Zuckermann's Farm - Wilbur im Glück

During the Spring time, a little of pigs is born including one runt at the Arable farm. As John (John Stephenson) prepares to "do away" with the runt, his daughter Fern (Pamelyn Ferdin) objects saying he shouldn't be killed for simply being small with John agreeing to let Fern take care of him. Fern names the pig Wilbur (Henry Gibson) and the two form a strong bond as Wilbur continues to grow. Eventually the time comes for Wilbur to be sold despite Fern and Wilbur's objections otherwise with Wilbur now living at the farm of Fern's uncle Homer Zuckerman (Bob Holt). While initially despondent, Wilbur is encouraged to talk by a good hearted mother goose (Agnes Moorehead) and begins seeking a friend among the farm. Eventually Wilbur learns he is fated to be killed during the Winter to become bacon and ham leading to further despair. Wilbur is then approached by a spider named Charlotte A. Cavatica (Debbie Reynolds) who befriends Wilbur and tries to help save Wilbur's life.

Charlotte's Web is a 1973 animated film adaptation of E. B. White's 1952 Children's book of the same name. Attempts have been made been as far back as 1967 when husband and wife team of John and Faith Hubley were interested in the film rights and while White liked them, the project fell apart due to lack of financing. The rights eventually landed at Sagittarius Productions and while the film's creative team saw many come and go until Hanna-Barbera got involved through a two-picture deal with Charlotte's Web one of the film's to be produced. The film was cast with some familiar names including Debbie Reynolds who said she'd be willing to join the project without being paid. While critical reception was positive skewing (albeit with many saying the animation was only passable), the biggest critic of the film was White himself. Despite the film being fairly faithful to the novel, White voiced displeasure with tonal issues in the film such as the Sherman Brothers' musical numbers and the depiction of the State Fair in the final act of the film which White claimed was too fantastical in comparison to his more realistic take. Despite only being a modest performer in its day, Charlotte's Web much like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory found a second wind through TV airings and home video including becoming a top seller in 1994 on VHS. Charlotte's Web doesn't reach the level of other children's classics, but the strength in the writing retains the key themes from the novel.

The movie does a good job of setting up the emotional weight of the film especially in its first act where Fern and Wilbur bond and you care about the two. There's a very tough "slice-of-life" element to the story in spite of its lowkey fantastical nature which makes sense when you consider White mined his experiences from growing up on his family farm in Maine for certain events in the novel. While there is that looming shadow of the threat of Wilbur's death lingering over the story, it never becomes overwrought as levity is provided by Debbie Reynolds' Charlotte and Paul Lynde's Templeton. While Charlotte is a kind and altruistic character, she's also assertive and shows a limited tolerance for Wilbur's neuroses such as a recurring gag of Wilbur fainting. Paul Lynde is also good as Templeton and despite being a late addition to the film replacing Tony Randall, Lynde's iconic delivery fits Templeton's care-free self-interested character perfectly and leads to some amusing moments throughout. In terms of the Sherman Brothers' songs, I only partially agree with White on them. While songs such as "I Can Talk", "Chin Up" and "We've Got Lots in Common" don't provide much aside from tangents in the main story, some such as "There Must Be Something More", "Deep in the Dark", and "Charlotte's Web" do feel more tonally appropriate to this story. And while not strictly necessary I do like Lynde's energized "A Veritable Smorgasbord" coupled with the accompanying animation.

Charlotte's Web is a good film that's inches away from greatness. You can tell that the main issue at play is one of tonal consistency despite the movie being mostly faithful to the original novel's content. While not without issues, the film is nonetheless a solid family film with a good emotional core.

The book by EB White is a marvellous timeless classic of a book, full of memorable characters and a sweet story. This 1973 animation is a very likable adaptation, and fairly faithful to the book. Of course there are problems- the animation occasionally isn't that great though there are some truly lovely moments, and one or two songs were out of place. Speaking of the songs though, a vast majority of them are lovely, definitely not the Shermann Brothers' best work but not their worst either. The characters are still appealing, Wilbur is adorable, and Fern is very appealing, but for me the scene stealer was Templeton, very funny he was at times. The voice work was fine too, Pamelyn Ferdin was lovely as Fern, and Debbie Reynolds is perfect as Charlotte, a really warm and loving spider that you can't help but love. My final verdict, is that although the book is better, this is still a likable, sweet and well meaning animated adaptation. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This, and maybe one other film, are the only films I've seen that made me cry...and I don't usually cry when watching films; I'm aware too much of how they are made. It's a wonderful translation of the story in the since that all the warmth is there. When fall comes along it FEELS like fall (same as in the animated version of Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree). Debbie Reynolds' voice is beautiful for Charlotte and fit the animated character's blue/gray smiling face. I'd dare say the story comes across better than some of Disney's most recent stuff (though I'd still have to bow down to Beauty and The Beast, one of my all-time faves). As far as animation goes, Charlotte's Web proves once again that it's all about story; the most beautiful animation in the world can't save a lousy story...no matter what. And I highly doubt that the new live action version coming out will be half as charming as this animated classic. I could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong...but I doubt it.

I just rented this for my kids (ages 4 & 6) and had completely forgotten that adults can enjoy it, too. I'm quite weary of the obnoxious Disney-fication of most kids movies these days. (Spare me any more simpering princess stories.) The story of the clever spider who tries to save a pig from becoming breakfast meat is a familiar one and can be appreciated by many. The voice talent here is so superb that the movie doesn't make you rue the day they decided to animate the book. The songs aren't overly saccharine and are actually quite catchy. The movie is worth it alone for Templeton's trip to the fair and "a fair is a veritable smorgasbord-orgasbord-orgasbord" song. Debbie Reynolds' Charlotte is warm and wise, Wilber is naive and friendly, and Templeton provides the perfect foil as a spoiled rat who's just in it for himself. Agnes Moorehead as the goose became a sort of comedic extra to make the little ones laugh in the face of the rather adult plot about life and death. Overall, it's a movie for the whole family.

I think every kid has to see this movie. It's a charming and delightful little flick. I wish they would make more movies like this than all the fancy computer effect movies of today. I'm serious, I think this is more impressive as far as animation goes. Charlotte's Web is a great flick to watch. Even though I enjoyed the book more as a child, I still loved to watch this film. I would recommend it for children. It's a little cheesy at times. But it has good lessons and morals. Hence, why I say it's for kids. There are some catchy toons though. Even the adults might still get into it.

8/10