By: debbie lynn elias
One of the most vivid memories of my childhood is my checking out of my elementary school library, E.B. White’s 1952 classic “Charlotte’s Web.” Fanciful, fun, heartwarming, I can still recall my delight with talking animals, a spider that could spell and a little pig that was well, “some pig.” Even as a teenager, I loved the animated movie version of “Charlotte’s Web” (and still do) and can still hear in my mind the soothing sweetness of Debbie Reynolds voice as Charlotte or the snickety snide rasp of Paul Lynde as Templeton the Rat. To this day, the story of Wilbur, Templeton, Charlotte, all of the other barnyard animals and the little girl Fern who loved them, remains a favorite of mine. So, it has been with anxious anticipation that I have waited for the live action-CGI animatronics version of this literary staple. Unfortunately, as I have written time and time again, remakes are not always the best idea and when you have perfection, don’t mess with it. Despite a stellar cast, including the incomparable Dakota Fanning as Fern, director Gary Winick disappoints to the point of almost tarnishing the joy of childhood memories.
For those not familiar with the story (and hopefully that’s not too many of you), allow me to set the stage. The Zuckermans are farmers. The youngest Zuckerman is a little girl named Fern. Loving the farm, its animals and her family, imagine Fern’s delight when the big old sow gives birth to 11 piglets! Now as everyone knows, with 11 piglets there is a bound to be a runt in the litter and typically, runts have a short life expectancy made even shorter by a farmers axe. Well, the Zuckerman litter is no different and Fern’s father very quickly decides that the runt must go – that is until Fern takes him as her own. Naming him Wilbur, Fern and Wilbur form the closest of bonds. She cares for him, feeds him with a baby bottle, wheels him around in her doll carriage, nurtures him, reads to him, and above all, loves him. And Wilbur loves her back. But as Wilbur gets too big for the doll carriage and crib, he is moved into the big barn where his roommates are 2 horses, 2 cows, 5 sheep, 2 geese, 2 crows, a pretentious dirty and snickering rat and a spider named Charlotte.
Saved from certain death and showered with love and affection, Wilbur starts to grow into a fine pig, some pig, a spectacular pig even. But being spectacular, fat and happy can only mean one thing for a pig – you will soon find yourself on someone’s dinner table. Unbeknownst to Wilbur, while Fern may have initially saved him from death, he is now destined for the smokehouse. On learning of his impending fate (thanks to the big mouths of some cackling animals who gloat over the little pig not living to see the winter snow), Wilbur panics, frets, worries and cries. But divine intervention soon comes for Wilbur in the form of Charlotte. Treated as somewhat of an outcast herself by the barn animals, Charlotte forms a special bond with Wilbur who is also treated as an outcast because of all the attention showered on him by Fern. Seeing something special in this humble little pig, Charlotte determines to save him and soon sets about spinning her web with some very clever words in an effort to show Mr. Zuckerman, what she and Fern and everyone else already know, Wilbur is “some pig.”
The sparkling and enchanting Dakota Fanning stars as Fern. With the same affinity with animals she showed in last year’s “Dreamer”, so it goes here with a barnyard full of critters. But nothing is as precious as her obvious affection for the little piglets that play Wilbur. Dakota is nothing short of delightful. Gary Basaraba steps in as Homer Zuckerman and is solid and convincing as a loving father who must face the practicalities of life but still believes in miracles. Ellen Burstyn makes an appearance as Fern’s grandmother while Beau Bridges is the amiable Doctor Dorian.
