Charlotte's Web
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Kent Turner -- School Library Journal, 12/13/2006
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Through the use of computer generated imagery (CGI) and animatronics, animals at the Zuckerman farm come to life with an all-star cast of voices: Julia Roberts as Charlotte, Oprah Winfrey as Gussie the goose, and Cedric the Entertainer as Golly the gander; the sheep are posh Brits (John Cleese, as one); and the Southern cows are voiced by Kathy Bates and Reba McEntire.
The film adds two characters to the menagerie: black crows Brooks and Elwyn, who add nothing to the plot, except for providing a foil for Templeton the self-interested rat during his junkyard expedition. Voiced by OutKast's André Benjamin, Elwyn's hapless antics may be mildly amusing to kids, but adults may think Stepin Fetchit. And in a subtle departure from the book, it's Templeton, not a sheep, who delivers to Wilbur the news that he's only being porked-out to be slaughtered.
Coated with slime, Templeton is not quite disgusting, but close. In fact, none of the anthropomorphisms are precocious and cute. The mama pig and her litter in the film's beginning will most likely receive more oohs and aahs than the animals morphed through CGI. And unlike children's films like Madagascar, the flatulence jokes are kept to a minimum. But for shtick, we have puns. After a rotten egg explodes, covering Templeton with debris, he cracks, "I guess the yoke's on me." Expect some guffaws from kids, groans from adults.
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A noticeable departure from the book is the film's narration—homespun, yes, but pedestrian compared to White's evocative, understated, and poetic prose. But in a nod to illustrator Garth Williams, the film begins and ends with brief graphic sequences inspired by drawings from the book. Oh, and have a Kleenex handy.
Charlotte's Web
Directed by Gary Winick
Rated G
97 min.
Opens December 15, 2006
