A classic worth visiting again

Charlotte’s Web is a sweet heartfelt children’s movie based on the book by E.B. White that was published in 1952. The movie, which was released in theaters in December of 2006, brought back a lot of nostalgia for me since it was a childhood favorite. I really enjoyed rewatching it after all this time.

In the movie, a little girl named Fern saves a runt pig named Wilbur from being killed and they quickly create a sweet friendship. Wilbur moves into Fern’s uncle’s barn and befriends a spider named Charlotte. Wilbur finds out that he is going to be killed before winter and he, Charlotte, and all the other barnyard animals work together to save him from his fate.

The movie uses a lot of familiar actors for the voices: Reba McEntire (Betsy the Cow), Cedric the Entertainer (Golly the Goose), Oprah Winfrey (Gussie the Goose), Julia Roberts (Charlotte), as well as Dakota Fanning (Fern), to name a few.

Charlotte and Wilbur have a really sweet mother-son/mentor-mentee relationship during the movie. Charlotte is kind, patient, wise, and loyal. Wilbur is loveable, brave, innocent, and inquisitive. Wilbur develops a lot over the course of the movie, maturing from an innocent and playful piglet to a mature pig. He’s kind of childlike in the beginning, since he has to depend on Fern in order to survive. In the end, he still keeps those same qualities but he’s more confident and determined. He also is extremely loyal to Charlotte.

The movie has a pretty good life lesson, too: the importance of true friends. This is shown through Charlotte and Wilbur’s friendship.

The movie, like the book, has a sad ending but it really brings the whole circle of life together. Overall I rate the movie a 5/5. You should definitely watch it if you haven’t seen it and rewatch it if you have!