User reviews

With this movie made in part in my hometown (Williamstown) I dragged the kids along to check it out.

Being well familiar with the story, I expected this to be pretty light hearted fair, but the wife still managed to turn into a blubbing mess at the end.

The movie had an uneasy feel about the setting; didn't feel current or old for that matter, so perhaps will age OK.

The CGI was pretty amazing. I'd hate to imagine what someone from a time capsule or straight out of jail would imagine has happened in our world since they left. Talking animals and spiders, so realistic the kids don't even blink twice.

Good for young kids (mine are 4 and 2), and not monotonously boring like many of the other CGI laden kids movies out there.

Charlotte's Web, based on the book by E.B. White, directed by Gary Winick, film story by Earl Hamner Jr. and screenplay by Susannah Grant and Karey Kirkpatrick is a heart warming story of friendship, loyalty and acceptance.

When a runt pig is born, a little girl, Fern, talks her father out of slaughtering the pig. Fern, played by Dakota Fanning, raises the pig, Wilbur, by hand until the pig is too large to stay in the house. She takes Wilbur, voice by Dominic Scott Kay, to live with her uncle. It is only after Wilbur goes to live with her uncle that Fern realizes that her pig will be slaughtered for Christmas dinner.

In the barn where Wilbur goes to live there is a collection of funny and uptight animal characters. Each character's voice is provided by a recognizable, familiar voice. Samuel the sheep, voice by John Cleese, is the uptight leader of the sheep and occasionally provider of sage advice. Steve Buscemi provides his voice for the mischievous and self-minded Templeton the Rat. Expecting geese parents Gussy and Golly Goose, whose voices are provided by Oprah Winfrey and Cedric the Entertainer. Bitsey, Kahty Bates, and Betsy, Reba McEntire, cows, provide the physical and fart humor for the movie. Wilbur is not so delicately informed by Templeton that he will be slaughtered.

This sends Wilbur into an emotional down-spiral. Luckily for him, he makes a new friend, Charlotte the Spider, who promises to find a way to keep him from being slaughtered. Taking her promise seriously, Charlotte spins a series of webs that have the words, "Radiant" and "Some Pig" to draw attention to how special Wilbur truly is.

Julia Roberts was a wonderful cast for Charlotte. Her soft, sweet voice effectivelyembodies the spirit of E.B. White's character. Charlotte's cool head,and confident demeanor, give hope to the barn and most importantly, Wilbur. Roberts does a great job at making Charlotte a constant and level character. Charlotte was completely animated. The computer animation wasn't anything to sneeze at, nor was it anything to praise.

There were several scenes where Charlotte looks to be the size of, or larger, that of a tarantula. There are other times when she doesn't seem to be a daddy long legs. Still, the animators did a good job of making her feel like a character rich with emotion. I'm sure it was a challenge to make a spider both realistic and emotional.

Dakota Fanning was adorable in the movie. I was disappointed because at times her acting was inconsistent and strained. Still, there is a reason why she is one of the most desired child actors in Hollywood. The problem with having voices done by celebrities is you spend so much of your time seeing their faces, instead of the character that it can be a little confusing. Can you imagine a movie where Julia Roberts is put in a jar by a little boy as Cedric the Entertainer and Oprah Winfrey stand by and watch? It gets even worse when you associate a voice to a character. One of the crows is played by Thomas Haden Church. Church used to play the airplane mechanic on "Wings". During the extremely funny scenes with the crows, all I could see was the mechanic on "Wings. " While I think you should defiantly have a recognizable voice in your film, if you do too many it's distracting.

Even though I was distracted by the different voices occasionally, I was generally lost in the story. I was in a theater with several small children and most of them made it though the movie with out yelling, fussing or getting bored. Either they were the best behaved children ever or they were truly enjoying the movie.

I knew how the story was going to end; I started to cry when it actually happened.

I don't think this movie is the end all be all of what Charlotte's Web could be. I think it will do just fine until a better one comes out. Don't be afraid to take your children, they'll love it!

