Stuart Little 2

Mouse-boy returns for another family-friendly morality tale based on the characters of EB White's classic story. This time, it's not cats, but birds that pose the greatest threat for the adopted Little - yet the battle is much the same. Woods and Griffith join the regular cast as the voice of Falcon, a Fagin-like villain, and Margalo, feathered tart with a heart, respectively. As in the first film, there's just enough comic awareness of the saccharin set-up, not least Davis and Laurie as the cutesy, motto-spouting '50s throwback parents, to help the adults along. And, visually, it's exemplary, the new animated characters slotting happily into the CG-enhanced landscape. The plot, however, is both shabbier and less emotionally involving than its predecessor.