A treasure trove of values

"Where’s Papa going with that axe?" This now very familiar question from a little girl named Fern make up the first sentence of the novel Charlotte’s Web. From there, writer E.B. White spun an extraordinary tale of love, friendship and the power of suggestion that has enchanted readers since 1952.

First filmed as an animated feature in 1973, Charlotte’s Web has now been remade into a motion picture starring Dakota Fanning as Fern and a high powered line-up of voice actors. And thanks to the combination of live action and computer-generated images, the humans and animal characters get to act out the beloved story in the way that we have always imagined they did.

It all started after the sow in the Zuckerman’s farm gave birth to a litter of eleven. Papa needed that axe to kill the smallest of the piglets because he believes it will only be a problem later on. Fern stands her ground against this injustice and is given charge of the runt. White and no bigger than a rat, the pig becomes Fern’s pet, toy and playmate. She names him Wilbur, feeds him from a bottle, bathes him in the kitchen sink and takes him for walks in a doll carriage.

Within only a few months, he is no longer a runt,. He is almost full-grown and is now too big to be kept inside the house. He is relegated to a barn, which is filled with other creatures. It is here that the naïve Wilbur, voiced with innocent charm by Dominic Scott Kay, finds out what happens to adult pigs especially the large and well-fed sort like him. They become pork for the dinner table and he seems to have been earmarked for the smokehouse.

The thought of certain death feels Wilbur with dread. The geese, the cows, the horse and even the rat, who eats their leftovers, all seem resigned to their respective destinies. They can either run for their lives until they get caught or accept their lot stoically. They still end up dead either way. So what is a pig to do? Unknown to Wilbur, somebody from up above has noticed his dilemma and is now thinking of what she can do to save his life.

That somebody is Charlotte, the spider, whom nobody in the barn likes or pays any attention to. What they do not know is that because she is always silently watching the world from above, she is filled with the wisdom and selflessness that only higher beings attain. She becomes a friend, mentor, mother figure, lifesaver and even press agent to Wilbur. How the friendship unfolds, how Charlotte devises ways to save Wilbur and the way she manages to change the mindset of everybody, human or beast are among the delights of Charlotte’s Web.

Charlotte in this film comes with the voice of Julia Roberts who turns in a wonderful portrayal. She plays Charlotte as a calm, confident and reassuring Svengali. Ever so gently she twists Wilbur’s fate around by making him a celebrity, some pig who is also radiant and humble. And who would want to slaughter a pig like that?

I am glad to note that this Charlotte’s Web is an almost faithful rendering of the novel. The setting is vintage of no specified era. It might just be the 50’s farm of the book but still looks current enough for today’s kids. The dialogue has been updated and is quite clever among the animals. Steve Busceni as the reluctantly helpful Templeton the Rat is just fantastic. He almost made me believe that rodents talk. Of course I admit to being somewhat distracted hearing Oprah Winfrey from a goose or Robert Redford from a horse but I do not think the kids will care about that.

Director Gary Winick eschews the flashy, preferring his images realistic. The only time he turns on the glitter is for Charlotte’s writing and that is only right because that web is designed to call attention to Wilbur, the star. I see this decision to use an understated style as Winick’s biggest accomplishment for Charlotte’s Web. It echoes the way E.B. White wrote the story. Straight-forward and matter-of-fact even when imparting valuable truths.

Like most novels translated into the big screen, it is still preferable to read the book and allow the imagination to provide the images. But at a time like ours when baby sitters are mostly electronic, the movies are often the only access that people have to enjoying great literature. That is why I am really glad that Charlotte’s Web is required reading in grade school. Despite its simple prose, it is a treasure trove of moral lessons and has suspense, drama, lots of amusing moments and is most of all impossible to put down.

So get the kiddies to watch this one and then hope that Wilbur and his friends will encourage them to sit down and read the book.