Well, everyone, today, we review what may yet be considered a classic animated film that has reached it’s 50th anniversary as of this year. It was produced by former animation company Hanna-Barbera, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Not to mention that it developed a cult following over the decades after it’s release, especially when released on video in 1994, apparently. So, starring voice actors, and actresses Henry Gibson, Debbie Reynolds, Paul Lynx’s, and more, the movie is Charlotte’s Web, based on the best selling novel by E.B. White!
Plot: Wilbur the pig (Henry Gibson) lives on a farm with her owner, Fern (Pamelyn Ferdin), and her family. But as Wilbur grows, Fern’s parents decide to take him to the farm home of her uncle Homer Zuckerman (Bob Holt), where farm animals of different species reside, and a spider named Charlotte (Debbie Reynolds). Because pigs are known to be taken to the chop house for food, Charlotte, a rat named Templeton (Paul Lynde), and other farm animals try to hatch a plan to keep Wilbur alive. Will they succeed, or will Wilbur eventually still get chopped up as food?
Now, I definitely remember watching this film a few times as a kid. My mother sometimes even retells the story of how I evidently had all of Charlotte’s Web memorized as a kid, including the song that the rat, Templeton, sang by the name of “A Veritable Smorgasbord.” Yeah, especially considering that I was most likely a little too young, at the time, to know, and realize, what a smorgasbord even was, you can say that this was most likely a very interesting time period for me. Watching this film again with adult eyes, is it as good as I remembered it to be? Well, for the most part, the film is better than I remembered it. First of all, the film does very well with acting very realistic. I mean this film could have probably been made into live-action, and you could hardly tell the difference, minus the backgrounds surrounding the characters. Well, isn’t it interesting that there was a live-action version that would be released over thirty years later following this film’s release, eh? Anyway, the film covers some very mature topics, like learning about the difficulties of farm life, having to sometimes to let go of those you love, and more. Oh, children will still love this film for the animation, the talking animals, and more. Even so, adults will also love this film for the maturity tone that this version of Charlotte’s Web seems to carry. The characters are also really likable, and memorable, especially the humans, and animals, that surround Wilbur. This is especially true for humans like Fern Arable, and creatures like Templeton the Rat, and Charlotte the spider. Yes, Templeton may do things for others for selfish reasons. Still, he may also likely be somewhat, if not fully, caring at heart. Additionally, besides characters like Wilbur, and Fern, Charlotte the spider also ends up being one of the most caring characters in this movie. I mean the fact that Charlotte was willing to have Wilbur’s back, and prevent potentially bad things from happening to him, wow, if that’s not something to love about Charlotte, then I’m not sure what is. Oh, and Fern, though she may have sometimes been childish in her way of thinking in this film, she definitely did also have some strong points in that regard as well. As for characters like Fern’s family, the goose, the goose’s son, Jeffrey, the ram, and more, need I say more? One other character to mention is if course the main one himself, Wilbur the pig. He is probably the most relatable one of all the characters in this film. I mean any of us human beings could easily relate to him in one capacity, or another. I mean, how many of us, as we have grown older, have had to deal with changes in relationships, deal with the loss of a loved one, and more? Well, Wilbur may have had happy parts of his life. Still, since he had to deal with difficulties for these reasons, and more, I’m sure many of us can agree that he’s one of the more relatable characters in this movie, you know? Now, is this movie overall more sad than happy? Well, not exactly! I’ll tell you what I mean in a moment. For those of you who saw the 1999 Disney animated film, Tarzan, you may recall that it had quite a few tragic moments throughout that film, yes? Yet, it also had it’s fair share of lighthearted, and funny moments too. Well, this Paramount Pictures/Hanna-Barbera animated film basically seems to go a similar route as well. As for the animation, that was also very good. Honestly, it’s a shame that Hanna-Barbera is no longer in business as an animation company because they did well with crafting a unique animation style of their own. That went not only for this film, but films like Hey There! It’s Yogi Bear!, Heidi’s Song, and shows like the Yogi Bear show, The Flintstones, and the lesser known Bible series, The Greatest Adventure: Stories From The Bible. As for the lessons to take away from this film, I think that kids will end up learning quite a few lessons, especially from the experiences that Wilbur had to go through over the course of this film, while those lessons will also serve as reminders to adults. Now, for the final part of this review, the songs. First of all, how could we not appreciate the fact that the Sherman Brothers wrote the songs for this movie? Seeing as they made memorable music for films like 1964’s Mary Poppins, and 1967’s The Jungle Book, and more, did they succeed in making memorable songs that stand out in Charlotte’s Web as well? Well, let’s just say that the majority of them are memorable, especially “We’ve Lots In Common,” “A Veritable Smorgasbord,” “Zuckerman’s Famous Pig,” and songs like those that will most likely stay stuck in your head for a quite a while. Could we also take a moment to appreciate the awesome choreography in some of those numbers as well? Just a thought! However, there are a couple other numbers that aren’t as memorable, and kind of drag the story to a degree. Not to mention that there was some New Age mumbo jumbo stuff in one of those not as memorable songs as well. Oh well!
And that’s my review for the 1973 animated version of Charlotte’s Web. Though a couple of the songs could have either been rearranged, or cut from the film entirely, the good majority of them are very memorable overall. Charlotte’s Web is also memorable as well. The characters are fantastic, and stand out to the best of their abilities, the animation is very good, and the story is probably one of the more mature ones that could come out in animation history. Putting aside my personal history with this film, Charlotte’s Web is definitely an animated film that is worth seeing. Yes, E.B. White’s novel may be better, as is the case with many books that have gotten adapted into film. Still, Charlotte’s Web does a surprisingly great job of crafting a more realistic story that could have probably been made into live-action, despite animals talking in this film. I would say that if you haven’t seen Charlotte’s Web yet, I would highly recommend it. It is most definitely a film that you’ll be glad that you saw because of how good it is. After rewatching Charlotte’s Web again, wow, what a great film. I also look forward to seeing the 2006 live-action version hopefully fairly soon now. So, see 1973’s Charlotte’s Web, and see what you think!
Final Grade: A
P.S. Again, happy 50th anniversary to Charlotte’s Web!
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 