Better When It Was Called Babe
Written: Dec 17 '06
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Will amuse the kids.
Cons: Can't hold a candle to Babe.
The Bottom Line: Not as good as "Babe" or the 1973 cartoon, but a decent family film offering.
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| inkkognito's Full Review: Charlotte's Web |
Let me preface this review by saying that I am a child of the 70s, and as such was treated to the cartoon version of "Charlotte's Web" back when it was first released in 1973. Thus, I can't help but draw comparisons between what I see as the "original" and a live-action "remake."
Also, let me warn my readers that I tend to have an inborn prejudice against animals that talk through digital mouths. Somehow it reminds me of a bunch of high-tech Clutch Cargos (if you're not familiar with that cartoon, think of the "Pulp Fiction" scene with Christopher Walken). Technology still hasn't quite progressed to the point where talking animals look realistic, but that doesn't stop film makers from over-using this technique.
But I can be won over by a good storyline. For example, I just love the movie "Babe," in which a little pig lives in barnyard bliss until he learns that he is headed for the table. But in time, he endears himself to animal and human alike, and he is saved from the dinner table.
Hmmmm....sounds a heck of a lot like "Charlotte's Web."
Granted, the E. B. White book came first, and there are very significant differences between the two stories. But they are both live-action, pig-based movies, and if I had to choose, "Babe" would win hooves-down. It doesn't have the star power of "Charlotte's Web," and because it is several years older, the special effects are not as good. But it has a special charm and charisma that "Charlotte" is lacking.
At its most basic, "Charlotte's Web" is the story of a little girl named Fern who saves a runt pig from the ax and who raises him up and becomes attached to him. Unfortunately, farm life is full of harsh realities, so his reprieve from death is only temporary...he has a date with the Christmas dinner table at her uncle's house. But he is saved by the intervention of a kind-hearted spider named Charlotte, who has a knack for creating "miracles" in a weary world that is hungry to embrace anything miraculous.
Dakota Fanning turns in a well-polished performance as Fern. She's a great little actress, although kind of creepy in a Stepford-programmed-Jon-Benet kind of way. But the Fern of this movie is rather more obnoxious than Fern in the book...a sassy child exerting herself with an over-developed sense of self-esteem. But obnoxious youngsters seem to be a staple of sit-coms and movies, so I suppose it should be no surprise that this role has been altered to fit the stereotype.
The animals are voice by a plethora of stars, which makes me wonder if most were chosen for their name recognition rather than their appropriateness for the role. They turn in acceptable performances, but nothing stunning. I did find it a bit disconcerting to see a very creepy CGI spider with the voice of Julia Roberts, but I finally got immunized halfway through the film.
Other characters like an arachnophobic horse (ironically, Robert Redford, although he doesn't whisper) are added, as are totally unnecessary flatulence jokes. E. B. White's book survived quite nicely without Nickolodeon-esque humor.
Because this movie runs an hour and a half, filler material had to be added to the source to expand it to feature length. I love Templeton the Rat, who serves as comic relief in both the book and the cartoon (where he is voiced by one of my favorites, Paul Lynde). The new movie expands his role (and uses Steve Buscemi to voice him), but not in a particularly good way. Much of the humor seems forced and falls flat...for example, only toddlers will laugh during the rotten egg scene, which is capped with the hilariously original line, "The yoke's on me."
One of the best parts of the cartoon were the heart-tugging songs. I can still call most of them to memory immediately, from the song about love that Fern sings to Wilbur to Charlotte's heart-tugging swan song about Mother Earth and Father Time. In the movie, there is a lullaby by the talented Danny Elfman and a song in the closing credits, but unfortunately that's it, other than the underlying score. Given Elfman's inspired touch, I would love to see what he might have done had this movie been a musical.
My review may seem a bit downbeat, but this movie really isn't all that bad. Perhaps I would be kinder if I didn't have such a fondness for the cartoon and my inborn prejudice against yet another digital-talking-animals movie. Kids who enter into it with no preconceived notions will enjoy it, although the youngest might find its message about life and death a bit scary (and Charlotte is plenty creepy too!).
"Charlotte's Web" is decent family entertainment for the holiday season, but rather than see it again when it comes out on DVD, I'll be popping in the old 1973 classic.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Family Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Duration
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Epinions.com ID:
inkkognito
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Member: Barb
Reviews written: 201
Trusted by: 58 members
About Me:
I live to travel (and to ride my horses). Visit my website: www.disneycruiser.com
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