Le Petit Monde de Charlotte

Say what you will, but it is a great story. Sure there are lots of musical numbers that may not appeal to the adults, but that isn't the target audience of this flick. This animated story reminds me of how cartoons used to be made, not the latest ultra realistic computer generated images that to me, quite frankly, lose the artistic appeal and expression of days gone by (of course this movie being made in 1973 helps in this manner).

Bottom line, as an adult the movie is good, as a 3 year old (my daughter) the movie is fantastic. I'm glad I bought the DVD and not the tape, as this will be played over and over again (I've seen it 5 times in the last 8 days!).

This animated version of the E.B. White children's classic is short on spectacular animation but long on heart and boasts a wonderful cast of voice talents. Earl Hamner, Jr., of "The Waltons" fame, creates a seamless plot which retains the true flavor of the book while cleverly rearranging the order of events and giving some of the better lines to different characters. The story of Wilbur, the runt pig saved by Fern Arable and later shipped to her Uncle Zuckerman's farm, only to discover that he's slated for the butcher's knife, is lively and fun. Charlotte, the wise and well-spoken spider played wonderfully by Debbie Reynolds, devises a scheme to save Wilbur's life. Henry Gibson is right on as the naive and nervous but generally happy Wilbur. Agnes Moorhead shines as the haughty and stuttering goose: "I'm no flibberty-ibbity gibbet!" Paul Lynde easily steals the show as Templeton, the smarmy barn rat; his late-night gorge-fest at the fair is a hilarious highlight of the movie. The songs written for the movie are a bit on the syrupy side, but Debbie Reynolds' sweet singing voice and some clever, funny lyrics make them bearable to adults.

During the Spring time, a little of pigs is born including one runt at the Arable farm. As John (John Stephenson) prepares to "do away" with the runt, his daughter Fern (Pamelyn Ferdin) objects saying he shouldn't be killed for simply being small with John agreeing to let Fern take care of him. Fern names the pig Wilbur (Henry Gibson) and the two form a strong bond as Wilbur continues to grow. Eventually the time comes for Wilbur to be sold despite Fern and Wilbur's objections otherwise with Wilbur now living at the farm of Fern's uncle Homer Zuckerman (Bob Holt). While initially despondent, Wilbur is encouraged to talk by a good hearted mother goose (Agnes Moorehead) and begins seeking a friend among the farm. Eventually Wilbur learns he is fated to be killed during the Winter to become bacon and ham leading to further despair. Wilbur is then approached by a spider named Charlotte A. Cavatica (Debbie Reynolds) who befriends Wilbur and tries to help save Wilbur's life.

Charlotte's Web is a 1973 animated film adaptation of E. B. White's 1952 Children's book of the same name. Attempts have been made been as far back as 1967 when husband and wife team of John and Faith Hubley were interested in the film rights and while White liked them, the project fell apart due to lack of financing. The rights eventually landed at Sagittarius Productions and while the film's creative team saw many come and go until Hanna-Barbera got involved through a two-picture deal with Charlotte's Web one of the film's to be produced. The film was cast with some familiar names including Debbie Reynolds who said she'd be willing to join the project without being paid. While critical reception was positive skewing (albeit with many saying the animation was only passable), the biggest critic of the film was White himself. Despite the film being fairly faithful to the novel, White voiced displeasure with tonal issues in the film such as the Sherman Brothers' musical numbers and the depiction of the State Fair in the final act of the film which White claimed was too fantastical in comparison to his more realistic take. Despite only being a modest performer in its day, Charlotte's Web much like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory found a second wind through TV airings and home video including becoming a top seller in 1994 on VHS. Charlotte's Web doesn't reach the level of other children's classics, but the strength in the writing retains the key themes from the novel.

The movie does a good job of setting up the emotional weight of the film especially in its first act where Fern and Wilbur bond and you care about the two. There's a very tough "slice-of-life" element to the story in spite of its lowkey fantastical nature which makes sense when you consider White mined his experiences from growing up on his family farm in Maine for certain events in the novel. While there is that looming shadow of the threat of Wilbur's death lingering over the story, it never becomes overwrought as levity is provided by Debbie Reynolds' Charlotte and Paul Lynde's Templeton. While Charlotte is a kind and altruistic character, she's also assertive and shows a limited tolerance for Wilbur's neuroses such as a recurring gag of Wilbur fainting. Paul Lynde is also good as Templeton and despite being a late addition to the film replacing Tony Randall, Lynde's iconic delivery fits Templeton's care-free self-interested character perfectly and leads to some amusing moments throughout. In terms of the Sherman Brothers' songs, I only partially agree with White on them. While songs such as "I Can Talk", "Chin Up" and "We've Got Lots in Common" don't provide much aside from tangents in the main story, some such as "There Must Be Something More", "Deep in the Dark", and "Charlotte's Web" do feel more tonally appropriate to this story. And while not strictly necessary I do like Lynde's energized "A Veritable Smorgasbord" coupled with the accompanying animation.

Charlotte's Web is a good film that's inches away from greatness. You can tell that the main issue at play is one of tonal consistency despite the movie being mostly faithful to the original novel's content. While not without issues, the film is nonetheless a solid family film with a good emotional core.

This is a truly wonderful children's movie. It tells the story of some barnyard animals who interact one summer, but gently, and on a level a child can understand, also analyzes some deep truths about life itself.

The story introduces us to a variety of animals (who possess the ability to talk when humans are absent) with unique personalities. One is a frightened pig named Wilbur (voiced by Henry Gibson) who learns his days are numbered in a pig's cruel fate. Another is the scheming and selfish rat Templeton (Paul Lynde in a great comic relief role). Finally, there's Charlotte the spider (Debby Reynolds) who uses the only tool she has at her disposal to try to rescue her friend Wilbur. There are a variety of other amusing creatures in the barnyard, voiced humorously by wonderful actors who are fun to identify as the movie progresses.

Humans have an external role in the action. By that I mean they're on the outside looking in (although there are some subplots about the human characters). Many things that are done by the animals are for the humans' benefit. I love Pamela Ferdin's voice for Wilbur's owner, Fern. Human characters change, like the animals do, in parallel stories that emphasize the story's morals about life. Rex Allen's cool country voice, so familiar from Disney nature movies, is perfect for the narration.

Several of the songs are great, too. The haunting title song is as "lovely and lyrical" as the web it's describing. "Mother Earth and Father Time" beautifully describes the story's main theme. Templeton's mad feast of garbage while singing "At the Fair" is lots of fun.

This is "some terrific, radiant, humble" movie that presents the best of old school cartoon animation. A sweet story of friendship, love, loyalty, and other positive elements. It's being remade as a live action movie, and I'm not certain how that'll translate from animation; but this original version is recommended for fine family viewing.

I just rented this for my kids (ages 4 & 6) and had completely forgotten that adults can enjoy it, too. I'm quite weary of the obnoxious Disney-fication of most kids movies these days. (Spare me any more simpering princess stories.) The story of the clever spider who tries to save a pig from becoming breakfast meat is a familiar one and can be appreciated by many. The voice talent here is so superb that the movie doesn't make you rue the day they decided to animate the book. The songs aren't overly saccharine and are actually quite catchy. The movie is worth it alone for Templeton's trip to the fair and "a fair is a veritable smorgasbord-orgasbord-orgasbord" song. Debbie Reynolds' Charlotte is warm and wise, Wilber is naive and friendly, and Templeton provides the perfect foil as a spoiled rat who's just in it for himself. Agnes Moorehead as the goose became a sort of comedic extra to make the little ones laugh in the face of the rather adult plot about life and death. Overall, it's a movie for the whole family.