Charlotte's Web (Widescreen Edition)
by Gary Winick
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DVD details
Actor: Dakota Fanning, John Cleese, Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, Steve BuscemiDirector: Gary Winick
Brand: Paramount Pictures
Producer: Bernard Williams
Producer: Edgar M. Bronfman
Producer: Jordan Kerner
Writer: E.B. White
Writer: Earl Hamner Jr.
Writer: Karey Kirkpatrick
Writer: Susannah Grant
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 97 minutes
Published: 2007-04-01
DVD Release Date: 2007-04-03
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Paramount
Product features:
- Music video "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLachlan
- Deleted scenes
- Hilarious gag reel
- Winner of BEST FAMILY FILM OF THE YEAR
- 7 Exciting featurettes including "How Do They Do That?"
DVD Reviews of Charlotte's Web (Widescreen Edition)
DVD Review: Deviates From The Novel But Has 'Character'
Summary: 3 Stars
Watch out!
Those words should ring in the minds of all those who choose to see CHARLOTTE'S WEB, especially those with fond childhood memories of the novel by E.B. White.. Although moving from paper to celluloid always entails changes, there are some fundamental flaws with this updated version (the first being the 1973 animated film). The flaws, however, do not -- thankfully! -- dominate the entire picture.
For those of you who've lived under a stone for the past five decades, let me tell you a bit about this Newbery Honors book that is in the top 100 hardback booksellers of all time (those accolades alone should give one pause before making film comparisons but they must be made nonetheless since a film version now exists).
My first comment has to be a parental warning. Although the cover looks childlike and fanciful, the story itself contains much more depth than simply anthropomorphizing. Within the story's fabric is the structure of life, death, and how we view our food. It becomes immediately apparent as little Fern learns that her father intends to kill the "runt" of a litter of pigs. He carries an axe in one hand and the piglet in the other, but is stopped short by Fern as she pleads with him to spare the animal. Unable to deny his daughter, the father acquiesces. But the redemption of the piglet (whom we come to know as Wilbur) may be short-lived. Christmas is around the corner and Fern's family needs seasonal pork. But another sort of savior weaves her way into the barn and befriends Wilbur. Her name, of course, is Charlotte. As all the other farm animals fidget over Wilbur's impending meeting with the smokehouse, Charlotte the spider decides to act. She writes "Some Pig" in her web, and this sparks a stampede of activity at Fern's family farm. Folks (humans) come from miles away to see this pig who warrants such special praise from a lowly insect.
As Christmas approaches, Charlotte has to find more and more words to weave in order to keep Wilbur alive. She does so with the assistance of her fellow barnyard brethren. Most notable among them is Templeton the rat (voiced perfectly by Steve Buscemi, Art School Confidential). Usually very food-self-centric, Templeton learns the reason friendship is so important via his newfound interactions with living things rather than food-scraps.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
It is the ending that gives this story its most non-childlike substance. The death of Charlotte is heartbreaking, but the rebirth of her egg-sack lets her live on. Wilbur, having saved the egg-sack, has, in effect, returned the favor Charlotte gave to him: saving his life. Wilbur sees many Christmases and several of the infant spiders stick around to live out their days (and the continuing cycle of life and death) with Wilbur and his eventual kin.
The voices in the film are standard Hollywood fodder. Julia Roberts as Charlotte is okay, as is young Dominic Scott Kay as Wilbur the pig. John Cleese as Samuel the sheep carries some of the more lighter moments, as does Thomas Haden Church and Andre Benjamin as two confused but funny crows. But, again, the biggest boost voice-wise has to go to Steve Buscemi as Templeton the rat. His character goes through the greatest growth (from despicable to thoughtful) and Buscemi's narrative exposition is undeniably the best one for a rat considering his other film roles (The Big Lebowski, 28 Days, etc).
The biggest downside to the movie is that it separates too much the human world from the animal one. E.B. White's novelization pulls these items closer and closer, but here we witness Fern (Dakota Fanning, War of the Worlds, 2005) getting googly over a boy more than concerned with what happens to Wilbur (or even involved with what happens to him after Charlotte shows up and begins spinning her web-cabulary).
Fern is a vital construct to the entire story, helping to keep Wilbur alive throughout the narrative (in the novel). But here we don't get that. It is all laid on Charlotte and Templeton (mostly) which deviates significantly from White's storyline; something to prepare yourself for.
The flick is entertaining if a bit off-kilter from the novel. Kids will probably eat it up. And parents can run out and purchase one of the finest "children's" books ever published in order to inform their kids about what the story's really all about.
Description of Charlotte's Web (Widescreen Edition)
The classic story of loyalty, trust, and sacrifice comes to life in this live-action adaptation. Fern (Dakota Fanning) is one of only two living beings who sees that Wilbur is a special animal as she raises him, the runt of the litter, into a terrific and radiant pig. As Wilbur moves into a new barn, he begins a second profound friendship with the most unlikely of creatures ? a spider named Charlotte ? and their bond inspires the animals around them to come together as a family. When the word gets out that Wilbur's days are numbered, it seems that only a miracle will save his life. A determined Charlotte ? who sees miracles in the ordinary ? spins words into her web in an effort to convince the farmer that Wilbur is "some pig" and worth saving.E.B. White's classic tale gets a Babe-like makeover in Charlotte's Web, a delightful and well-made film that is sure to become a family classic. Directed by Gary Winick (13 Going on 30), the new version eschews the musical numbers of the 1973 cartoon and mixes CGI with live-action animals. Dakota Fanning brings the right amount of chutzpah to Fern, the young farm girl who rescues a runt, Wilbur, from death and visits him every day at her Uncle Homer's farm. But it's Wilbur's friendship with Charlotte the spider (voiced by Julia Roberts) that ultimately saves him from the "smoke house" (a kid-friendly alternative term to the slaughterhouse), for Charlotte's talent for weaving praiseworthy words about Wilbur into her web turns the Zuckerman farm into a tourist attraction. The more tragic elements of the book are handled sensitively by Winick, working from a script by Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich), and Roberts' soothing, maternal voice (who knew it would work so well?) makes it all go down easy. It turns out to be just one of many perfect celebrity voice-casting choices, for the farm animals, voiced by an all-star cast including Oprah Winfrey (the goose), Robert Redford (the horse), Steve Buscemi (Templeton the rat), and John Cleese (the sheep), lend plenty of sharp humor. But it's two corn-hungry crows, voiced by Thomas Haden Church (Sideways) and OutKast's Andre "3000" Benjamin who steal the show. (Ages 4 and older) -- Ellen A. Kim
Beyond Charlotte?s Web
 Other Children's Book Adaptations on DVD |  Charlotte?s Web by E. B. White |  The Original 1973 Charlotte?s Web Cartoon |
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