I saw the film because it was based on a classic tale...and I know Oprah was going to be the female goose. The pig, rat and spider are cute - in an animal-sort-of-way. The cows were hard to hear. So I tried to listen for when they were talking. Maybe there was other noise then or they spoke under their breath. But I got a kick out of the crows.

I Barnyard the Cows all had udders. The male and female cows alike. At least this one is more authentic - true to the species. The close-up of the spider and web is extremely well done... and all the oral animation matches the mouth movements.

Oh yeah, and i learned some BIG words, too. Like: languishing. More-for-kids movie.

I have for years adored the book Charlotte's Web. As a parent of two children, I was happy to own the 1973 animated version of this book, which I believe was a splendid adaptation of the book.

I was somewhat apprehensive about taking my children to see this movie because I was afraid that it would be so different from the animated film that they already knew by heart and loved, I feared that my children would immediately have a disdain for this new version.

I was pleasantly surprised. My seven year old and four year old both laughed, sat at the edge of their seats, and yes, cried with the movie. I enjoyed the movie for the most part. There was enough subtle adult humor that I laughed at, which my children did not "get".

However, as brilliant as Steve Buscemi's narration was, I was sorely disappointed with Julia Roberts performance.

Charlotte is a loving, wise spider, almost a foster parent to Wilbur. I found Ms. Robert's narration dull, humdrum and frankly, tedious. I could actually visualize her reading her lines into the microphone, her hands and body moving slightly with the flowing of her words ... all the while Ms. Roberts was counting the dollars in her mind that she would collect for this job. It sounded like she was simply doing her job, and frankly, with little or no conviction, compassion or empathy.

Perhaps Ms. Roberts reading of children's stories would be best left to those times with her own children. Not to paying audiences.

The animation was very good, impressive most of the time. Steve Buscemi as Templeton is definitely a fine performance; Dakota Fanning will continue to capture America's heart for many years to come.

I wish that I could rate the movie higher, because it was a fine adaptation of the book. However, Julia Roberts performance was so disappointing that I cringe to think of her ever narrating another animated character.

Take your children, they will love it. Just try to ignore Ms. Roberts.

A children's movie, based on a children's novel, "Charlotte's Web" can be quite fun for the whole family. Mischievous boys can put toy spiders on their sister's shoulder from behind, or plop one in their laps. Or, a girl might do a finger crawl up the back of dad's head. A feather to tickle mom's ear from behind works too.

Seriously, this is a move with humor for adults as well as the kids and grandkids. I laughed each time Wilbur, or Ike the horse, or another animal fainted. That must be a trick of cinematography or very fast forwarding. One second the pig is standing and listening to a conversation, then in a split second he falls over on his side.

E.B. White's novel of a runt piglet and his spider friend Charlotte was published in 1952. A promo for the second animated film said that the book had sold more than 45 million copies. It was first put on film in an animated musical movie by Paramount in 1973. Joseph Barbera and William Hanna did the animation. Music and lyrics were by Richard and Robert Sherman. Some familiar and popular entertainers of the time voiced the various parts. Among them were Debbie Reynolds as Charlotte, Paul Lynde as Templeton, Henry Gibson as Wilbur and Agnes Moorhead as the goose.

A 2003 animated sequel, "Wilbur's Great Adventure," was made for video release in March. Nickelodeon made it with lesser known voices. It hasn't seemed to be very popular.

E.B. White is said to have disapproved of some of the scenes that were changed from his book in the first animated film. I wonder if he wouldn't have enjoyed this live-action version of his story much more. This edition has a new screenplay, and a bevy of popular voices do the animals – Julia Roberts, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Kathy Bates, Robert Redford and more. Along with Dakota Fanning as Fern, Beau Bridges as Dr. Dorian and other actors, this ensemble makes for a fun and entertaining film for the whole family.

