Charlotte's Web (Widescreen Edition)

Wonderful movie to watch with your kids. Yes, there is going to be some debate between people who prefer the original animated version and this, and as the live action goes you can't help but draw comparisons between this and Babe. I would argue that to a fresh set of eyes, this movie is a wonderful way to introduce the family to the gang on Zuckerman's farm. The voice talent is top notch, and the story is as enduring as it ever was. At the end of the day this is a sweet, lovingly made film that teaches the importance of being friendly to everyone no matter what they look like, and in this day and age that's a pretty important message to teach our children.

CHARLOTTE’S WEB [2006 / 2017] [Blu-ray] An Instant Classic! Two Thumbs Up! One of The Best Family Film of The Year!The classic story of loyalty, trust, and sacrifice comes to life in this live-action adaptation. Fern [Dakota Fanning] is one of only two living beings who can see that Wilbur is a special animal as she raises him, the runt of the litter, into a terrific and radiant pig. As Wilbur moves into a new barn, and begins a second profound friendship with the most unlikely of creatures a spider named Charlotte and their bond inspires the animals around them to come together as a family. When the word gets out that Wilbur's days are numbered, it seems that only a miracle will save his life. A determined Charlotte who sees miracles in the ordinary and spins words into her web in an effort to convince the farmer that Wilbur is "some pig" and worth saving. Narrated by Sam Shepard.FILM FACT: Awards and Nominations: 2006 International Film Music Critics Award: Nominated: Best Original Score for an Animated Feature Film for Danny Elfman. 2007 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films: Nominated: Best Fantasy Film. Nominated: Best Special Effects for Blair Clark, John Andrew Berton Jr., John Dietz and Karin Joy. 2007 BMI Film & TV Awards: Win: Film Music for Danny Elfman. 2007 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards: Win: Best Family Film (Live Action). Nominated: Best Young Actress for Dakota Fanning. Nominated: Best Song for Sarah McLachlan for the song "Ordinary Miracle." 2007 Genesis Awards: Win: Outstanding Family Feature Film. 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.Cast: Dakota Fanning, Kevin Anderson, Beau Bridges, Louis Corbett, Essie Davis, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Gary Basaraba, Nate Mooney, Dominic Scott Kay (Wilbur the Pig), Julia Roberts (Charlotte A. Cavatica, the Spider), Steve Buscemi (Templeton the Rat), John Cleese (Samuel the Sheep), Oprah Winfrey (Gussie the Goose), Cedric the Entertainer (Golly the Gander), Kathy Bates (Bitsy the Cow), Reba McEntire (Betsy the Cow), Robert Redford (Ike the Horse), Thomas Haden Church (Brooks the Crow), André Benjamin (Elwyn the Crow), Abraham Benrubi (Uncle, a large Pig) and Sam Shepard (Narrator)Director: Gary WinickProducers: Bernard Williams, Edgar M. Bronfman, Jordan Kerner, Julia Pistor, Paul Neesan and Tony WinleyScreenplay: Earl Hamner Jr. (film story), Karey Kirkpatrick (screenplay), Susannah Grant (screenplay) and E.B. White (novel)Composer: Danny ElfmanCinematography: Seamus McGarvey (Director of Photography)Video Resolution: 1080p [Color by DeLuxe]Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish: 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround and Português: 5.1 Dolby Digital SurroundSubtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish and PortuguêsRunning Time: 94 minutesRegion: All RegionsNumber of discs: 1Studio: Paramount Pictures / Kerner Entertainment Company / Walden Media / Nickelodeon MoviesAndrew’s Blu-ray Review: The new film version of ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ [2006] stands in the shadow of two earlier masterpieces. One, of course, is E. B. White’s classic 1951 children’s novel, the best-beloved of White’s three children’s books. The other is the 1995 film ‘BABE,’ which pioneered live-action animal talking film, and remains the standard by which they are judged.‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ is joyously alive, and his porcine protagonist, Wilbur, is sympathetic and ingenuous. As a main character, though, Wilbur is passive and somewhat weak. His story is all about what others can do for him, never what he can do, either for himself or anyone else. Next to the plucky, unprejudiced hero of Babe, Wilbur seems passive and diffident and hardly the special creature that the spider Charlotte makes him out to be in the words she spins into her web.As family features go, ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ may be the best we have seen in a while. Technically adept and surprisingly affecting, the movie translates E.B. White's children's book into a motion picture that will enthral children and engage their parents. The animals come to life with enough credibility that it's not out of the question that a few tears may be shed for a CGI creature. Strangely, even with plucky Dakota Fanning fronting for the human actors, the film loses some of its magic when it moves outside of the barn. Comparisons to the film ‘BABE’ are to be expected and warranted, but one thing missing from this story is James Cromwell.Since its 1952 publication, the “Charlotte's Web” novel has been a children's favourite. It rests on many bookshelves alongside E.B. White's other books, which includes “Stuart Little.” The 1973 release of an animated version widened the appeal of Charlotte, Wilbur, and Fern. This new film is an attempt to bring the story to today's audiences. Perhaps those who enjoy the movie will seek out the book. ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ isn't as popular as it was decades ago because reading had taken a back seat to the many other distractions available to children in general.On the night of his birth, runt of the litter Wilbur [Dominic Scott Kay] is saved from the axe by Fern [Dakota Fanning], who promises to keep the newly born pig safe. When Wilbur becomes too large to keep as a pet, she sells him to her uncle, who owns a barn across the street. He's close enough that she can visit him every day, but Fern isn't aware that Wilbur's ultimate destination is the smokehouse so he can be ready to be served for dinner on Christmas Day. In the barn, Wilbur becomes acquainted with the other residents include Templeton the rat [Steve Buscemi], Samuel the sheep [John Cleese], Ike the horse [Robert Redford], and Gussy and Golly the geese [Oprah Winfrey and Cedric the Entertainer]. While these animals are stand-offish, there is one creature in the barn that makes friends with the lonely pig: Charlotte the spider [Julia Roberts] and her efforts in particular will be vital in keeping Wilbur alive long enough to see the winter snows and her idea is to convince the farmers that their new pig is too valuable to be used as pork.The CGI animals are rendered with such care that many viewers will really think they are real creatures. In fact, they sometimes are, but figuring out where the computer animators become involved is a perplexing proposition. That's how good the finished product is. Charlotte is a curious mix of the creepy and the comforting. She looks like a spider, but the close-ups of her face soften the negative impressions many have when dealing with arachnids, and the soothing, familiar tones of Julia Roberts voice further humanize Charlotte. A great deal of care was taken in making sure children wouldn't be made to feel uneasy by the spider while still allowing her to be recognisable as what she is, as most of the other animals appear as they are.Usage of computer animation was to effectively blend animals and people that have not been done with any regularity. Most notable examples of this working are the aforementioned film ‘BABE’ and its sequel, but with the film ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB,’ director Gary Winick really nails the accomplishment and the result is a real pleasant to watch. ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ has all the requisite elements that a family film needs to succeed and endures: humour, drama, pathos, and an emotionally satisfying ending. ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ deserves to thrive in the years to come especially on the fabulous Blu-ray disc format.CHARLOTTE’S WEB MUSIC TRACK LISTINGORIDINARY MIRACLE [Performed by Sarah McLachlan] [Written by David A. Stewart and Glen Ballard]WILBUR’S LULLABY [Composed by Danny Elfman]A PLACE IN THE SUN [Performed by Gabe Dixon]Blu-ray Video Quality – Paramount Pictures once again gives us brilliant Blu-ray disc with a stunning 1080p encoded image, and also an impressive 1.85:1 aspect ratio and features a very good transfer, and the image is very sharp and clear. The picture shows basically no grain and there are no defects from the original source material. The colours look absolutely fantastic, and the film is loaded with lush greens and rustic browns. The image shows only a slight amount of artefacts, but few haloes. There is no pixilation when fast motion is on-screen. Overall, this is a strong transfer, so well done Paramount Pictures.Blu-ray Audio Quality – Paramount Pictures brings you this Blu-ray disc with a brilliant and impressive 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track. The audio track features clear dialogue and sound effects, and for a family film, there is a nice amount of subwoofer action during a storm scene and when fireworks are displayed. Where the surround sound effects are present, they are not separated from the front channel speakers very much. Thus, even when sound is emanating from the rear speakers, it isn't distinct enough to really stand out. But despite this, it is a good effort all round.Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:Audio Commentary by Director Gary Winick: Here Director Gary Winick welcomes us to this audio commentary for the film ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ and Gary also thanks Producer Jordan Kerner as well as Sherry Lansing former CEO of Paramount Pictures at the time of shooting the film, especially for hiring Gary to make the E.B. White book “Charlotte’s Web,” that was originally a 1973 American animated musical drama film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and Sagittarius Productions and it took Gary well over two and a half years hard work on getting the live action film off the ground and running and Gary mentions it was the hardest project he had ever encountered, but the bonus was to tell this great magical story by E.B. White, which is all about friendship, trust, loyalty and sacrifice, which Gary felt was a great responsibility with this project and feels he did his best. Gary mentions at the start of the film the credit sequences that was inspired by the brilliant illustrator Garth Williams for the E.B. White book and feels the animated sequence at the start of the film they did a great job and feels the updated animated illustrations was a job well done and felt the animated start of the film felt totally in the spirit of the E.B. White children’s book and I personally felt it was a beautiful sequence. Gary explains why they shot the film in Australia, because at the time Paramount Pictures wanted to release the film on a certain date, but to make the release date they had to shoot in Australia’s summer time, which is of course a different season in America at the time, which of course was winter time, but the other incentive of shooting in Australia is that they saved money. When we first see the two black crows, Gary said he wanted a comedic element to the film and there is of course no mention of the crows in the E.B. White book, and so Gary felt it helped the narrative of the film. Gary also talked about how long it took to get Charlotte the spider to kook just right and not to look too scary for the children when they viewed the film in the cinema and also praises Julia Roberts for her voice performance. When you see Templeton the rat take away the rotten Geese egg to his lair and you see the egg rolling after Templeton, well Gary wanted this scene to pay homage to Steven Spielberg’s famous first Indiana Jones film and felt the CGI animation was incredible. Gary also gives great praise to Steve Buscemi as the voice of Templeton the Rat in making this particular animal a very special character with sometimes human emotions, so all in all Gary felt he did a fantastic brilliant job. When you get to Chapter 7 at 39 minutes, where you see all the cars driving to see the miracle spider web wording “SOME PIG” well we are informed this was filmed in Pensylvania because Gary wanted the trees to be Deciduous trees in the shot because in Australia they only mainly have Eucalyptus [Gum] trees. Gary informs us with the scene where Charlotte the spider dies and Wilbur the pig is driven back to the farm with the baby spider’s eggs where basically the story ends in the book, well Gary felt the story could be expanded to a final conclusion and definitely a happy ending where new life begins for the future. One thing that puzzled me is that Gary does not expand or inform us who did the animated illustrations at the start of the film and with the end credits of the film. As we get to end of the film and the illustrated animated end credits, Gary informs us that Paramount Pictures wanted an upbeat pop song to end the film, but Gary said he could come up with something much more appropriate and so he contacted Danny Elfman to ask him if he could do a more appropriate song ending and so Danny contacted Glen Ballard and Dave Stewart to write the lyrics and was really shocked to hear such a perfect song that embodied the spirit of the E.B. White book, and also the end of the this wonderful audio commentary where