This blog is about describing the film of Stuart Little plot, analysing the archetypes of characters and creating a new timeline.
The story arc（8 stages）
1.You 【background setting】
The story is based on the happy life of the Little’s, Mr. and Mrs. Little along with their son George, and the protagonist who is a mouse named Stuart from an orphanage.
2.Need【A desire to belong】
On Christmas eve, George wished for a younger brother believing that a brother would provide him accompany and he would be able to take good care of the brother. The family visited an orphanage and met Stuart who was also seeking a sense of belonging and a family. Since Stuart was a tiny mouse, no one was willing to adopt him since he came to the orphanage. However, the Little couple developed an affection for Stuart and decided to take him into the family.[
3.Go【Crossing the Threshold】
As Stuart became the new member of the family, everyone had to adjust to the new family structure. George was in disappointment when he found out that Stuart was different from a brother in his expectation. Due to his small body size, Stuart was frequently unnoticed and got into trouble when Mrs. Little was doing chores, such as being thrown into the washing machine. Also, Snowball the cat, did not welcome Stuart to the family, chasing Stuart around and sometimes even trying to eat Stuart until Mr. or Mrs. Little found out.
4.Search【Adapt to new situation】
Looking for approval and a sense of belonging, by starting conversations with George about things George finds interesting, Stuart was able to earn George’s acceptance and they became friends. Stuart agreed to help with George’s toy boat race. On the day of the race, as George was giving up for his remote control was crushed, Stuart volunteered to steer the toy boat. Fortunately, Stuart managed to win the race for George even though he had to go through sabotages from other children’s competitors.
5.Find【Get what they wanted】
Winning the race, both George and Stuart were awarded and the whole family took a picture together. In addition, the family also introduced Stuart to their relative proudly as George’s little brother. With this, Stuart gained approval and love from the family while the other family members found the happy family they wished for.
6.Take【Pay a heavy price for it】
On the other side, Snowball still wanted Stuart to be out of the family and started conspiring with Smokey the stray cat against Stuart. They asked a mice couple to pretend to be Stuart’s real parents. Having to choose between his new family and his ‘real parents’, Stuarts made the decision to bear farewell to the Little’s reluctantly. Although the mice couple, feeling guilty, told Stuart the truth, Smokey did not give and began hunting Stuart down. Ended up on a run, Stuart injured himself and almost died to a trap on his way.
7.Return【they return to their familiar situation】
Realizing the true meaning of family, Snowball changed his mind and eventually saved Stuart from being hunted by Smokey, bringing Stuart back to the Little’s.
8.Change【a change of conceptual】
At last, the whole family changed their attitudes toward Stuart and accepted him, allowing him to become a true family member. Along his journey, Stuart not only found the family love he had been longing for but also build a strong bond with the Little’s.
Analysing the characters into their archetypes.
Stuart：Protagonist
The protagonist in the story is Stuart who is in the spotlight of the story and the heroic role that showed courage and optimism.
Little Family: Sidekick or Allies
Mr. and Mrs. Little along with George are the sidekicks and the allies in the story. Besides supporting Stuart in all kinds of situations, they also push the development of the plot.
conversations of toy boat: Herald
(The one who brings the Call to Adventure. This could be a person or an event. )
The toy boat race is the herald through which the protagonist changes his life. Stuart earned approval from most of the family members after the race.
Snowball and mice couple: Shapeshifter
(The shapeshifter blurs the line between ally and enemy)
Snowball becomes the shapeshifter in this story. Started as the one that rejected Stuart from joining the family, he ended up changing his mind and save Stuart from the life-threatening situation.
Smokey：Antagonist or shadow
Smokey the stray cat can be identified as the antagonist. As the villain, Smokey was the one that brought suspense to the story by providing Stuart with challenges and predicaments. In this story, Stuart’s life was threatened by Smokey.
Break the story and Create a timeline for the main character starting before the film start.
The Little’s adopted Stuart from the orphanage successfully and managed to get used to his presence in the family.
Upon meeting his ‘real parents’, Stuart chose to leave the Little’s and started a life with them. As Stuart found out his ‘real parents’ only cared about their materialistic lives and constantly come into conflicts with him, he started to miss his life with the Little’s.
Overhearing conversations between his ‘real parents’, Stuart realized the reason they came to the Little’s looking for him was to exchange for food. In fact, his ‘real parents’ are scammers while his actual parents died in a car accidents long time ago.
After learning the facts, Stuart started to find his way back to the Little’s. On his way back, Stuart almost got eaten by stray cats and lost his life.
Meanwhile, the Mr. and Mrs. Little also found out about the truth from the orphanage and began looking for Stuart. Being sympathetic to Stuart, Snowball tried to help the couple out and managed to find Stuart and bring him back, returning him to the happy and family.
thank you for watching 😉