Bring your Kleenex. Maybe it's just coz I'm female, or maybe it's coz my mother read this book to me when I was little -- but every time a new word appeared in that web -- tears rolled down my cheeks!

It's very charming. They have kept to the time frame of the book -- it looks like the 1930s-1950s. They haven't tried to "modernize" it with pop culture references and silly jokes like so many kids' movies nowadays do.

Fern isn't break dancing with the pig. (No, there are no musical numbers.)

Fart jokes were kept to a minimum. (I think they are required by law nowadays to put fart jokes in all children's entertainment.)

They didn't dumb down the lovely words E.B. White used -- Charlotte uses her grand language as she speaks to Wilbur and spins her webs.

I kept thinking of "Babe" at the start of the movie. A white runt pig saved. Similar barnyard companions. Even the voice of Wilbur sounds like the voice of Babe. (Even tho Babe was voiced by a 32 y.o. woman and Wilbur by a 9 y.o. boy!) But I think the writers of Babe must have been fans of the classic "Charlotte's Web".

Steve Buscemi as the voice of Templeton the Rat is just perfect. (Poor guy even has a rat-like face -- is that why they cast him?) And the CGI animation is flawless. You can't tell the animated animals from the real ones. Flawlessly blended.

That little pig is SO cute at the beginning -- I just wanted to watch him play in the mud for 10 minutes. (But no, they kept the story moving along.) They even tried to make the spider cute, but that's quite a challenge. Still Julia Roberts' soothing motherly voice helps. (Nevertheless, the little girl next to me climbed into her grandma's lap when the spider appeared.)

And Dakota Fanning, as always, is a darling.

So go -- and if you loved the book as a child, bring plenty of Kleenex!

The 1973 animated film "Charlotte's Web" was as much a part of my childhood as "The Care Bear Movie." As I remember (because I honestly haven't seen it over 15 years), the animated film was perfect the way it was. I can still hear the voices of the original Fern and Wilber.

So what do I think about the latest "Charlotte's Web?" It's all right. It doesn't bring anything new to light that the 1973 cartoon didn't already. Honestly, I don't know why they made it at all.

Though I have to admit, the casting of Steve Buscemi as the voice of Templeton the Rat was beyond perfect. My favorite lines of dialogue, however, came from Samuel the Sheep, voiced by the hilarious John Cleese. His sarcastic tone at meeting Wilber the Pig was wonderful ("What luck! We have an early riser, and there are things he has to say").

Skip the theater on this one and just buy the cartoon on DVD instead.

For anyone who's read the book or seen the original animated version, this film will be a big disappointment. Unlike other reviewers, I thought the script was filled lines that were trying to be sarcastic like a TV sitcom. Even the performances of veteran actors such as John Cleese couldn't save the dialogue. Templeton and Wilbur were the best characters, but Julia Roberts' Charlotte was extremely flat an unappealing. I would have preferred if she had tried to find her own voice instead of trying to mimic the original film. Dakota Fanning was adorable and terribly underused. There was no relationship between she and Wilbur after the webs appeared. She simply became background. The worst thing about the film was the overall message. Even my 7 year old said "Gee, I guess if you can't get a medal on that farm you just get eaten.". Yep. That's pretty much it. Outside of the lovely animation, I was terribly disappointed. And so was my family. Give this one a miss and rent the original instead. Or better yet... read the book.

I was prepared for almost anything going into this movie, knowing that so many filmmakers who adapt classic stories think it is their duty to "update" the story, or feel the need to add a lot of comic relief.

Thankfully, Winick did not succumb to these temptations. Instead, he offers a delightfully filmed version of the story, with CG effects so realistic and subtle that they detract from the live action base not even a little bit.

This movie is very true to the original story, and the comic relief was, in my opinion, not at all overbearing. I got a lot of genuine laughs out of the movie, and, at 40, that's saying something for a G-rated movie aimed at families with small children.

