Stuart Little fans are ‘horrified’ after finding out that the main character isn’t actually a mouse.
If you grew up in the 2000s, then it’s likely the name Stuart Little unlocks some core childhood memories.
Any kid who watched the children’s classic had dreams of cruising around in their own remote-control car, or nightmares about getting trapped in a washing machine…
The iconic 1999 movie follows a New York couple who are looking to adopt a brother for their son – only to come home from the orphanage with a small mouse named Stuart.
We then follow Stuart as he struggles to make friends with his new brother, George, and their jealous cat, Snowbell.
But fans of the beloved story are only just realizing that Stuart Little was never actually a mouse.
The news has left many stunned, sparking a wave of shocked and confused reactions online.
Fans have been flooding social media with their thoughts – and most are saying the same thing.
“This is lowkey freaking me out right now, and I’m not entirely sure why,” one fan wrote.
Some branded it ‘creepy,’ while others said it was ‘very unnerving’ and downright ‘disturbing.’
“First Hello Kitty and now this? What’s next – Curious George? Marmaduke?” another wrote, referencing the equally horrifying news that Hello Kitty is not actually a cat.
“This has always been one of my favourite facts to bring up out of nowhere,” another, clearly well-informed fan, added.
So how did so many of us miss it? The answer lies in the movie itself – and the people who brought it to life.
The movie thought we knew
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that Stuart Little is a live-action animated movie about a tiny mouse and his human family.
The film’s star-studded cast includes big names like Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future), Hugh Laurie (House), Geena Davis (Beetlejuice) and Nathan Lane (The Lion King).
The movie was directed by Rob Minkoff, best known for co-directing The Lion King. Pretty wholesome so far, right?
But here’s where it gets weird. The script was co-written by M. Night Shyamalan. Yes – that M. Night Shyamalan.
The filmmaker famous for creepy twists where nothing is quite what it seems helped write Stuart Little, which suddenly makes the whole ‘not actually a mouse’ revelation feel oddly fitting.
(Yep, he’s the guy behind The Sixth Sense, aka one of the most famous plot twists of all time).
Even more wild, Stuart Little came out in 1999, the exact same year as Shyamalan’s breakout hit starring Bruce Willis.
The Sixth Sense was a worldwide smash and earned six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
Stuart Little was also a huge hit, making over $300 million worldwide and landing an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects. However, it did lose out to The Matrix, which feels fair enough.
Thanks to its success, the movie spawned a full-blown franchise, with Stuart Little 2 landing in 2002, followed by the straight-to-DVD Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild in 2006.
So yes. A talking mouse. Oscar nominations. Horror movie royalty. Cinema was truly unhinged in the late ’90s.
And the next part is going to make you feel very old…
The cute, tiny child actor who played George Little (Jonathan Lipnicki) is now 35 years old. And he looks very different.
The Stuart Little joke that never went away
This is where a long-running internet joke about Stuart Little comes back into focus.
For years, fans have pointed out just how strange it is that Eleanor and Frederick Little went to an orphanage full of children in need… and chose to adopt a mouse instead.
Since the film’s release, social media has been packed with jokes questioning how Stuart ended up being picked over actual human children.
“We don’t talk enough about how Stuart Little, a mouse, was chosen for adoption over human children,” one person wrote.
Others took it a step further, imagining what it must have been like for the kids left behind.
“Imagine being one of the children in the same orphanage and watching a family adopt a mouse wearing chinos instead of you,” another joked.
There were also questions about how Stuart even ended up there in the first place, with one fan quipping: “Maybe it took Stuart so long to get adopted because he was in an orphanage and not a pet store.”
Funny? Absolutely. But as it turns out, fans weren’t entirely wrong to call it out – because when you look at the book the movie is based on, the whole situation suddenly makes a lot more sense. Well, sort of.
Stuart Little was never actually a mouse
The movie is based on E. B. White’s first-ever children’s novel, ‘Stuart Little,’ which he followed with other classics, including ‘Charlotte’s Web.’
Now, more than 80 years after the story was published, fans are only just realizing what he really is.
After discovering E. B. White’s original novel, one fan posted their shocking discovery on Reddit’s ‘Today I Learned’.
“Today I Learned that Stuart Little isn’t a mouse, but is actually a very small human boy who just happens to look like a mouse ‘in every way,’” they wrote.
In the book’s first chapter, we find out that Stuart was never adopted, but instead is the biological child of Mr. and Mrs. Little – that be it… a two-inch tall child.
The novel is a tale (excuse the pun) of bravery and loyalty, which follows the mouse-like boy on his adventures in a human-sized world.
E. B. White revealed that he first came up with the idea of Stuart Little while sleeping on a train in 1926, when he dreamt of a tiny boy who resembled a rat.
Fans took to the comments to show their confusion, with one user saying: “Definitely a very little boy. Obviously. No mouse here. Totally human 100%. Just one that is in every way a mouse but still 100% a little boy. Very little though. Just like a mouse, but a boy I promise.”
“If I was Mr. Little, I’d be asking some questions”, another user joked.
Others were extremely shocked by the revelation, with one user writing: “That is so much creepier for some reason.”
They’re not wrong.
So why is he a mouse in the movie?
The idea of a human woman giving birth to a mouse-like child didn’t sit well with everyone, and it’s widely believed that’s one of the reasons the 1999 film adaptation changed the story entirely.
In the movie, Stuart is reimagined as an anthropomorphic mouse who is adopted by the Littles instead – a much more wholesome setup that avoids some seriously uncomfortable questions.
To be fair, the change worked. Stuart is undeniably adorable, and the adoption scene is far easier to digest than a birth scene.
It also meant the filmmakers could cast a huge star in Michael J. Fox as Stuart’s voice – and avoid traumatizing an entire generation of children.
So while the movie softened things, the book makes it clear: Stuart was never actually a mouse.
Whatever your thoughts on the revelation, it continues to spark conversation every time it resurfaces.
On Reddit’s ‘Saved You A Click,’ one user shared the headline and answer in an attempt to explain the story without anyone needing to click through.
“Stuart Little fans are only just realising that he’s not actually a mouse – He’s a human child that looks like a mouse,” they posted.
People were quick to respond. “This raises more questions than it answers for me,” one person replied.
Another added: “This hasn’t saved me a click at all.”
A third fan replied: “Every time someone is surprised by this, I know they haven’t read the book.
“I loved E. B. White’s books as a kid – mostly. That was one of the things I didn’t love. I thought it was weird.
“Though I was also annoyed when the movie came out and they made him an actual mouse who was adopted, because that’s not how the story in the book went.”
And honestly? Given the script was co-written by M. Night Shyamalan, we should have expected a twist like this all along.
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The post Stuart Little Fans Are Only Just Realizing That He’s Not Actually A Mouse appeared first on It’s Gone Viral.
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