Stuart Little (Movie Review)

E.B. White is one of my favorite authors. His essays from the New Yorker along with his famous children's tales, Charlotte's Web, The Trumpet of the Swan and Stuart Little inspire me to examine my motives as a responsible person. I believe White's children's books teach children (and adults) the specific value of inclusion. That "terrific" Wilbur from Charlotte's Web got my attention and taught me how to accept and include even a simple farm pig.

Hollywood released one of White's novels, "Stuart Little," as movie last year. I was thrilled. A top-notch production film for a well-loved E.B. White book. The cartoon movie version of Charlotte's Web was, in my opinion, childish and corny. But unlike the movie version of Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little was far from White's original story. Within the first twenty minutes of this movie, I realized Hollywood wanted to feed into a common horror: demonize the adoption process. This was not at all a part of the original White story. The movie briefly portrayed the "outside of your species" inclusive theme, a helpful theme from the adoption process. But the basic question of "who is my family" plagues Stuart throughout the movie.

I kept thinking, "this movie would be an adopted child's worst nightmare." Stuart was constantly asking, "who are my parents?" A question Stuart's adoptive parents were not allowed to firmly answer. I kept waiting for Hollywood to get over this obsession with the "horror" of the adoption process and move on to Stuart's adventures from the novel that showed him enjoying a "normal" life as a mouse among humans. But the adoption process horror continued throughout the movie. I have to admit that the movie is well produced. I loved the toy boat race (my favorite part of the book and the movie) and scenes of Stuart driving his red car. I was captivated by the animation mixed with human interaction. I even enjoyed the mean cat Snowball and the occasional swear words went right by me.

But I am just so sad that Hollywood failed to develop White's inclusion lesson because they became so obsessed with a common horror: demonizing the adoption process.

Anyone want to help me write the screenplay for White's The Trumpet of the Swan?

Barbara K. Baker is the proud mother of three-year-old Carl. She is the co-chair of Cincinnati's Celebrate Adoption group, whose newsletter this review first appeared. Barbara has her own marketing and publishing consulting company, Kolbe Market Consultants.

Credits: Barbara K. Baker