Charlotte's Web (2006) - G
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Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that the younger crowd will probably be very eager to see this one -- and for good reason. It's unusually respectful of its much-loved source (E.B. White's classic novel) and its young audience. While the movie does refer to the farmer's plan to kill Wilbur for Christmas dinner, the pivotal (and most potentially upsetting) moment is the death of a central character, which is followed by appropriate mourning and recovery by her barnyard friends. Some of the animal characters are initially unfriendly to a new arrival, and Templeton the rat scavenges objects and talks about being selfish and sneaky. Crows attack him, with their point-of-view shots suggesting the danger he's in. Although 5 is the ideal age for this movie, 4-year-olds should be fine, too, as long as they're able to handle the sad parts.
Families can talk about how the different characters learn to accept one another. How do they come to see one another as friends, even though at first they're put off by their differences? Why does Charlotte want to help Wilbur? If you've read the book, how does the movie compare to what you imagined in your head? Families can also discuss the importance of words and their role in the film. How are words important for communicating, even between species? How do they help shape our impressions of others?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
Here's a welcome surprise: A children's movie that's thoughtful, entertaining, and enchanting. This newest big-screen version of CHARLOTTE'S WEB, based on E.B. White's 1952 Newbery Award-winning book mixes performances by real-life actors and animals with animated mouths, slipping gracefully into the world of the barnyard without ever doubting its magic. Whether you're new to the story or already adore the book, Gary Winick's movie is a special treat.
At the movie's start, young Fern Arable (Dakota Fanning, who gives a delicate, utterly convincing performance) watches piglets being born. When she sees that her father (Kevin Anderson) looks about to kill the "runt," Fern is horrified and insists that he let her take care of the pig. Looking into Fern's giant blue eyes and facing her determination, he can't help but agree.
Fern dedicates herself to rearing the piglet, whom she names Wilbur. She bathes him, feeds him, and sneaks him with her to school (hiding him inside her book bag and desk). As cute as these early scenes are (especially little Fern snuggled up in her bed with Wilbur), it's after Fern admits that Wilbur has grown too large to carry along -- leading to his sale to farmer Homer Zuckerman (Gary Basaraba) -- that the film takes a turn into still more delightful fantasy. Because that's when Wilbur begins to talk to his new acquaintances in Zuckerman's barn.
At first, the other animals -- including geese Gussy (Oprah Winfrey) and Golly (Cedric the Entertainer), cows Bitsy and Betsy (Kathy Bates and Reba McEntire), Ike the horse (Robert Redford), and Samuel the sheep (John Cleese) -- are standoffish. They're reluctant to befriend the "spring pig," who's fated to be served up as the humans' Christmas dinner. But Wilbur (voiced by 10-year-old Dominic Scott Kay) is so sweet, curious, and affable that they're soon won over.
Luckily, Wilbur also makes friends with Charlotte A. Cavatica (Julia Roberts), the spider who spins her webs in the barn doorway. Though the other animals tend to snub her (Ike says he's afraid of spiders), Charlotte decides she'll find a way to save Wilbur's life. And so begins the series of words she weaves into her web, describing what she sees in her young friend. Since these words seem like "miracles" to the humans, Wilbur gains some status in the community, and his reputation eventually grows to the point that Zuckerman decides to show him at the county fair.
Wilbur's journey from squinty-eyed piglet to prize-winner is guided by his relationship with wise Charlotte, who is a thoroughly wonderful character both on the page and in this movie. Wilbur learns a variety of lessons from his fellow animals (who are partly CGI animated, partly live), including the ever-muttering, ever-angling Templeton the rat (Steve Buscemi). Though he appears to be at odds with everyone else, Templeton is, by the film's end, something of a reluctant hero to the motley barn crew, doing the right thing even when his pay-off isn't immediately clear. (That said, he's fond of Wilbur's slop and agrees to do "favors" in exchange for first dibs on the trough). He's a model of how a character who seems obviously "bad" might really be more complicated.
The one questionable lesson offered by Charlotte's Web is that embodied by Fern. A tomboy through and through, she worries her mother (to the point that she visits a doctor, trying to understand why her daughter spends so much time with the farm animals). When Fern at last abandons her overalls for a pretty yellow dress, mom (Essie Davis) feels reassured. But the film needn't offer this transformation as a sign of Fern's "proper" socialization. Really, tomboys can be mature too.
Families who enjoy the movie might also want to read White's book or see the 1973 animated movie. For another movie based on a White tale, try Stuart Little. Or, for another talking pig movie, you can't go wrong with Babe.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentCharlotte gives birth (no mention of how she ended up having babies). |
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ViolenceMinor slapstick and sense of threat when crows chase rat; minor disturbance when rat's rotten egg explodes; allusions to Wilbur's imminent fate as Christmas dinner (use of the word "bacon" and ominous shots of the "cure house"); a central character dies (peacefully), and the others mourn their loss. |
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Social BehaviorCharlotte is determined and generous; WIlbur is courageous and, yes, "humble" and Fern is open to all her animal friends' very different sorts of beauty. Even "bad guy" Templeton has hidden depths. |
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