Charlotte's Web (2006 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Charlotte's Web | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Gary Winick |
| Produced by | Jordan Kerner |
| Written by | Screenplay: Susannah Grant Karey Kirkpatrick Book: E.B. White |
| Narrated by | Sam Shepard |
| Starring | Dakota Fanning Voices: Julia Roberts Steve Buscemi John Cleese Oprah Winfrey Jennifer Garner Cedric The Entertainer Kathy Bates Reba McEntire Robert Redford Thomas Haden Church "André 3000" Benjamin |
| Music by | Danny Elfman |
| Cinematography | Seamus McGarvey |
| Editing by | Susan Littenberg Sabrina Plisco |
| Distributed by |  Paramount Pictures Nickelodeon Movies United International Pictures Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  December 7, 2006 December 15, 2006 February 9, 2007 February 16, 2007 |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Official website | |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Australia: | G |
| United Kingdom: | U |
| United States: | G |
Charlotte's Web is a live-action/computer-animated feature film, based on the popular book of the same name by E.B. White. It is directed by Gary Winick and produced by Paramount Pictures, Walden Media, The Kerner Entertainment Company, and Nickelodeon Movies. The screenplay is by Susannah Grant and Karey Kirkpatrick, based on White's book. It is the second film adaptation of White's book, preceded by a 1973 cel-animated version produced by Hanna-Barbera for Paramount Pictures. It is distributed in Switzerland, Spain, and Netherlands by Universal Pictures.
The film was at one time intended for a June 2006 release, but was pushed back to December 2006 to avoid competition with two other films from Nickelodeon Movies - Nacho Libre and Barnyard - as well as Over the Hedge among other films. It was released in Australia on December 7, 2006 and in the United States on December 15, 2006. The U.S. release date matches that of 20th Century Fox's Eragon, another film with fantasy elements and a young protagonist. The scheduled release date in the UK is February 9, 2007.[1]
The film was rated G by the MPAA, being Paramount's first theatrical film to be rated G by the MPAA since 2001's Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The DVD will be released on April 3, 2007.
The slogan of the film, according to the trailer and website, is "Help is coming from above."
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[edit] Plot summary
When Fern Arable (Dakota Fanning) learns that her father plans to kill the runt of a litter of newborn pigs, she successfully begs him to spare the piglet's life. The farmer gives the tiny pig to Fern, who names him Wilbur and raises him as her pet. To Fern's regret, when Wilbur grows into an adult pig, Fern is forced to take him to the Zuckerman farm, where he is to be prepared as dinner in due time.
Charlotte, a spider, lives in the space above Wilbur's sty in the Zuckermans' barn; she befriends Wilbur and decides to help prevent him from being eaten. With the help of the other barn animals, including a rat named Templeton, she convinces the Zuckerman family that Wilbur is actually quite special, by spelling out descriptions of him in her web: "Some pig", "Terrific", "Radiant" and "Humble". Charlotte gives her full name as "Charlotte A. Cavatica", revealing her as a barn spider, an orb-weaver spider with the scientific name Araneus cavaticus.
The farm family, Wilbur, Charlotte, and Templeton go to a fair, where Wilbur is entered in a contest. While there, Charlotte produces an egg sac. She cannot return home with Wilbur because she is dying. Wilbur tearfully says goodbye to Charlotte but manages to take her egg sac home, where hundreds of offspring emerge. Most of the young spiders soon leave, but three stay and become Wilbur's friends.
[edit] Cast
| Voice actors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dominic Scott Kay | Wilbur the Piglet | |
| Julia Roberts | Charlotte the Spider | |
| Oprah Winfrey | Gussy the Goose | |
| Steve Buscemi | Templeton the Rat | |
| Kathy Bates | Bitsy the Cow | |
| John Cleese | Samuel the Sheep | |
| Thomas Haden Church | Brooks the Crow | |
| Robert Redford | Ike the Horse | |
| Cedric the Entertainer | Golly the Goose | |
| Jane Sibbett | Joy the Baby Spider | |
| Reba McEntire | Betsy the Cow | |
| André Benjamin | Elwyn the Crow | |
| Sam Shepard | Narrator | |
| Abraham Benrubi | Uncle the Pig | |
| Live actors | ||
| Dakota Fanning | Fern Arable | |
| Gary Basaraba | Homer Zuckerman | |
| Siobhan Fallon | Edith Zuckerman | |
| Kevin Anderson | John Arable | |
| Essie Davis | Mrs. Arable | |
| Nate Mooney | Lurvy the hired hand | |
| Beau Bridges | Dr. Dorian | |
| Elle Fanning | Granddaughter | |
[edit] Reviews
Reviews were generally positive, especially with respect to Dakota Fanning's portrayal of Fern. Michael Medved gave Charlotte's Web three and a half stars (out of four) calling it "irresistible" and "glowing with goodness". Medved also said that Dakota Fanning's performance was "delightfully spunky".[2] Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman complains that the film is "a bit noisy" but applauds the director for putting "the book, in all its glorious tall-tale reverence, right up on screen." He goes on to say that "What hooks you from the start is Dakota Fanning's unfussy passion as Fern."[3]
[edit] Comparison with previous versions of the story
- The goose is joined by the gander, a feature from the original 1953 book. The gander does not appear in the 1973 film or in the 2003 sequel.
