Posted by
Emmett of the Unblinking Eye on Thursday, December 14, 2006 6:22:27 PM
The most surprising thing to me about
Charlotte's Web was that The Effervescent Mrs. Eye had never read the book, and had no idea what it is about. Frankly, I thought there was a federal law mandating that it be read by everyone in the Fifth Grade. I didn't think that you could get in to college without having read it. Shows you how much I know.
For everyone else in the world -- all those who have read and loved
E.B. White's book -- Charlotte's Web will be an absolute delight. The book that taught everyone about death simply springs to life on the big screen. Although the cast is titularly headed by the omnipresent Dakota Fanning, the real stars are the CGI-enhanced animals. Wilbur the pig (voiced by Dominic Scott Kay) is fated for Christmas dinner before his friend Charlotte the spider (Julia Roberts) decides that she will save him, with the reluctant help of Templeton the rat (a perfectly cast Steve Buscemi) and, to a lesser extent, the other animals in the barn. The cinematography is magnificent, the colors are vibrant, and the story is timeless. All-in-all, a practically perfect family film.
So what's the drawback? Well, Charlotte is, after all, a spider, and some folks (particularly little folks) don't care for spiders. And she does have her spider mug plastered all over the screen, twenty feet high, throughout much of the movie. And Templeton, although an exemplary rat, is still a rat. So you know your child better than I; you make the decision. But even though Charlotte's Web could disturb some of the younger set, it will be great fun for all of the rest.