for a well job done.
             I believe the book was made into a movie because it was such a novel idea.  The very idea of a mouse becoming part of a family would draw in audiences of all ages.  The makers of the movie made Stuart much more approachable and kept the child like wonder that would attract kids into the theater. It was a very family friendly and engaging for children.  Unlike the book, the movie was presented in a way that was entertaining for all ages.
           

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for the similarities and differences, and also for telling me who was voice actor of Stuart Little. This really helped a lot.

    ReplyDelete