Eleanor and Frederick Little have gone to an orphanage,
hoping to adopt a child to be a brother to their young son George. They are
surprised to find that they fall in love with an anthropomorphic mouse named
Stuart. Wise and kind, Stuart warms the Littles’ hearts, and they decide to
take him to their home. While their extended family is largely supportive,
George refuses to accept Stuart as a brother, and the family cat, Snowbell,
sets plans in motion to have Stuart removed from the home. Although George
eventually calls Stuart a brother, Snowbell contacts a gang of criminal cats
who hire two mice to pretend to be Stuart’s parents. They explain that they
gave Stuart up for adoption because of their poverty, but say that now, they
have come to reclaim him. The Littles somberly let Stuart go, believing that he
will be better with his supposed parents. Shortly after Stuart leaves, the
Littles learn that Stuart’s birthparents died years ago. Realizing that they
have been tricked into turning Stuart over to kidnappers, they set off to find
him. Stuart realizes his predicament as well, but when he returns home, the
Little house is empty except for Snowbell. Snowbell sends Stuart away again,
telling him that the Littles are much happier without him. Eventually, Snowbell
has a change of heart. He and Stuart help each other escape from the gang of
cats that are now after both of them, and they return to the Little home where they
can now begin their lives as a happy family.
The Adoption Connection
The Littles adopt Stuart; although they and their extended
family embrace him, their son George (and their pet) are initially very unhappy
to have Stuart in their family. Stuart knows nothing about his birth parents,
and expresses a loneliness for them. The Littles try to learn about them for
him. In a development similar to Annie, Stuart is kidnapped by two adults
pretending to be his long-lost parents.
Strong Points
Stuart is consistently positive; he is loved by the Littles,
and is eventually embraced by the whole family.
Snowbell eventually declares that family doesn’t have to
look alike.
Challenges
Stuart’s adoption from the orphanage by a family who had met
him only minutes earlier isn’t how adoption typically works in the US, and
could confuse some younger viewers. I also noticed that the adoption agency did
not make any home visits to the Little home; had they done so, they probably
would not have placed a mouse in a home with a pet cat.
Some viewers could be triggered when Stuart is effectively
kidnapped from his adoptive family by people pretending to be his birthparents.
This could touch on issues of longing for absent birthparents, and it could
also touch on fears of being abducted by birthparents. It’s also concerning how
quickly the Littles handed him over, without even any official notice.
George is initially unkind to Stuart, saying that Stuart is
not his brother. He only seems to come around when Stuart performs well in a
race.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNqvTYOC8p4lvogT0HLqqmUk4w_VO7JTifs1AGriG7Zcnuv3q5B8ysN6lsA_DNywnpNtWSgfs0hxn3OSxSxQiwUQ0xUXLV7vvoWI0krtzcA5Pe1y-xJ1Yo6HYlna396zkxpjFV1PHcDo/s280/Stuart3.jpg)
Snowbell seems to intend to let Stuart drown.
After Stuart is rejected by George, he asks the Littles
about his birth family; Mrs. Little’s initial reaction is to tearfully bemoan
the fact that Stuart must hate her and her husband. Their feelings are
believable and eventually they do look for the information that Stuart is
missing, but I wish their first reaction to him asking about his birthfamily
wasn’t quite so negative.
Stuart’s imposter birthparents tell the Littles that,
although Stuart might feel like part of their family, he actually is not.
Stuart takes responsibility for the feelings of his adoptive
brother and adoptive parents. When he believes he is living with his
birthparents, he promises that he will take care of them.
Recommendations
Although Mr. and Mrs. Little do love Stuart, there’s a lot
of concerning stuff here. His brother rejects him. The family pet tries to get
him killed by mobsters. Stuart is kidnapped by people posing as his
birthparents. We learn that Stuart’s actual birthparents were killed when they
were crushed by cans in a grocery accident. Stuart’s adoption agency places him
without even visiting the home, and this puts Stuart in danger. Although this
could be a lighthearted film for some viewers, it’s probably a safe one to skip
for most adoptive families.
Questions for
Discussion
What makes family, family?
Why did George eventually change his mind about Stuart? Why
did Snowbell?
In what ways was Stuart’s adoption like your adoption? In which
ways was it different?
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