Gary says a fond farewell to his two and half year project and effort into producing this film, which he feels very proud of all his hard work and hopes it will stand the test of time and certainly does for me.Audio Commentary by Producer Jordan Kerner and Visual Effects Supervisor John Andrew Berton Jr.: With this second audio commentary, we are introduced to Jordan Kerner who informs us that he started this project five years ago, which my calculation was at the start of 2001. Next up is John Andrew Berton Jr. welcomes us to this particular audio commentary talking about the film ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ and he informs us that he spent roughly two and a half years on the project towards the film. The two of them touch on some of the same subjects are Gary Winick, but obviously they delve much deeper into the visual effects used in the film and some of the logistic technical problems, and Jordan Kerner talks about the development of the script, casting, and location scouting. They also talk about how they chose the voices for the animals by just listen to the actors voice without seeing their faces, and they also took their time choosing the right actor for their specific characters in the film and their first choice was Dakota Fanning, who they thought was totally unique as well as very intelligent for her age at the time filming started. We find out that in E.B. White’s book, it does not mention that Templeton the rat goes to the local junk yard, to the fayre or even his lair, but the screenwriters thought it was very important to give Templeton his due as a character and to see what his world is like and to also see what sacrifice he might have to make, and how the black crows are his nemesis and of course at the fayre the crows get their comeuppance by crashing into the cornfield stall and finding out that the scarecrow is not real after all. As we come to the end of the film, both Jordan Kerner and John Andrew Berton Jr. comment on the illustrated animated images with the credits, well we find out who did the beautiful work on the animation, as well with the start of the film, and it was by “Imaginary Forces,” which is a design-based production studio with offices in Hollywood and New York, which the illustrations were based on the Garth Williams illustrations in the E.B. White children’s book and they also say if you really enjoyed the film, then they urge to go out and read the “Charlotte’s Web” book. They also give great praise to everyone who was involved with the film and especially the animal trainers, the crew and also the people behind the CGI animation that really produced a really great and beautiful film. One thing I meant to mention earlier on when viewing the end credits with the other audio commentary, especially where it states who did the Pigs and Geese Animation Effects which was by the Stan Winston Studio Inc., who are always eager to embrace new technologies, Stan Winston helped pioneer the digital revolution including co-founding Digital Domain alongside James Cameron and former ILM boss, Scott Ross, which is the same studio that were involved with the Iron Man Series, also The Thing [1982], The Terminator [1984], Galaxy Quest [1999], A.I. (Oscar Nomination) [2001], Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines [2003], Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull [2008] and Avatar [2009] to name just a few film titles, in fact they have done well over 50 films to date. So here ends another fascinating audio commentary and is well worth a listen.Special Feature: Making Some Movie [2006] [480i] [1.33:1] [28:48] With this feature we get to hear from people talking about the basic scenario of the film ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ and where they say that people to basically respect people, as well as not to judge people or for that matter to judge animals. We see behind-the-scene filming on the actual farm location in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria and suburbs in Melbourne, Australia and the Fayre scene and were filmed at the Heidelberg West Football Club's football ground in Melbourne. But of course the main premise of the film resolves round Wilbur the Pig. We also get to see the CGI animation and animatronics of some of the animals to make them look real and they specifically also talk about the “Charlotte’s Web” book by E.B. White and how it inspired them to want to make the film, and comment that the main written words was good enough to use for the screenplay, but they did some tweaking to open up the film to reflect the characters of the