16th January, 2007

DAVID ADAMS

Charlotte's Web (G)

In A Word: Charming

TIME OUT: Fern and Wilbur spend a quiet moment together. PICTURE: Copyright © 2005 Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved. " Sitting alongside over-hyped productions like 'Happy Feet', 'Charlotte’s Web' is a breath of fresh air this summer - a beautiful film with a simple yet powerful message that equally applicable to adults and children alike."

This is a movie about celebrating the ordinary. A true-to-the-original treatment of EB White’s famous book of the same name, Charlotte’s Web is an inspirational film and brings to life the characters of the famous story in a way that’s never been done before.

The plot of Charlotte’s Web is simple enough - it’s the story of a young girl, Fern, who reprieves a runty pig she names Wilbur from the axeman’s blade with the pig only to discover that he remains destined for the chopping block when he’s grown to size. The pig strikes up an unlikely friendship with a spider called Charlotte who soon hatches a plan to save him which involves writing a series of words in her web to describe him.

Yet this simple tale conveys a powerful message. The Bible talks about the fact that we only need look at the creation around us to know God yet many of us are always looking for something more.

Charlotte’s Web can be read as being about just that - seeing the extraordinary in the everyday; the miraculous in the mundane. Pausing for just a moment in our busy lives - whether they be in a farm or in a city - to stop and ‘smell the roses’ (or in the case of Charlotte’s Web, to admire the spider’s handiwork and the pig to whom it refers). To take time to admire the Creator’s work and through that, gain a new insight into Him.

This is also a tale about understanding friendship and the natural cadence of existence. Seasons will pass, there will always be birth and death, joy and sorrow even if they can be temporarily held off - yet it’s how we act in the midst of all that which counts.

Dakota Fanning puts a strong performance as Fern but it’s really the animals that steal the show - Wilbur (voiced by Dominic Scott Kay), Charlotte A. Cavatica (Julia Roberts), and Templeton the Rat (Steve Buscemi) with a supporting cast including Samuel the sheep (John Cleese), Gussy the goose (Oprah Winfrey), Bitsy the cow (Kathy Bates) and Ike the horse (Robert Redford).

The plot sticks very closely to the original book - one addition involves a couple of comic crows - Brooks and Elwyn - but these fit well with the existing story. There’s also a flavour of Australia in this flick - most of it was shot in Victoria and if you look closely at some scenes, you can spot some clues.

Sitting alongside over-hyped productions like Happy Feet, Charlotte’s Web is a breath of fresh air this summer - a beautiful film with a simple yet powerful message that equally applicable to adults and children alike. If you miss it at the movies, maybe it’s time you picked up the book.