Director:
Gary Winick

Cast:
Dakota Fanning
Julia Roberts
Steve Buscemi
Oprah Winfrey

Official URL:

http://www.charlotteswebmovie.com

Country: USA
Rating: G
Studio Name: Paramount Pictures
Running Time: 1 hr 53 mins
Release Date: November 17, 2006

Critics's Rating:
(2 1/2 out of 4 Reels) 

December 15, 2006

By Veronica Mixon

E.B. White’s beloved children’s story, Charlotte’s Web is a wonderful tale about friendship and hope. It’s one of the few family films that won’t bore the parents who accompany their kids. Wilber (Dominic Scott Kay) is a happy pig who wants to live and not end up on the dinner table. Dakota Fanning stars as Fern, a little girl who save the runt of a liter of pigs and makes him her pet. However, once he’s moved to her uncle’s neighboring farm, Wilber learns the harsh truth from the other animals in the barn.

While they are sympathetic to the little Wilber’s plight, Samuel the Sheep (voiced by John Cleese), Gussy and Golly the geese (voiced by Oprah Winfrey and Cedric the Entertainer) and Ike the horse (voiced by Robert Redford) can offer little hope. Furthermore, Wilber’s nerves are also rattled by a mischievous rat, Templeton voiced by Steve Buscemi. Then Charlotte, the spider (voiced by Julia Roberts) promises to save him. Charlotte begins to design word messages that enthrall the farmers and their neighbors. The pig gets the credit and he’s entered in a local contest. The words are seen as magical spiritual inspiration.

The charm of Charlotte’s Web is the quirky voices of the barn animals and the comic adventures of that frisky rat. The film’s CGI is so seamless and extraordinary that most people believe that real animals were utilized. The real-life characters seem boring by comparison. Charlotte, the spider is kind and loving but the true lesson is that despite life’s ups and downs, it must go on. And, that having faith in one’s self is the key to happiness.

to TOP