animals. Where hear that they built the houses and barns from scratch and how the weather in Melbourne caused logistic problems, where they would get four seasons while filming. Near the end of the film when you see the baby spiders fly up in the air, this actually happened and decided to add it into the film. Contributors include Gary Winick [Director], Stuart Wurtzel [Production Designer], Thomas Haden Church [Brooks], Bernie Williams [Executive producer], Julie Roberts [Charlotte], Dakota Fanning [Fern], Dominic Scott Kay [Wilbur], Susannah Grant [Screenwriter], Karey Kirpatrick [Screenwriter], Seamus McGarvey, B.S.C. [Director of Photography], Louis Corbett [Lurvy], Essie Davis [Mrs. Arable], Siobhan Fallon Hogan [Mrs. Zuckerman], Kevin Anderson [Mr. Arable], Gary Basaraba [Home Zuckerman], John Andrew Berton Jr. [Visual Effects Supervisor], Todd Labonte [Animation Supervisor of Tippet Studio] and Nick Pill [Visual Effects Art Director of Rising Sun Pictures].Special Feature: Some Voices [2006] [480i] [1.33:1] [8:45] With this feature it is all about the voice artists who do the voices for the animals, and we see them in the recording studio and mainly fooling about and also having a lot of fun in the process. Contributors include Gary Winick [Director], Oprah Winfrey [Gussie the Goose], Cedric the Entertainer [Golly the Gander], Jordan Kerner [Producer], Kathy Bates [Bitsy the Cow], Steve Buscemi [Templeton the Rat], John Cleese [Samuel the Sheep], Thomas Haden Church [Brooks the Crow], Julia Roberts [Charlotte A. Cavatica, the Spider] and Dominic Scott Kay [Wilbur the Pig].Special Feature: Flacka’s Pig Tales [2006] [480i] [1.33:1] [11:28] Here we get the point of view from Wilbur the Pig, on what it was like to work on the film and the people involved with training the animals. Wilbur talks about words he learnt and one of them was “Salutations!” and what the same word means in other countries around the world. Wilbur also talks about the animal trainers and the problems they had in getting to get the animals to perform certain tasks in front of the camera and where they would do the opposite and causing frustration towards the animal trainers and a nightmare for the director. Contributors include Sarah Healey [Animal Trainer], Nate Mooney [Lurvy] and Dakota Fanning [Fern].Special Feature: How Do They Do That? [2006] [480i] [1.33:1] [4:54] With this feature it is all about the Animal Trainers and how they try to get the animals to perform in front of the camera, and try all sorts of different techniques to motivate the animals, but most times out of frustrations the animals would always do the opposite. We get to see behind-the-scenes with the Animal Trainers at work in trying to get a perfect scene when the camera rolls and to incentivise the animals, especially using a “clicker” to get a reaction from the animal when the camera was rolling, and when they performed well the animals would always get a treat from the Animal Trainers to reward them for a good performance. We are informed that grazing sheep cam be used to trim a lawn, and president Woodrow Wilson used them out on the White House lawn! The four sheep were given personal names which were Fred, Nigel, Ernie and Donald and when the Animal Trainer calls their name, they come running. One amazing we find out is that a single sheep produces eight to ten pounds of wool a year, and one pound of wool can make ten miles of yarn. With horses they can sleep standing up and the oldest recorded horse lived to be 62 years old. We find out that if you give love to the animals, they will respond back in a very positive way and that is how they got the animals in this film to respond so well. Contributors include Jordan Kerner [Producer], Larry Payne [Head trainer], April Mackin [Animal Trainer], Sarah Healey [Animal Trainer], Cody Rawson Harris [Animal Trainer] and Bernie Williams [Executive Producer].Special Feature: What Makes A Classic [2006] [480i] [1.33:1] [00:00] We hear why the “Charlotte’s Web” children’s book became such a classic, by saying it is because it imbued with the best of American and North East Culture. We find out that E.B. White bought a farm in North Brooklin in Maine in 1933 and lived there for many years, because he loved the rural and pastoral life in Maine, which is just over 457 miles North of New York City and enough distance from city life and retired there in 1957 and had similar amounts of animals like in the film, and in doing so was thinking of how to incorporate them into the book and how to save the life of a pig in a special way and especially via some magical way, and of course it