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Fern (Dakota Fanning) takes a liking to a newly born piglet which she names Wilbur. Saving
it from the ax, she nurtures it until such time as Wilbur is too big to continue staying within her family's place.
She sells it to an uncle with a bigger barn just across the road. Finding himself in the company of standoffish farm animals, Wilbur feels lonely in spite of Fern's occasional visits. He also learns that he would eventually be served at a Christmas dinner. Wilbur is so sad that he might not be able to see the snowflakes. At this point, a spider named Charlotte whom all the farm animals shun and despise talks to Wilbur. Eager to have a friend, Wilbur is kind and pleasant and Charlotte, grateful for his friendship, promises him that she would do everything to prevent his death so he can see the winter snow. For this end, Charlotte weaves day and night and puts the words "some pig" on her web just above the door. When the farmer arrives to slaughter Wilbur, he is amazed at what he sees. So are his family, neighbors and many tourists who wish to see the "miracle". But soon this novelty wears off and people stop coming to gawk. Again, Wilbur is slated for the smokehouse. What will Charlotte do next for her friend? What bigger "miracles" will she create?
Based on E.B. White's 1952 children's favorite book of the same title, Charlotte's Web
is a film that will enchant everyone in the family, both young and old. Aside from its technical expertise (most likely it is much better than its 1973 animated version), the movie also appeals as it tugs at one's heartstrings. The story unfolds in a simple, straightforward way with the animals looking very credible. The CGI are very well fused and blended with the real so one is hard put to decide where the CGI begin and where the images of the real animals end. The voices of big-name actors also help to humanize the animals. The soft, soothing, mellow tones of Julia Roberts make Charlotte the spider non-scary to children and credible as a caring friend and creative wordsmith. Dominic Scott Kay gives Wilbur an aura of naiveté and good heartedness, while Templeton, the self-centered rat (voice of Steve Buscemi) often steals the show. The other barn residents are Ike the horse (Robert Redford), Samuel the sheep (John Cleese), Gussy and Gally the geese (Oprah Winfrey and Cedric the Entertainer), Bitsy and Betsy the cows (Kathy Bates and Reba McEntire). On the other hand, the people in the movie are less developed and flat except for Dakota Fanning when she is with her pig. Most of the action takes place inside the barn but there are idyllic country scenes that look postcard lovely, perhaps partly due to computer wizardry.
Charlotte's Web will definitely enthrall viewers, with its gentle humor, heartwarming story and a subtle mix of drama and pathos. But most of all, though the film focuses on animals, it communicates truths about life, human nature and the human heart. Charlotte the spider often embodies the voice of sense, maturity and nobility. In the barn which in a way resembles the world of man, the inhabitants are standoffish, unwelcoming to the new arrival Wilbur whom they think is useless except to be a future leg of ham for Christmas. It is the generosity and spirit of sacrifice of Charlotte that opens their eyes to the value and qualities of Wilbur. Likewise, it is the openness and kindheartedness of Wilbur as well as his thirst for friends that inclines him to be a friend to a pariah, the ostracized spider, and thus earns her loyalty and true friendship. The whole film is a testimony to the "power" of love, caring, friendship, sacrifice. It shows how one little act of kindness can create a tiny ripple that can become a bigger wave to engulf all and bring about a transformation. In the end the little world inside the barn and the bigger world outside seemed to have become a better place with more warmth, more kindness, more understanding, more love. In the movie they speak of miracles, of seeing the extra-ordinary in what is ordinary. For as one character says there are many miracles around but we fail to see them. We do not discern nor appreciate them. Come to think of it, even a mere spider's web is a miracle. (Did anyone teach the spider how to spin?)
(Date Reviewed: 2 February 2007)
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