SimonJack 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.

nikkiboulter When I was five this movie broke my heart. The movie itself was great, but my revelation afterward was devastating. The cat that I loved with all of my little heart had died about a month before I watched it, but I didn't understand what had happened to him. That was, until I saw what happened to the spider. By the time I was home, I was a blubbering mess. Dad just handed me to Mom because he couldn't figure out how to handle me. I finally cried myself to sleep about two hours later. My opinion on the movie is permanently stained by the heartbreak of loosing my beloved cat. Despite that, it was a great movie.

OllieSuave-007 This is a terrific live-action film adaptation of my favorite children's novel by author E.B. White, a story about a lonely pig named Wilbur who befriended a barnyard spider named Charlotte. Realizing that his life is in danger of being put in the "smoke house" and that he would not live to see the snows of winter, Charlotte promises to save Wilbur's life.I think Earl Hamner Jr. did a great job on the film story, making each scene and each character memorable. I loved the dialog of the animal characters - witty, humorous and charming - and I believed the voice talents from the actors fit the roles very well. I liked how a child actor was cast as the voice for Wilbur unlike the animated version, making the pig more innocent and fun-loving.The visual and special effects team did a fine job on the animals, making their movements realistic as they speak and I thought the CGI effects for Charlotte the Spider were nicely done. It is detailed and may be creepy-looking to some, but this movie was meant to have the friendship between Wilbur and Charlotte define that even a creepy-looking barnyard spider appear beautiful to everyone.This movie follows the novel pretty closely, including in it many plot elements from the book and inserting in the Dr. Dorian scenes which were omitted in the animated version. Some of the animals that were in the novel but missing or largely left out from the animated version were cast in this movie, including the Golly the Gander and the Ike the Horse. Wilbur's gosling friend Jeffrey from the previous version was not included in this movie, which is a plus in my opinion as it allows the friendship between Charlotte and Wilbur be concentrated and focused on more.Aspects of friendship, courage, childhood phases and miracles are beautifully depicted here and makes it one of what I think is the most beloved family films of all time. Gary Winick did a great job directing, providing us with a movie that is happy and sad, but uplifting and entertaining at the same time. In contrast to the animated version, I think the animals portrayed in the movie were given more personality and were elaborated upon, i.e., the cows' pessimistic attitude, Ike's fear of spiders, Samuel the Sheep's prudish way of talking, Gussy the Goose's warm and caring characteristics, Templeton's selfish and crafty personality, Wilbur's innocent and inquisitive side and Charlotte's calm, soothing and pleasant demeanor. I enjoyed watching how some of the animals would prank Templeton for acting like a jerk at times and thought the way how all the animals bowed their heads in tribute of Charlotte was touching.My only main issue with the movie was that Fern, although charming and strong-willed, was portrayed as a little condescending sometimes. Even though she has a determination to save Wilbur's life, Fern could have been made a little more nicer.Aside from this minor issue, Charlotte's Web is a wonderful family-genre movie and one of my favorite stories overall.Grade A

Neil Welch You see, we ageing Englishmen whose kids have left home - well, we like our spaceships and explosions and rough tough cops, and the last thing we want is adaptations of soppy American kids' books which we haven't read (even if they do have that precocious Fanning kid in them), especially if they feature cutesy talking animals and a moralising spider voiced by Julia Roberts who is one of my least favourite actresses. What a recipe for yuck, don't watch it! OK, so I have to acknowledge that the CGI and animation were pretty good. And I have to admit that the Fanning kid was as good as usual. And I have to admit that the voice casting was spot on, with Steve Buscemi particularly well matched with his character. And I have to admit that Julia Roberts was actually very good.But there were no spaceships or explosions or rough tough cops. And it made me cry, and I wasn't expecting that.So I think, on balance, it was pretty good.