‘Stuart Little 2’ offers a silver lining for kids

In a summer of explosive blockbuster sequels, there’s a kinder, gentler alternative for families.

E.B. White’s famous mouse returns in “Stuart Little 2,” a worthy successor to the original 1999 holiday hit.

A quick primer: Stuart is the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Little, with an older brother, George, and, in the new film, a younger sister, Martha. He’s the only mouse in an otherwise human family.

In “Stuart Little 2,” Stuart (voiced by Michael J. Fox) is feeling more than a little out of place. His mother (played by Geena Davis) remains overly protective of the tiny but hardy mouse. Brother George (Jonathan Lipnicki) is making – and playing with – his own friends, having little time for Stuart. His father (Hugh Laurie) advises him to “look for the silver lining.”

A friend literally falls into Stuart’s lap when the injured bird Margalo (voiced by Melanie Griffith) lands in Stuart’s car on his drive home from school. She’s fleeing the villainous Falcon (voiced by James Woods), and Stuart helps her escape, taking her home to the Little house.

Margalo has a hidden agenda, one that is slowly revealed. She disappears, and Stuart, aided by the reluctant family cat Snowbell (voiced by Nathan Lane), take off to rescue her, presumably from Falcon.

In this new film, Stuart remains a thoroughly likeable hero, who triumphs despite the fact that his courage outweighs his physical stature. In some ways, he’s less a cartoon than the human characters he’s paired with.

My junior critic had recently finished reading White’s original book, then had watched the first film that morning. Armed with that research, she was primed for the sequel, and enjoyed it immensely. My toddler critic was far more interested in straying out of the cinema to pump quarters into the candy slot machines in the lobby.

In general, sequels are, like any photocopy, a fainter duplicate of the original. “Stuart Little 2” manages to do better than that, holding its own with the original film. In a season packed with merchandising vehicles, it’s a refreshing change of pace, for both children and parents.

Dale McGarrigle is the veteran entertainment writer for the Bangor Daily News. His 7-year-old daughter, Samantha, is thankfully branching out to films based on sources other than TV characters. His 3-year-old son, Benjamin, requires either familiarity or action in a film, or it’s “See you later!”