The movie has an old-fashioned but familiar feel to it. It seems to represent the America we all think we remember, and want to see when we visit the country. It seems in many ways timeless, without feeling Disney-esquire. I'm sure this is what the filmmakers were going for, and they hit it right on the nose.

I thought the casting was excellent, for the most part. Though Agnes Moorehead (from the original animated version) absolutely bowls Oprah Winfrey over as the goose, and Julia Roberts' voice was maybe a bit too matter-of-fact for Charlotte. Debbie Reynolds' extra-sweet voice did, I think, a just-so-slightly better job in the original. That aside, Miss Fanning is perfect as Fern, and Siobhan Fallon could not play the incredulous Mrs. Zuckerman one iota better.

I think E.B. White would be pleased. This is as honest a representation of his wonderful story as anyone could hope for.

If you have small kids, read them the book, and then go see the movie.

If you read the book as a kid, and still smile when you think about it, then go see it yourself.

Highly recommended.

When a litter of pigs is born on a farm the smallest and most vulnerable one only survives because the young daughter of the farmer doesn't want it killed. When the Christmas season is coming nearer it once again becomes clear that the pig might not be alive to see the light of summer. But this time it isn't the little girl that wants to save him, but a little spider called Charlotte.

Charlotte's Web is a remake of a 1973 film with the same title. I've never seen that original but I can say this one isn't entirely bad. It's a typical children's film in which things happen that normally don't, and with a clear intonation on friends and family bonds. It's one of those films that tries to get a message across. This one in the form of: true beauty is on the inside. A bit moralistic maybe, but true enough and not put on so thick that it presses away everything else.

All in all it lays in the same line as films like Babe and overall it is rather amusing. It leaves plenty of space for light comedy, some light drama and bits of reality and with that it becomes a good enough film. No masterpiece, but fun enough for a bored Sunday afternoon when you have kids aged 4 to 10 to enjoy it. I know my 8 year old nephew did enjoy it.

Having seen this at a prescreening, I just have to ask the above question. It improves no way on the original, lacks a connection to the children's book, and covers it all in a glossy production package that just screams dollars-to-the-studio. The animated movie captured the simplicity of a time where family farms were around, state fairs were huge draws before mega-amusement parks, and reminded us that sometimes we want to believe that magic can happen. The new one uses slick CGI, modern cues, and points a computer at you and says "YOU WILL BELIEVE IN MAGIC OR ELSE". I'm going back to 1972, thank you. I might have enjoyed the movie more if the original hadn't been so dear to me, I know, I'm not saying I'm not biased. That being the case, why not take a chance and film one of the other great children's books out there that's not been made into a movie? The one I push for is "A Conneticut Cricket In Times Square." Sadly, it doesn't have another movie to leech free publicity off of...

Fern (Dakota Fanning) lives on a farm with her parents and brother. One day when her father's sow gives birth, she discovers that there is a runt piglet. Dad is about to euthanize the little one, as he is too small to fight for his mother's nourishment. But, Fern insists on saving him and takes him into the house, where she bottle-feeds him, names him Wilbur and lets him sleep in her bed. All too soon, he becomes larger and is banished to Fern's neighboring uncle's barn. There, Wilbur meets the other barn residents, such as a horse, two cows, and a pair of geese. All of them warm up to him, in time, but gently break the news that he will probably end up on the Christmas dinner table. Wilbur's only hope is his new friend, Charlotte, a spider that the other barn inhabitants fear and dislike. The smart arachnid, embracing Wilbur's gesture of friendship, assures the pig that she will find a way to save his life. But, is this possible? This is a lovely film based on one of the most beloved books in children's literature. Fanning is winning as the tomboy little girl who holds her heart out to a tiny pig. The other human cast members, including Beau Bridges and Kevin Anderson, are fine. As for the actors voicing the film's animal troupe, including Oprah Winfrey, Steve Buscemi, Robert Redford and especially Julia Roberts as Charlotte, they are excellent and contribute mightily to the movie's enjoyment. The film's costumes, setting, direction and production are all top of the line. In short, do not hesitate in the least to bring this film to you and your loved ones. It should be added to any family's permanent video collection, and brought out as many times as needed to satisfy the youngest of viewers or, indeed, the oldest, too.