came to him in an inspirational way of having a special spider as part of the pivotal plot of the story, especially as it address’s completely the universal themes like loneliness, as well as life and death, as well as choice to value life and realising that there is a life worth saving, that causes a great effect with everyone around Wilbur the Pig, and especially the bond between Charlotte the spider and Wilbur. Overall, it is an acceptance of life; also an acceptance of death and E.B. White calls it the great pay unto life. E.B. White always hoped his children book could be made into a film, but sadly passed away on the 1st October, 1985 without seeing the film completed. Contributors include Jordan Producer], Lucien L. Agosta [Author of E.B. Whites: The Children’s Books], Karey Kirpatrick [Screenwriter] and Susannah Grant [Screenwriter].Special Feature: Where Are They Now? [2006] [480i] [1.33:1] [6:53] With this feature it is all about what happened to all the animals after the film ‘Charlotte’s Web’ was completed, and especially thinking about the welfare of all the animals and where to find homes for them all. One of the biggest logistic problems was what to do with 42 piglets that desperately need to be found homes and that is where the Animals Australia organisation were contacted to sort out this mammoth task, but all in all the outcome had a happy ending for the rest of all the animals lives. Contributors include Bernie Williams [Executive producer], Lyn White [Communications Director of Animals Australia], Pam Ahern [Founder of Edgar’s Mission], Eliza Haswell [Pig Lover] and Emma Haswell [Founder of Brightside Sanctuary].Special Feature: Music Video: “Ordinary Miracle” by Sarah McLachlan [2006] [1080i] [1.37:1] [3:02] Here we get to view Sarah McLachlan and her music video that is the same song you hear at the end of the film when the credits appear. But you also get lots of lovely images from the film ‘Charlotte’s Web.’ All in all it is a very nice and pleasant video and a nice homage to a really beautiful magical film. Sarah McLachlan “Ordinary Miracle” is courtesy of Nettwerk Records/Arista Records from "Charlotte's Web: Music for the Motion Picture."Special Feature: Music Video: “Make A Wish” by Bob Carlisle and Lucy Kane [2006] [1080i] [1.37:1] [3:15] Here you get to view another music video by Bob Carlisle and Lucy Kane that is dedicated to the film ‘Charlotte’s Web’ and again you get to view lots of nice images from the film and once again a nice homage to a really beautiful magical film. Bob Carlisle and Lucy Kane “Make A Wish” is courtesy of Bulletproof Records from "Charlotte's Web: Music for the Motion Picture."Special Feature: A Day At The Fair! [2006] [480i] [1.33:1] [00:55] Here we get to view a slide show of images from the fayre that was used in the film at the time of filming, plus we get to see all of the actors that shows you all having fun with all the events. Despite being short, it is still a nice view.Special Feature: Farm Photo Album [2006] [1080p] [1.85:1] [1:05] Here we get to view another slide show, but this time you get to view 65 stunning images from the film ‘Charlotte’s Web,’ and this is far superior to the previous slide show. To view all of the images you have to us the right and left arrow keys on your remote control to see the images from the photo gallery.Special Feature: Gag Reel [2006] [1080i] [1.37:1] [3:04] Here once again you get view the usual bunch scenes cut from the film, and some scenes are quite hilarious, especially when things went wrong, but some of the scenes were just a little bit silly.Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [2006] [1080i] [1.37:1] [00:00] Here you have a selection of six deleted scenes, and as usual you have the option of viewing them with an audio commentary by the director Gary Winick. As usual you can either watch them separately or Play All and they are as follows: Wilbur’s Wild Ride; Henry Fussy in Town; Henry Fussy in Tree; Lurvy and Pretty Girl; Dismantling the Fair and Susy the Dog in Crate.Finally, ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ [2006] is a totally magical delight and it is never coarse, rarely preachy and does a brilliant job in paying tribute to the wisdom of the author E.B. White’s book and with his immortal written words of its heroine: “Charlotte’s Web” is humble, and also terrific. Like the book, the film is grounded in the rhythms of the natural world, observing the progress of the seasons and in its understated and tremendously moving conclusion, illuminating the cycle of life, death and reproduction that governs any good story and is