Working
from a script by Susannah Grant (the Oscar‑nominated
"Erin Brockovich" writer) and Karey Kirkpatrick
(who wrote the delightful "Chicken Run"), Winick
stays mostly faithful to E.B. White's beloved book with
a couple of minor changes here and there but nothing catastrophic.
More
importantly, he gets the meaning behind the message right–one
of friendship, kindness and loyalty–though "Charlotte's
Web" as a whole could get smothered in the shadow of
the film it resembles most. We're not referring to any of
the myriad animated, talking‑animal movies that have
come out this year (and at this point, there have been too
many to count) but rather a movie from 1995: "Babe,"
which employed the same techniques used here and earned
a visual‑effects Oscar in the process. It really does
look like the pig and the rat and the geese are talking;
cute, slightly creepy, but effective.
Then
again, maybe "Babe" resembled "Charlotte's
Web" from a storytelling perspective when it first
came out, with that endearing, well‑meaning pig surrounded
by all those farm animals who were either cranky or nosy
or both. Maybe it's a chicken‑and‑egg thing
(if you'll pardon the barnyard pun).
Either
way, "Charlotte's Web" is worth seeing on its
own merits (even if you don't have the excuse of a child
to bring along with you), simply because it is so enduring
after more than 50 years.
Dakota
Fanning stars as the tomboyish Fern, who urges her father
(Kevin Anderson) not to take his ax to the runt of the litter
when the family pig gives birth. Instead she adopts him,
names him Wilbur and nurtures him as if he were a child,
and not a pet. (Fanning, by the way, is perfect for the
role; she's always been preternaturally wise beyond her
years, yet with a purity and exuberance of youth. And as
she gets older–she's all of 12 now–she gets prettier, and
has begun to resemble Goldie Hawn.)
While
Fern is at school all day, Wilbur hangs out in the barn
with the other animals. The tiny pig (voiced movingly by
10‑year‑old Dominic Scott Kay) naturally feels
lonely and wants to make friends; the other animals grudgingly
indulge him.
There's
the aforementioned Winfrey as the goose, with Cedric the
Entertainer as Golly the Gander; Redford as the curmudgeonly
horse; John Cleese as Samuel the uppity sheep; Kathy Bates
and Reba McEntire as the chatty cows, Bitsy and Betsy; and
an ideally chosen Steve Buscemi as Templeton, the self‑aggrandizing
rat. Also flying around outside are the clueless crows,
Brooks and Elwyn, voiced with great comic timing by Thomas
Haden Church and Andre Benjamin.
And
of course there is Roberts as the spider, Charlotte, her
wise, assured voice warmly blanketing everything, promising
this idealistic spring pig that she'll find a way to make
sure he sees his first winter snow.
Roberts
and Kay are so believable you actually forget that you're
watching protracted conversations between a pig and spider,
and get drawn into the bond they've formed as friends. And
every web she spins with the hope of saving him is more
touching than the last.
Corny?
Overly simplistic? Perhaps. But those were grown‑ups
snuffling and wiping away tears at a recent screening–not
kids–as the story reaches its heart‑tugging conclusion.
And there's no shame in that.
"Charlotte's
Web," a Paramount Pictures release, is rated G. Running
time: 90 minutes. Three stars out of four.
