Review of Charlotte`s Web

Introduction

There are very few films released these days that are suitable for the whole family that aren`t pure animation. The audience demographic is more carefully spliced up - with movies specifically for young teen girls, for example, proving to be do big box office. Even when a film does prove popular for whole families (like `Pirates of the Caribbean`) it`s often full of disturbing, frightening imagery rendering it useless for the youngest members of the family. So where did the `suitable for the whole family` feature go? I`m pleased to say that `Charlotte`s Web` is a good return to this principle of movie-making, offering up a schmaltzy mix of moralistic righteousness and gooey emotion that will be secretly enjoyed by anyone from 5 to a 105.

It`s by no means a perfect picture. It leaves no cliché unturned and the heavy use of CGI enhancement makes it seem a little contrived to the more mature eye, though the story is a fine one, and the layer of contemporary humour makes it a more satisfying telling of the tale than the not-so-great cartoon version from the seventies, though some may miss the musical side of that rendition. Whilst many will inevitably complain of it`s similarity to `Babe`, this is actually quite different with a real sense of magic throughout.

It`s a fairly faithful retelling of E.B. White`s classic children`s story where farmers daughter Fern Arable (played flawlessly by wonder-kid Dakota Fanning) convinces her father not to kill a tiny piglet who is clearly the runt of the litter The farmer relents and gives Fern the pig as a pet, and she names the cute piglet Wilbur. But what her Father had failed to add was that once Wilbur was fattened up (before Christmas), he would be slaughtered for food along with all his brothers and sisters.

A spider called Charlotte lives above Wilbur`s sty. And she soon becomes the best of friends with Wilbur and the other animals in the barn. In order to save Wilbur from his ill fate she spins some words within her web to the let the farmer know what a great pig Wilbur actually is. Naturally, this is like the second-coming and it`s not long before tourists are flocking to the farm to see this wondrous pig.

Probably worth mentioning is that whilst the action is dominated by a mix of real animal footage with CGI enhancement, puppetry, and animatronics, the voices of the animals include a fine and unusual cast which really helps. These include Julia Roberts, Robert Redford, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, and Kathy Bates amongst others.

Video

Presented as a flawless 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, this really is top-notch with a beautiful overall palette to the movie.

Audio

Dolby Digital 5.1 with plenty of snorts, snuffles and growls from the rears to help you feel part of the barnyard action.

Features

TWO AUDIO COMMENTARIES
The first with Director Gary Winick (13 Going on 30) and a second with Producer Jordan Kerner and FX Supervisor John Andrew Berton Jr. These both cover some of the same ground though offer up some detailed insights into the complexity of making a film as technically complex as this, whilst retaining some of the `human` side by creating fun dialogue and bringing it all to life with some really first-class voice-overs.

It`s all recounted with amazing positivity considering the movie was pretty much packed with `children and animals`. It`s notable too that, before book purists complain about any departures from the original text, that much study was made of E.B. White`s own handwritten notes on the original manuscripts prior to being edited by the publisher. But like all audio commentaries, they really are the domain of the avid fan and to watch two in a row takes some heady devotion. Certainly not for the kids…it will bore them rigid, and there are some much more time friendly featurettes which cover the same ground in a more cursory way with visual illustration.

FEATURETTES

Making Some Movie (28 minutes) is a quick whistle-stop of all cast and crew (there are a zillion of them) with typical vox-pop style interviews. It`s entertaining though not very informative.

Some Voices (9 minutes) features some of the key voices which are always fun to watch as they bring the animal characters to life.

Flacka`s Pig Tales (11 minutes) is a child friendly overview of working with pigs, including some educational elements such as riddles etc.

How Do They Do That? (5minutes) is similar to the above feature, aimed at young children and showing how the crew worked with the animals.

What Makes A Classic? (5 minutes) is a brief series of interviews with Kerner, screenwriters Susannah Grant and Karey Kirkpatrick, and EB White expert Lucien L Agosta discussing the enduring success of the book.

Where Are They Now? (7 minutes) answers the big question following the furore surrounding `Babe` when rumours abounded about the crew cooking up and eating a succession of the little piglet stars as they grew out of the role. No such barbarism here as all the animal performers in this movie have been saved and sent to homes and sanctuaries. Phew!

MUSIC VIDEOS

Sarah McLachlan - Ordinary Miracle
Bob Carlisle & Lucy Kane - Make a Wish

PHOTOS

A Day at the Fair! - Presented like a Viewmaster Reel, this shows stills of Dakota Fanning etc at a fair.
Farm Photo Album - wooden framed photos

GAG REEL & DELETED SCENES

Gag Reel - the usual pig and mix of outtakes (sorry - couldn`t resist!)

Deleted Scenes - 6 deleted scenes (with optional director`s commentary explaining the reasons for deletion), including a scene involving a character later dropped from the plot, Susy the Dog (voiced by Jennifer Garner).

Conclusion

This really is a first-class, contemporary adaptation of the classic novel by E.B. White, offering up a fairly faithful rendition tempered with some modern humour and effects.
Technically it`s a remarkable movie, mixing live action footage with CGI, puppetry, animatronics and motion-control - often in the same sequence. But somehow the technical wizardry never quiet gets in the way of the content, providing an immensely satisfying `family movie` in an era where very few are produced.
What really helps is the fine voice ensemble, bringing humour and pathos to what is essentially a dark tale with a cute young piglet fighting for his life. The ending of the movie (which I won`t spoil here) doesn`t duck the difficult issues of life and death, though softens the blow in a way acceptable to even the most sensitive of children.

Whilst some critics have compared the movie unfavourably with `Babe`, I found this to be a far more magical experience, and one that I would unhesitatingly recommend to anyone with children.

It has a fantastic range of extras too.