[.ca] Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild (Special Edition)

Must Be The Money:
The first two Stuart Little movies were excellent - whimsical acting, great stories, imaginative direction, wonderful CGI and terrific production design. Quality all the way, and highly re-watchable for viewers of all ages. This animated entry, however, is so substandard that the only reason Fox, Davis and Laurie agreed to do it can only be the money. This movie is the reason the term "straight-to-video" was coined. The script alternates between boring and cringeworthy. Story? Apparently, story was not in the budget. Wayne Brady as the skunk Reeko is flat, straining for likeability without success. In person, he can sing and dance, but his song and dance number in the movie is crap. I'm not sure how Brady, who is talented, ended up "reeking" in this role, but his overall performance matches his character's name. The Nathan Lane and Steve Zahn soundalike actors are okay, but the George Little character is voiced by a generic kid who could have been pulled off the street for the role. Peter MacNicol as the Troop leader is unfunny though it's probably the script's fault as opposed to his. The only characters whose drawn versions are recognizable compared to their human originals are Stuart and possibly Snowbell. While we parents and our teenager groaned at the lack of quality throughout this movie, our 4 and 7-year-olds enjoyed the movie very much, so if your kids are fans of Stuart, just try to pick this up used, or for as little money as possible.

Follow Up To "Must Be The Money":
My apologies - I hit the button without remembering to comment on the soundtrack. Music is an important part of any film experience, and the first two movies, particularly the second one, had a few very good songs by such artists as Mandy Moore, Gilbert O'Sullivan and Chantal Creviazuk. In keeping with their "$1.98 budget" approach to moviemaking, the producers of this movie have chosen a few excuses for music rendered by third-string artists, the names of whom I don't even want to know.