a technical marvel, as the special effects are excellent and the film's lush look is totally fantastic. Usage of CGI computer animation, effectively blend animals and people to wonderful fruition. The most notable examples of this working are the aforementioned Babe and its sequel but, with Charlotte's Web, director Gary Winick nails the accomplishment and the result is pleasant to watch. Charlotte's Web has all the requisite elements that a family film needs to succeed and endure: humour, drama, pathos, and an emotionally satisfying ending. Yet, while the film is very entertaining, it is never boring, it is also very moving, and especially the timeless tale of Wilbur the Pig, and ultimately, we only care about Fern as she relates to Wilbur the Pig, and that means being his No.1 human supporter, especially when it comes to keeping Wilbur the Pig out of the smoke house. So all in all this film definitely will brings home the bacon for sure. Highly Recommended!Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film AficionadoLe Cinema ParadisoUnited Kingdom

Great movie for kids. I actually used this movie in my classroom after reading the book Charlotte's Web. We compared and contrasted the book to the movie. To our surprise, there were quite a few small details changed. The movie is live action so my 4th graders enjoyed it more than the cartoon version. I recommend this movie for kids ages 3-10. After elementary school, the kids won't enjoy the movie based on the "G" nature of it. I highly recommend it if you are a teacher and using the novel. It is a great way to incorporate many reading skills especially compare and contrast.

Enjoyed watching this with my grandchildren. They were captivated by the talking animals and fell in love with Wilbur and Charlotte...just as I did as a child. It was even better watching this, "realistic" version vs the "animated" version I remember seeing. So many positive lessons to be learned and many points of conversations initiated while watching with the kiddos ( aged 10, 7, 6, and 5). Highly recommended!

When I ordered this I thought I was ordering the animated film I had watched with my daughter 25 years ago. I wasn't aware that the film had been done with live action. However, when I watched it with some children I was babysitting, they sat mesmerized and I was very impressed with the movie. We read the book together first and the movie is a great followup.

this version of CHARLOTTES WEB isnt bad however the original animated feature is indeed more enjoyable.For starters the spider in this release is just down right ugly,I realize they were trying to make it realistic but its not and it was just ugly. I feel the music and the vocal cast in the 1973 film was much better than this one JULIA ROBERTS is good but DEBBIE REYNOLDS had a much more soothing voice and captured the character of CHARLOTTE and I feel the same goes for the late HENRY GIBSON and the late PAUL LYNDE.The story is pretty much the same but somehow the music from the original movie was more effective.This version lacks the heart that the first one captured beautifully.Again this 2006 version isnt bad if I had seen this one first it may have been a different feeling but if something isn't broke why fix it.This should have came out before BABE because I feel the way this movie was made is taken for granted,this also took away from this movie.Kids are so use to this live action style movieit's just taken for granted the work that goes into making a great story such as this one and bringing it to life.Highly enjoyable in any sense but the original classic is the right choice.

This adaptation of the children's classic is so close to the original; much of the dialogue is lifted straight from the text and the settings are so close to the descriptions in the book, its a real joy to watch. I showed the DVD to my school during a recent animal themed Book Week and the children were spellbound.

This was one of my favourite books when I was growing up. I now have my own child and have read him the story so many times. We have watched the first film and didn't think too much of it. This version however has us both enthralled from start to finish. I even cried at the end. Anyone who likes classics. This DVD is a great one to get. A firm favourite in our home for family movie night on a Saturday. This DVD is in perfect condition. It came in the cellophane wrapping. I would definitely recommend!

Worked a treat on my granddaughter. since watching this she is no longer afraid of spiders, in fact she now gives them names and watches rhem with interest 😀

Excellent dvd

As described