However, the real casting coup comes with all of the celebrity voicings of the barnyard animals. Glossing over some of the principals, we start with Julia Roberts. As Charlotte A. Cavatica, all I can say is I hope when she reads this story to her twins, there is more warmth reflected in her tones. Disappointing to say the least, Roberts pales in comparison to Debbie Reynolds’ 1973 Charlotte. The enunciation of words seems forced and the love and affection between Charlotte and Wilbur as reflected in the book and animated film feels missing. In short, I get a feeling of distance and coldness. On the other hand, Steve Buscemi is ideal as Templeton the Rat. While no Paul Lynde, Buscemi captures the rattiness of Templeton with a confident defiant aplomb. I love it! And 10 year old Dominic Scott Kay is the endearing, timid humble pig Wilbur. No stranger to films, Dominic has graced the big screen since age 5 and while although as Wilbur, pushes the saccharine factor to at times annoyingly pitched new heights. In what I would call a surprise casting move, Oprah Winfrey is Gussy the goose. Of course who better than to be the Chatty Cathy in the group than Oprah! Kathy Bates and Reba McEntire come on board as cows (yes, cows) Bitsy and Betsy while Robert Redford undertakes the voice of Ike the Horse. Interesting thing about Ike, he’s afraid of spiders and Redford (who doesn’t appear to fear anything) pulls off “eeks” and “ughs” with the best of them. And Thomas Haden Church dusts off his obnoxious Lyle from “George of the Jungle” attitude and puts it to good use as a crow named Brooks. Toss in voicing from John Cleese as Samuel the Sheep (who steals every scene he is in), Cedric the Entertainer, Jennifer Garner, John Cullum and Zoe Raye, and you’ve got someone that will appeal to everyone.
Unfortunately, the script by Susannah Grant and Karey Kirkpatrick falls woefully short of conveying the wonder, wit, wisdom and love of the book or the 1973 animated film. Grant, who penned “Erin Brokovich” clearly has a distinctive clipped style of dialogue which may account for the stilted deliberateness of Julia Roberts’ delivery. I sense the same hardness here as she had in “Erin Brokovich.” Sadly, efforts to contemporize the dialogue result in losing some of the charm of the original story and noticeably so with quite a bit of “potty humor” (which unfortunately will be the appeal for many a kid). What does hold up is the need for tissues to wipe your eyes with some of the more poignant and somber moments of the story.
Director Gary Winick had his hands full with this one – and it shows. Uneven pacing, a complete lack of rhythm, poor editing choices due to poor camera shots (duplicative with no variation and always pulling back at the most emotionally poignant moments)….shall I go on? I enjoyed Winick’s work immensely with “13 Going on 30” but here, he seems out of his element. To see this film, it seems the old adage of never working with kids or animals – and in this case, both – holds true. Can that be the problem here?
Battling the elements, the film was shot “off season” for the story of a spring pig on location Victoria, Australia which was substituting for the Maine countryside. Torrential rains, uncommon for that area, deluged the farm and barn resulting in some rather muddy escapades for Dakota Fanning and the other live players. Successful in efforts to keep the film timeless and mid-century country, the setting and farm accouterments are simple and free of advanced technology. In an effort to achieve the necessary seasonal looks, trees in the area had individual leaves hand tied to branches and then spray painted with autumnal colors to set the scene for the county fair and talk about ingenuity! The art department came through with flying colors, making casts of their faces, attaching them to rubber bodies for scenes involving rides at the fair. (Obviously cuts down on the cost of Dramamine.)
The real genius behind this endeavor, however, is special effects supervisor John Andrew Barton, Jr. Using live action and CGI animatronics, the result is technically impressive with a seamlessly meld of animals and action. For the most part, live animals were used with only their mouths being computer generated effects. What I am most amazed with, though, is the elegance of Charlotte’s web-writing sequences. Now, that is stunning.
Despite its failings, CHARLOTTE’S WEB will undoubtedly clean up at the box office thanks to the timeless appeal of the E.B. White story and the family friendliness of the film. For you first-time Charlotte viewers out there, the film will be enjoyable enough. For those of you, like me, that embraced and loved the book as a child and subsequently the 1973 animated version and carry those feelings, memories, laughter and tears with you till this day, while you will feel some disappointment with this version, there is no argument that Charlotte A. Cavatica is some spectacular spider and Wilbur will always be “some pig.”
Fern: Dakota Fanning
Charlotte: Julia Roberts (voice)
Wilbur: Dominic Scott Kay (voice)
Templeton: Steve Buscemi (voice)
Samuel: John Cleese (voice)
Gussy: Oprah Winfrey (voice)
Ike: Robert Redford (voice)
Directed by Gary Winick. Screenplay by Susannah Grant and Karey Kirkpatrick based on the film story by Earl Hamner, Jr., and book by E.B. White. A Paramount Pictures release. Rated G. (97 min)
