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Title: Charlotte's Web
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Parents don't have anything to worry about. This movie is suitable for all ages. |
"Charlotte's Web" is an indulgence of childhood innocence and human spirit. A grand epic on a small scale, the kind of which has rarely been seen since "Babe" and "Forrest Gump." In "Charlotte's Web" the movie revolves around Wilbur the pig, who is the runt of the litter and is going to be put to death, but is spared because young Fern (Dakota Fanning) refuses to let the pig die just because he was born small. Unable to keep a pig in her house though, Fern is forced to sell Wilbur to her uncle Mr. Zuckerman, who intends to make bacon out of the pig come Christmastime. Wilbur freaks out, but none of his animal roomies sympathizes with him much. "It's just the way of nature. Humans love pork." says Templeton the rat, who carries with him a load of resentment after living years being despised by everyone around him.
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The only friend Wilbur gains in the barnyard is Charlotte the spider, who is the only creature in the barn who is more despised then the rat. Wilbur doesn't care though, as long as he has a friend to talk to when Fern isn't visiting him. Charlotte takes such a liking to Wilbur, that she vows to do everything she can to save his life. If you've read the book (and I'm sure you have), you know that this involves writing really fancy words in a spider-web for news reporters to write about. While the words are limited to such simple terms as "Some Pig," "Radiant," and Terrific," it's all the that needs to be said to inspire people in the town, who see the words in the web as a miracle. All the while, Fern continues to visit with the animals, which causes her mom great concern. Fern's mom goes to her family doctor with her concerns that Fern's only friends are animals, and the doctor gives her a bit of wisdom not found in many children's films.
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"There is something wrong with your daughter. She is going through something that is called a childhood phase. Sadly, she'll eventually outgrow it one day." Now some movie directors who make family films sound like they are nick in the head. When asked why they included sexual innuendo's, fart jokes, and curse words in their films that are supposed to be safe viewing for the whole family, they give excuses like kids won't watch something sophisticated, or that excluding the above listed thing would make the movie too sweet for anyone over the age of five to enjoy. "Charlotte's Web" proves these excuses to be lies, and it proves them to be lies in the most embarrassing ways. True, "Charlotte's Web" is NOT a very complicated movie in terms of story and length, but it's complicated in other ways! Human emotion plays a big part in how we relate to movies, and this movie is filled with human emotion up the wall.
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We like Wilbur and want this Spring Pig to see Winter, which is something no Spring Pig has done before (at least in this movie's world). The humans are all real people with feelings, and none of them come off as stereotypical. Even Fern's mother, who appears to be the conflict that will get in the way of everything, backs off from her daughters obsession with animals. Later on in the film when Fern runs off with a boy, Fern's mother just watches in sadness as she realizes her daughter is growing out of the childhood phase she took for granted. Even the animals get their share of touching moments, as when Wilbur wakes everyone up to see the sunrise, and the cows had been so busy with tradition and duty they never bothered to wake up to watch the sun rise. These are the moments that inspire kids as well as touch adults hearts. And all this is accomplished with no vulgar humor or inappropriate jokes.
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If there is a big downside to the movie it's the voice cast. With huge names such as Julia Roberts, Reba McEntire, Robert Redford, Cedric the Entertainer, John Cleese, Oprah, and more, you'd think the animals were all key plays in this movie. Not so. Only Wilbur, Charlotte, and Templeton come off as important characters, and the rest of the animals are there for backup support. As such, it's get to be VERY distracting when you are trying to guess the familiar voices that are associated for all these characters, when most of these characters aren't half as important as their actors are!
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There's also some debate on whether or not the extended use of computer animation takes away from some of the real life charms a real animal would have, but I guess that's a moot point when you need the animals to behave in certain ways they wouldn't in real life. Considering how much bloody movies and fart jokes there are to be found in theaters this Christmas, hopefully "Charlotte's Web" will find an audience and become the hit it deserves to be. Hopefully a few Oscar nominations will be awarded come awards time (I'd like to personally recommend Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Score, Best Song, and Best Supporting Actress for Dakota Fanning). Either way, if you'd like a return to movies that were works of art as well as being non-offensive, then "Charlotte's Web" is the movie you want to see this year.
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