A friendly spider helps out a pig destined to become a Christmas ham.

I'm not ashamed to admit that spiders freak me out (even CGI ones with smiley faces), but the fact that Charlotte's Web also had talking farm animals was enough for me to overcome my arachnophobia and settle down with my kids to watch the latest adaptation of E. B. White's feel-good classic.

With a huge budget, a multitude of A-listers lending their vocal talents, and creepy child star Dakota Fanning starring as Fern, would this be an overblown Hollywood mess, or a charmingly told tale to warm the heart? Neither, actually; it lands somewhere in the middle.

Parts of the film work wonderfully, whilst others fall flat on their face. During the opening credits, brilliant animation perfectly sets the tone: we see a picture-book rural utopia which looks positively magical. But later on we also get fart jokes (I enjoy toilet humour, but here it seems totally out of place).

The script is also a mixed bag: most of the humour is spot on (yes, I actually enjoyed the antics of the two crows); however, the inclusion of a romance between Fern and a local boy seemed totally unnecessary.

The direction is adequate, but rarely rises above 'workmanlike'. However, the effects are fantastic—a seamless blend of real life footage, animatronics, and computer wizardry—and these alone are worth seeing the film for (what else would you really expect from the combined talents of Phil Tippet and Stan Winstons' FX studios?).

Charlotte's Web ain't a patch on Babe or Pig In The City (but then what is?) It is, however, a reasonable way to pass the time—even if you hate arachnids.

The book is one of my favorite children's stories, so I had to see this sometime. I personally like the cartoon movie better, but this is good too. It stays faithful to the original story, has good voice actors and is Gary Winick's best movie, but it is not without it's flaws. The crows in the movie can be obnoxious to some people and the humor is a little silly, but despite it's flaws it's still good and just as emotional as the book. The one thing I really liked was Steve Buscemi as Templeton the Rat. He was the perfect voice for that role and is even good when making bad egg puns. This adaptation of Charlotte's Web stays true to the story and they made the right choice to not make it modern. This movie isn't a masterpiece, but it's better than most of the family movies out today.

I had initial hesitation in deciding whether to watch this movie - not because it features a talking pig ala Babe, but probably because, if rumour has you believe, that viewers will swear off pork. They look so cute that you would not imagine them being on your dinner table, ever after. I've read the book when I was a kid, but heck, I can't remember much of the details beyond the friendship between spider and pig.

Wilbur the piglet's destiny is set from birth - being the odd one out without access to its mother's teat, he's earmarked for immediate transformation to pork, but the intervention of a young girl Fern (Dakota Fanning) helped prevent it, albeit for a little while. Put in a barn with the other animals, Wilbur is in desperate need of friendship to wilt away his loneliness, but given the indifferent attitudes amongst the resident animals, he gets a none too friendly introduction to farm life. That is until he meets Charlotte, a spider who will try help to extend the lifespan of Wilbur, saving the spring pig from becoming Christmas ham.

It's a story about friendship, and the miracles gained from trust, help, and the fulfilling of promises. And this movie gets a huge boost through its A-list voice talents, with the likes of, check this out - Julia Roberts as Charlotte, Steve Buscemi as Templeton the selfish rat, John Cleese as Sam Sheep, leader of the pack of sheep followers (played to hilarity), Katy Bates, Cedric the Entertainer, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Redford, Thomas Haden Church, Andre Benjamin and Sam Shepard. They seemed to have a rip-roaring time, and I thought Julia Roberts' Charlotte came across as extremely calm and collected, while probably the character with the best lines was Templeton the rat.