- The goose is given her third name since Charlotte's Web was first adapted to the screen. In the 1973 version, she was simply known as "The Goose". In the 2003 sequel, the goose was named Gwen. In this version, the goose's name is Gussy.
- Charlotte's appearance resembles a completely real spider, rather than a spider body with a woman's head as portrayed in the previous films.
- Templeton's personality was severely toned down in the 1973 film, to the extent that he was decidedly more civil than in the present film, and only slightly self-serving. This is in high contrast to the book, in which it is said he "had no morals, no conscience, no scruples, no consideration, no decency, no milk of rodent kindness, no compunctions, no higher feeling, no friendliness, no anything." The lack of these positive traits is reestablished in the 2006 film.
[edit] Production details
This was Thomas Haden Church's second family film to be released by Paramount Pictures in 2006, the first being Over the Hedge, which was made by DreamWorks Animation. Paramount had distributed the film as a result of its acquisition of DreamWorks, whose animation division became its own company in late 2004.
Major shooting was completed in May 2006. It was filmed on location in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria and suburbs in Melbourne, Australia. The fair scene in the story was filmed in Heidelberg in Melbourne, Australia at Heidelberg West Football Club's football ground.
Visual effects are by Rising Sun Pictures, Fuel International, Proof, Rhythm and Hues Studios, Digital Pictures Iloura and Tippett Studio. The visual effects supervisor for the film as a whole was John Berton, who noted that a live action version of Charlotte's Web has become much more practical in recent years due to advances in technology.[4]
[edit] Music
| Charlotte's Web | ||
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| Studio album by Danny Elfman | ||
| Released | December 5, 2006 | |
| Genre | Classical/Pop/Soundtrack | |
| Length | 47:09 | |
| Label | Sony Classical | |
| Producer(s) | Danny Elfman | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Danny Elfman chronology | ||
| Corpse Bride (2005) | Charlotte's Web (2006) |
TBD (2007) |
Danny Elfman left Spider-Man 3 to score this movie; Thomas Haden Church has roles in both of them. Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan performs a song entitled "Ordinary Miracle" for the movie, which was written by Glen Ballard and David A. Stewart of The Eurythmics. The film's soundtrack CD, titled Charlotte's Web: Music from the Motion Picture, was released on December 5, 2006, and featured primarily Elfman's score, plus "Ordinary Miracle". A CD compilation of "Music Inspired by the Motion Picture" was issued on December 12, 2006.
[edit] Video game
- Main Article: Charlotte's Web (video game)
A video game of the movie, developed by Studio Gigante and published by THQ and Sega, was released on December 12, 2006 for the GBA and Nintendo DS. A Wii and Gamecube version is scheduled for release on December 18, 2007.
[edit] References
- ^ Charlotte's Web 2007. Yahoo! Movies UK & Ireland. Yahoo. Retrieved on 2006-12-15.
- ^ Medved, Michael (2006-12-15). Charlotte's Web. Michael Medved's Eye on Entertainment. MichaelMedved.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (2006-12-15). Movie Review: Charlotte's Web. Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
- ^ Filming in "Radiant" Victoria Australia (Macromedia Flash). : About the Film. Charlotte's Web Movie official site. Walden Media / Paramount Pictures (2006-12-15). Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
[edit] External links
- Charlotte's Web at Walden Media Fans (Forum)
- Official website
- Official website at Nick.com
- Official website at Walden Media
- Charlotte's Web (2006) at the Internet Movie Database
