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Charlotte’s Web: WHEW
A few months ago, I recoiled in horror upon seeing the “Charlotte’s Web” trailer and learning that someone had the nerve to insert flatulence in the story. I dreaded another “Cat in the Hat”-style botch. Had I been Charlotte, I would have written ‘PUNGENT” in the web.
Today, however, I have a new word: RELEIVED.
Blessedly, crassness is kept to a minimum in this movie that is sweet, gentle and lilting, much like the beloved E.B. White classic on which it is based. I can’t call the movie a classic, but the filmmakers did the right thing by obeying a very simple edict: don’t mess with the text.
Those who have read the book will recall that the story revolves around a runty pig named Wilbur (Dominic Scott Kay) who is saved from the smokehouse, first by a headstrong little girl named Fern (Dakota Fanning), then by a brainy spider with the full name of Charlotte A. Cavatica (Julia Roberts) who is quite the wiz with her web. Her miraculous text inspires the whole town - and generations of readers who learned about that “circle of life” stuff long before Simba came around.
(And for those of you who haven’t read the book, gracious. Stop reading this and get a copy now. I’ll be here when you get back.)
The movie opens with a nifty animated sequence that cleverly mimics the Garth Williams illustrations, which immediately assured me the movie was on the right path. A few minor crudities aside, writers Karey Kirkpatrick (“Over the Hedge”) and Susannah Grant (“Erin Brockovich”) maintain White’s wit and wisdom, while director Gary Winick (“13 Going on 30”) supplies some striking visuals, particularly when Charlotte is writing.
This faithfulness to White cuts both ways, however. Like many of my generation, I grew up on the 1973 animated feature, which was also very true to the book. That being the case, watching the new movie is basically like watching a live action version of the cartoon, minus the songs. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, but it does give this film a slightly “been there, done that” feeling. Maybe seeing “Babe” cover similar territory so effectively had something to do with that feeling too.
It’s also a little creepy at first to see Charlotte as a photorealistic spider. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t find spiders to be all that pretty unless they’re animated in 2D with a pair of blue eyes. Still, even this is mitigated by Roberts’ wonderful vocal performance. Indeed, many of the actors do great work, from Robert Redford as the spider-fearing horse Ike, to the ideally cast Steve Buscemi as Templeton the rat.
When the movie reached its poignant end, I admit I felt tears welling up, just like they did in the 70s, and I noticed that most of the children at my screening were very quiet – always a sign that a family movie is doing its job.
It’s not all that often anymore that a story is a great children’s book and a very fine family film. “Charlotte’s Web” is both.
GRADE: B+
