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Charlotte's Web is the 2006 American live-action/computer-animated comedy-drama film based on the 1952 novel of the same name by E. B. White. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures, Walden Media, Kerner Entertainment Company and Nickelodeon Movies.

the film itself premiered in Australia on December 7, 2006 and was released theatrically by Paramount Pictures on December 15, 2006 in the United States. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, yet was only modestly commercially successful. The movie grossed only $82 million and $61 million elsewhere for a worldwide total of $144.9 million against an $85 million budget, as well as grossing an additional $95.2 million in home media sales.[2]


Plot[]

On a farm in Somerset County, Maine, Fern Arable finds her father John about to kill the runt of a litter of newborn pigs and successfully begs her father to spare the piglet's life prompting John to give the piglet to Fern which she nurtures the piglet lovingly and naming him Wilbur. To her regret, when Wilbur has matured Fern is forced to take him to her uncle Homer Zuckerman whose barnyard he is left yearning for companionship but is despised by other barn animals until he is befriended by Charlotte, a spider who lives in the space above Wilbur's sty in the Zuckermans' barn. When the other animals reveal to Wilbur that he will be prepared for dinner in due time, Charlotte promises to hatch a plan guaranteed to spare Wilbur's life.

With the help of the other barn animals including a comedic rat named Templeton, Charlotte 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". She gives her full name to be Charlotte A. Cavatica, revealing her to be a barn spider, an orb-weaver spider with the scientific name Araneus cavaticus.

The Arables, Zuckermans, Wilbur, Charlotte and Templeton go to a fair where Wilbur is entered in a contest. While there, Charlotte produces an egg sac containing her unborn offspring and Wilbur, despite winning no prizes, is later celebrated by the fair's staff and visitors (thus made too prestigious alive to justify killing him). Exhausted from laying eggs, Charlotte cannot return home because she is dying. Wilbur bids an emotional farewell to her as she remains at the fair and dies shortly after Wilbur's departure but Wilbur manages to take her egg sac home, where hundreds of offspring emerge. Most of the young spiders soon leave, but three named Joy, Aranea, and Nellie stay and become Wilbur's friends.

Cast[]

  • Dakota Fanning as Fern Arable
  • Kevin Anderson as John Arable
  • Beau Bridges as Dr. Dorian
  • Louis Corbett as Avery Arable
  • Essie Davis as Phyllis Arable
  • Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Edith Zuckerman
  • Gary Basaraba as Homer Zuckerman
  • Nate Mooney as Lurvy, the Zuckermans' farmhand worker

Voice Cast[]

  • Dominic Scott Kay as Wilbur the Spring Pig
  • Julia Roberts as Charlotte A. Cavatica the Spider
  • Steve Buscemi as Templeton the Rat
  • John Cleese as Samuel the Sheep
  • Oprah Winfrey as Gussy the Goose
  • Cedric the Entertainer as Golly the Gander
  • Kathy Bates as Bitsy the Cow
  • Reba McEntire as Betsy the Cow
  • Robert Redford as Ike the Horse
  • Thomas Haden Church as Brooks the Crow
  • André Benjamin as Elwyn the Crow
  • Abraham Benrubi as Uncle the Pig
  • Sam Shepard as the Narrator


See also[]


Release[]

Template:Multiple issues The film was scheduled for a June 2006 release, but was pushed back to December 15, 2006 to avoid competition with two other films from Nickelodeon Movies - Nacho Libre and Barnyard - as well as Over the Hedge (which also featured Thomas Haden Church in the cast) and Cars among other films.

Home media[]

Charlotte's Web was released on DVD on April 3, 2007 in the United States and Canada and on May 28, 2007 in the United Kingdom. It was then released on Blu-ray on March 29, 2011 alongside The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.[3] Nearly 10 years later, the film was re-released on DVD on January 24, 2017.

Reception[]

Box office[]

The film debuted in third place at the box office with only $11 million. Having spent 14 weeks in theaters, the film grossed $82 million domestically and $61 million overseas for a worldwide total of $144 million before closing on March 22, 2007.[1]

Critical response[]

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 78% "Certified Fresh" rating based on 147 reviews with an average rating of 6.97/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Kids will be entertained by the straightforward plot and cute animals, and adults will be charmed by how quiet and humble the production is, a fine translation of E.B. White's genteel prose."[4] On Metacritic the film has a score of 68 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[6]

Michael Medved gave the film 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".[7] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly stated that the film was "a bit noisy" but praised the director for putting "the book, in all its glorious tall-tale reverence, right up on screen." He later went on to say that "What hooks you from the start is Dakota Fanning's unfussy passion as Fern."[8] Conversely, Colm Andrew of the Manx Independent gave the film a score of 6/10, saying that the main problem was "the ultra-cute characterisation of Wilbur, resulting in half the audience rooting for his demise" although overall it was "a competent retelling of a classic story that won't offend".[9]

The film won the 2006 Critics' Choice Award for Best Live-Action Family Film,[10] and Fanning won the Blimp Award for Favorite Movie Actress at the 2007 Kids' Choice Awards.

