Charlotte's Web (2006) is All About Some Pig, but The Rat Rules This One
Written: Jan 05 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great story for young & old, all-star casting for animal voice overs
Cons: Not much, but bring some tissues just in case
The Bottom Line: This latest version of the classic children's novel is as good as the book and everyone loves talking animals- the perfect family movie.
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| BeastieGirl's Full Review: Charlotte's Web |
As a child, I absolutely loved E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web. A classic children’s book, the characters were wonderfully developed and somehow the writing style made the premise of talking animals almost believable. The 2006 version of Charlotte’s Web has that same charm, plausibility, and sincerity that the book has, making this a winner of a film.
To be brief, the story of Charlotte’s Web is about a little runt Spring pig, Wilbur who is saved from sure death by a farmer’s daughter, adorable Fern. Wilbur is eventually housed across the street at her uncle’s farm, where he learns that although his young life has been spared, he will most assuredly be present for Christmas Dinner, if you catch my drift. As Wilbur befriends Charlotte, a barn spider, she promises to find a way to save him from this horrifying fate. Without spoiling the outcome of the story, just in case you gasp! have never read Charlotte’s Web or have only forgotten the ending, I’ll refrain from giving it all away.
The main human character in Charlotte’s Web is Fern, played by the sometimes cute and sometimes irritatingly precocious Dakota Fanning. The rest of the actors are only slightly recognizable, which is fine, as they are mostly background characters and somehow help to convey that sense of believability of the movie. Julia Roberts is probably the most recognizable voice in Charlotte’s Web, but when you see the cast, you will be amazed at who else voices characters. Steve Buscemi is one of my favorite literature villains as Templeton the Rat and John Cleese, Kathy Bates, Reba McEntire, Thomas Hayden Church, Andre Benjamin, Robert Redford, Cedric the Entertainer and Oprah also have voiceovers for the farm animals. Although many of the voices sounded familiar (John Cleese and Thomas Hayden Church were easy guesses), I had no idea of exactly who else was cast. I liked hearing the familiar voices without knowing exactly who they were, as it was somewhat comforting, but not distracting from the story.
Charlotte’s Web has been released as an animated movie many years ago, but this 2006 version of the story features the human characters that I mentioned as well as real live animals (with a bit of help from the special effects department). It is very well done and even the scenes that are surely computer edited look very real. Charlotte the spider is computer animated and perhaps certain scenes with Templeton the rat are also less than real, but it is quite difficult to tell. The voice of the main character, Wilbur was really cute (but not overly so). He was voiced by Dominic Scott Kay, but I have never seen him in anything (or heard him) prior to Charlotte’s Web. There is something about talking animals that absolutely fascinates my daughter and this movie was no exception.
The acting in Charlotte's Web was great, including the performance by charming child star Dakota Fanning. Her slightly messy pigtails is a great real life version of the illustrations in the original book. I find her a little too much to take in interviews, and some of that attitude comes out in this movie, but overall, she contributes to the high ratings of this movie for sure. As for the voices, as I mentioned, they were all fantastically cast. Steve Buscemi’s performance as Templeton the Rat really takes the cake though, as the perfect conscience fighting villian.
Charlotte's Web is supposed to take place in rural Maine, but was actually filmed in Australia. While the scenery looked very much like Maine does, I was a little disappointed to learn that it was not the real deal. If I had not watched the credits, I would have really believed that the movie was filmed in Maine. Everything seemed very authentic, which added to my enjoyment in watching Charlotte's Web.
The pacing of Charlotte's Web was great. With more focus on the animals (as in the book), the action factor of this movie is pretty good and there was rarely a slow moment in the movie, which is important in keeping the interest of my two year old! With a rating of G, this will be fun for everyone. A few tears were shed by me and even my daughter got emotionally caught up while we were watching it.
Although I have not read Charlotte's Web for quite some time, I feel that this movie version did the book justice. With special effects as good as they are today, Charlotte's Web was up to par. This version is definitely worth seeing on the big screen, perhaps at a matinee price, but a good movie overall. To entertain both an adult and two year old at the same time speaks volumes for me as a parent and could my daughter type, I’m sure she’d chime in with a thumbs up as well.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Family Movie
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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