Fanning already got experience playing opposite her animal counterparts, like in Dreamer earlier this year, though this time in the barnyard the animals are enhanced by technology and graphics. Her role however is limited in screen time, and although there are hints on puppy love, it's very much unexplored in depth as the focus is squarely on our animal friends. The score is an unrecognizable Danny Elfman contribution without the dark overtones, and the songs played during the animated stills of the end credits, do sound radio friendly enough to warrant airplay.

Charlotte's Web is a feel good, heartwarming family movie which is suitable for this holiday season. It is uncomplicated, and has a simple message, but is engaging enough for both children and adults. A warning though, the movie is poignant yet hopeful, so to sentimental folks, a tissue or two will help.

I'm going to get this out of the way fast. The only downside to this film is the comedy. It's pointless, unfunny, and just childish. But the rest of the movie........ Great!!!!!

I grew up reading the book and watching the Hanna-Barbara movie. The book is a classic and always will be, the movie was good but revisiting it; the animation is awkward, the made up story lines are dumb and the songs for lack of a better word are just bad. When this live-action remake came out I actually wasn't that exited. It took me a long time to finally sit down and give it a view.

Think about when you read the book. Charlotte's Wed really gives you a warm tingly feeling when reading it. For the most part the movie transfers the sensibility of the book to the screen. If you are a fan of the book you'll like this movie. If you are gung-ho about the original film you probably won't like it. Whatever it's worth I say give it a watch it's on Netflix right now so stop reading this review you probably don't care about and watch it and draw your own conclusion.

It's a beautiful movie and wonderfully true to the book. A fan of EB White's brilliant work, I could recite the last lines alongside the movie. The friend I went with is a die-hard fan of the older, animated Charlotte's Web; his only complaint was that this one had fewer musical numbers (read: none). Also, I felt the beginning and end credits act as somewhat of a homage to the animated version.

The voices are very well cast; Julia Roberts is a comforting and delightful Charlotte, and while the opening shots of the spider made some in the audience go "Ew," we grow, like the barn animals, to embrace her warm nature. I found her quite beautiful in the end.

Steve Buscemi is perfect as Templeton. Knowing John Cleese is behind the head sheep makes it even funnier. And Dakota Fanning finally gets to play a little girl being a little girl.

It only made me tear up twice, but I'm a big softy. Take the family, the kids, and anyone who's ever enjoyed EB White's classic story.

Warm, cuddly.. but slow, non-eventful and a tad overlong - sorry to all lovers of the original story. I'm not sure Julia was the right choice for Charlotte. She was average -- certainly didn't sparkle.

We had a choice of 3 'family' films to see at the beginning of winter break: Charlotte's Web, Night at the Museum, or Happy Feet. After reading the IMDb comments for all three, we opted for Charlotte's Web, also because the local reviews up here in Ontario were very positive. I saw it with my wife, daughter and two grandchildren (both girls) - they liked it (but the adults don't want to sit through it again).

Very nicely-filmed, swell FX, wholesome.. but, without Buscemi's awesome contribution as the Rat, this would have been like sitting through a 2-hour Barney episode -- for me, anyway.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade - I like family films too (ok - I confess: I liked Flicka). But I like more than cuddly-wuddly animals and pleasant scenery. I'll check out the other two films, too. lol

I find this live action version of 'Charlotte's Web' flat. It fails to capture the essence and innocence of E. B. White's classic story. A large part of this failure is due to the decision of the film makers to film in Victoria Australia. This story is set in Maine USA. So why not shoot on actual location, to enhance a feeling for the time and place so lovingly embraced by the author?

Dakota Fanning is too old and knowing for Fern. The screen story is quite faithful to the book, but some elements have been altered, as though to appear more PC for todays audiences ie) the humor and personality of the animal characters - this film is a period piece! Just another example of major film studios sacrificing artistic integrity for the sake of the almighty dollar?

Not a complete failure, but unfortunately not an instant classic. Kudos though, to the lovely opening and closing story book style animation. Perhaps if the entire film had been presented like this, it may have been more memorable.