Prizes[]

Year Award Category Receiver Result
2006
Phoenix Film Critics Society Best Family Film Charlotte's Web Winner
2006
St. Louis Film Critics Association Best Animated or Children's Film La Telaraña de Charlotte Nominated
2006
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards Best song David A. Stewart y Glen Ballard Winner
Best Family Film La Telaraña de Charlotte Winner
2007
Visual Effects Society Excellent visual effects in a movie Karin Joy, Blair Clark y John Dietz Nominated
Excellent performance of an animated character in a live action movie Grant Adam, Daniel Fotheringham, Avi Goodman y Paul Buckley Nominated
Excellent performance of an animated character in a live action movie Todd Labonte, Jason Armstrong, Sven Jensen y David Richard Nelson Nominated
2007
BMI Awards Best Music Danny Elfman Winner
2007
Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Family Film (Live Action) Charlotte's Web Winner
Best Young Actress Dakota Fanning Nominated
Best song TSarah McLachlan Nominated
2007
Genesis Awards Best Family Feature Film Charlotte's Web Winner
2007
International Film Music Critics Association MBest Original Score for an Animated Film Charlotte's Web Nominated
2007
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite female movie star Dakota Fanning Winner
2007
Satellite Awards Best Youth DVD Charlotte's Web Nominated
2007
Movieguide Awards Best Fantasy Film Charlotte's Web Winner
Best Family Film Charlotte's Web Winner
2007
Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Dubbing Role: Young Actor Dominic Scott Kay Winner
Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Lead Actress Dakota Fanning Winner
2007
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films Best Fantasy Film Charlotte's Web Nominated
Best special effects Karin Joy, John Andrew Berton Jr.y John Dietz Nominated

Soundtrack[]

Main article: Charlotte's Web: Music from the Motion Picture

Charlotte's Web: Music from the Motion Picture was released by Sony Classical on December 5, 2006. In addition to the instrumental score by Danny Elfman, the soundtrack includes a song named "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLachlan, which she herself performed during the opening ceremonies of her hometown Vancouver Winter Olympics. A CD compilation of "Music Inspired by the Motion Picture" was issued on December 12, 2006.


Video game[]

Main article: Charlotte's Web (video game)

A video game based on the movie, developed by Backbone Entertainment and published by Sega, was released on December 12, 2006, for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and PC.

Another game based on the film was released in Europe for the PlayStation 2 by Blast Entertainment on April 5, 2007.[11]


References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Charlotte's Web (2006)". Internet Movie Database.
  2. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Charlottes-Web#tab=video-sales
  3. "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Blu-ray". Blu-ray.
  4. "Charlotte's Web (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  5. Charlotte's Web Reviews - Metacritic
  6. "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
  7. Medved, Michael (December 15, 2006). "Charlotte's Web". MichaelMedved.com.
  8. Gleiberman, Owen (December 15, 2006). "Movie Review: Charlotte's Web".
  9. Review by Colm Andrew Archived February 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, IOM Today
  10. "Charlotte's Web", Variety. 
  11. "Charlotte's Web Box Shot for PlayStation 2 - GameFAQs". www.gamefaqs.com.


External Links[]


v - e - d
Charlotte's Web logo
Media
Films: Charlotte WebCharlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great AdventureCharlotte's Web (2006)
Video games: Charlotte's Web (video game)
Miniseries: Charlotte's Web (miniseries)
Characters
WilburCharlotte A. CavaticaJohn ArableFern ArableTempleton the RatAvery ArableHomer ZuckermanLurvyHenry Fussy • Dr. Dorian • Uncle • Charlotte's children (Nellie, Joy & Aranea) • Betsy & BitsyGolly & GussySamuel the SheepIke the HorseBrooks & ElwynEdith ZuckermanCardigan the Lamb • Farley • Gwen the Goose
Locations
Zuckerman's Barn • Somerset County Fairgrounds • School
Songs
Charlotte's Web: "There Must Be Something More" • "I Can Talk" • "Chin Up" • "We've Got Lots in Common" • "Deep in the Dark" • "Charlotte's Web" • "Mother Earth and Father Time" • "A Veritable Smorgasbord" • "Zuckerman's Famous Pig" • "Ordinary Miracle"
Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure: "It's Not So Hard to Be a Pig" • "Watch Out, Wilbur the Pig!" • "It's Good to Be Me" • "Charlotte's Kids"
Episodes
See Also
Charlotte's Web: The MusicalE.B. White
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