Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild
Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild is a 2005 American-Canadian direct-to-video computer-animated film directed by Audu Paden, created by Mainframe Entertainment and distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. It was released on DVD in other countries in 2005, until it was eventually released in North America on February 21, 2006.[1] It is the third and final installment in the Stuart Little trilogy. In the film, Stuart and his family spend their vacation in a cabin near the fictional Lake Garland. During the vacation, Stuart befriends a skunk named Reeko, and the family cat Snowbell is kidnapped by a mysterious beast.
| Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild | |
|---|---|
 iTunes poster | |
| Directed by | Audu Paden |
| Produced by | Douglas Wick Lucy Fisher Leslie Hough Rachel Shane |
| Screenplay by | Bob Shaw Don McEnery |
| Story by | Douglas Wick |
| Based on | Characters created by E. B. White |
| Starring | Michael J. Fox Geena Davis Hugh Laurie Corey Padnos Wayne Brady Kevin Schon Virginia Madsen Tara Strong |
| Music by | Atli Örvarsson |
| Edited by | Robert Gordon Bruce King |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 75 minutes |
| Country | United States Canada |
| Language | English |
A majority of the cast from the previous installments returned for the film such as Michael J. Fox, Geena Davis and Hugh Laurie reprising their roles as Stuart Little, Eleanor Little and Frederick Little, but Snowbell, George and Monty are now voiced by Kevin Schon, Corey Padnos and Rino Romano instead of Nathan Lane, Jonathan Lipnicki and Steve Zahn who previously played them in the live-action films.[2]
Plot
Three years after the events of the previous film, Stuart, Snowbell, and the Littles leave New York City to go on a camping trip near the fictional Lake Garland in the countryside. Once they arrive at the lake, Stuart and George decide to join a group called the "Lake Scouts" with their father Frederick watching over them.
George reveals himself to be skilled at scouting while also developing a crush on a fellow Scout named Brooke, but Stuart has trouble keeping up with the Lake Scouts due to his small stature. However, Stuart meets Reeko, a smooth-talking skunk who is generally disliked by the local forest animals of Lake Garland and is secretly on a mission to give food to his master "The Beast", a ferocious and ruthless cougar who is feared by the animals. Meanwhile, Snowbell discovers that his alley cat friend Monty had stowed away by sneaking into the Little family's car unnoticed.
Down on his luck with the Scouts and with Troopmaster Bickle looking down upon him, Stuart makes a deal with Reeko that will enable Stuart to learn the ways of the forest. After being invited to dinner with Stuart's family, Reeko ultimately befriends Stuart. After leaving the Littles' cabin, Reeko finds Snowbell and tricks him into thinking there is a party by entering the forest that night, but Snowbell ends up getting captured by The Beast. Soon after witnessing Snowbell's kidnapping, Stuart attempts to tell his family and the Scouts the truth about his friend getting kidnapped the next day, but they all refuse to believe him.
With no choice, Stuart goes off to rescue his friend alone, but learns along the way that Reeko was responsible for Snowbell's disappearance and ends his friendship with him since he knew Reeko was working for the Beast the whole time. Meanwhile, Snowbell is taken to the Beast's cave where she notices his fur and decides to make a rug out of him so that she would have something warm to lie on in the winter. The Beast only refuses to eat him when Snowbell suggests that she can fatten him up first by feeding him in order to have a bigger rug. Shortly afterward, Stuart's mother Eleanor realizes that Stuart is missing upon finding a note left by him and rallies a search party with Frederick and the Scouts.
Meanwhile, Stuart reaches the Beast's cave, where he is able to sneak past the Beast and manages to rescue Snowbell, who was trapped in a pit. On their way out of the cave, Stuart and Snowbell find themselves cornered by the Beast, whom Stuart overwhelms with salt and pepper before he and Snowbell escape and build a trap covered with leaves and sticks, hoping to trick the Beast into falling into it just as she catches up to them. However, upon noticing the trap after Snowbell accidentally exposes it and attempting to devour Stuart, the Beast is confronted by Reeko, who, having realized the error of his ways, shows up with the forest animals, who had decided to help Reeko upon having a change of heart. Reeko blinds the Beast by spraying at her, allowing Stuart, Snowbell and the forest animals to distract and trick her into falling into the trap, whereupon she is finally captured before Stuart and Snowbell are later found and reunited with the Littles and the Scouts.
After the Beast is taken away to a zoo, Stuart earns a gold kerchief from Troopmaster Bickle. As Stuart's family is preparing to leave Lake Garland, Reeko apologizes to Stuart for his actions and behavior towards him and the forest animals, telling Stuart that he was wrong to betray him. Stuart then bids farewell to Reeko before he, Snowbell, Monty and the Littles head back home to New York City.
Voice cast
- Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little
- Geena Davis as Eleanor Little
- Hugh Laurie as Frederick Little
- Corey Padnos as George Little
- Jennifer Hale as Martha Little
- Wayne Brady as Reeko, a friendly skunk whom Stuart befriends, but is disliked by the forest animals and serves as The Beast's assistant
- Kevin Schon as Snowbell
- Virginia Madsen as The Beast, a vicious cougar and Reeko's master who resides in a cave and terrorizes the forest of Lake Garland by forcing the animals to give her food every night
- Peter MacNicol as Troopmaster Bickle, the leader of the Lake Scouts
- Rino Romano as Monty
- Tara Strong as Brooke, a female Scout and George's love interest
- Charlie Adler as Beaver, one of the forest animals of Lake Garland who dislikes Reeko
Forest animals and additional scouts are voiced by Garry Chalk, Tom Kenny, Sophia Paden and Kath Soucie.
Reception
Unlike the first two films, which were positively received, this film received generally negative reviews. James Plath of Reels.com rated it 2.5 out of 4, saying "Kids will still like it because the storyline is engaging, the color palette is bright and cheery, the songs are upbeat and pleasant enough, and the messages about good behavior, perseverance, and belonging are worthwhile."[3] Sloan Freer of Radiotimes.com rated it 2 out of 5, saying, "The quality plunges drastically in this uninspired direct-to-video sequel. Gone is the charming mix of live action and CGI used in the original two films, replaced by full animation whose flatness and simplicity is symbolic of the entire tale. Surprisingly, the core voice talent remains the same with Michael J Fox, Geena Davis, and Hugh Laurie wasting their efforts on a weak plot that sees boy mouse Stuart demonstrate his bravery when Snowbell the family cat is kidnapped during the Little clan's lakeside vacation. Undemanding humour, a sprinkling of mild peril, and the obligatory life lessons offer enough substance to keep the very young happy, but only the short running time will impress anyone older."[4]
Home media
The film was released on VHS and DVD. One DVD also came with a Stuart Little key chain.
References
- Miller III, Randy (February 9, 2006). "Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild". DVD Talk. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
- Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild, retrieved 2020-04-03
- "Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild - Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes.
- "Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild – review - cast and crew, movie star rating and where to watch film on TV and online". Radio Times.
External links
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