Charlotte's Web (2006)
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A young girl saves a runt piglet from slaughter, leading to an unlikely friendship with a barn spider who helps ensure the pig's survival.
The story
During springtime on a farm in Somerset County, Maine, 8-year-old Fern Arable discovers that her father is about to kill a runt of a litter of newborn pigs. Fern successfully begs him to spare the piglet's life, whom she names Wilbur and nurtures him lovingly. After a brief period of keeping him at home, Fern is forced to take Wilbur to her uncle Homer Zuckerman's barnyard. Feeling abandoned and yearning for companionship, Wilbur is eventually befriended by Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful barn spider who lives in the space above Wilbur's sty.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
During springtime on a farm in Somerset County, Maine, 8-year-old Fern Arable saves a runt piglet named Wilbur from being killed by her father. After a brief stay at home, Wilbur is moved to her uncle Homer Zuckerman's barnyard. Feeling lonely, Wilbur befriends Charlotte A. Cavatica, a barn spider. When the other animals reveal Wilbur is destined for dinner by Christmas, Charlotte hatches a plan to save him. With the help of a mischievous rat named Templeton, Charlotte weaves descriptions like "Some pig" and "Terrific" into her web, making Wilbur famous throughout the town. The Arables and Zuckermans eventually take Wilbur to a fair where he is entered in a contest. While there, Charlotte produces an egg sac and, exhausted from laying eggs, she dies. Wilbur retrieves her egg sac with Templeton's help and bids her a tearful farewell. Wilbur lives to see his first Christmas, and by the next spring, hundreds of Charlotte's offspring emerge, with three staying behind to become Wilbur's friends.
- First release year
- 2006
- Runtime (minutes)
- 97
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Gary Winick
- Writers
- Susannah Grant · screenplay; Karey Kirkpatrick · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Dakota Fanning · Fern Arable; Kevin Anderson · John Arable, Fern's father; Gary Basaraba · Homer L. Zuckerman, Fern's maternal uncle; Beau Bridges · Dr. Dorian; Essie Davis · Phyllis Arable, Fern's mother; Siobhan Fallon Hogan · Edith Zuckerman, Fern's maternal aunt; Nate Mooney · Lurvy, the Zuckermans' farmhand; Louis Corbett · Avery Arable, Fern's older brother
- Genres
- live-action; animated; fantasy; comedy; drama
- Themes
- friendship; sacrifice; life and death
- Tone and mood
- humble; gentle; whimsical
- Setting
- A farm in Somerset County, Maine, during the late 19th or early 20th century (implied by the source novel's era).
- Premise and plot tags
- talking animals; friendship; farm life; children's book adaptation
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1952 novel by E. B. White
- Franchise connections
- Charlotte's Web
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was a modest success at the box office, grossing $149 million against a budget of $85 million.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 79% · review count: 147; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 7.0/10 · scale: 10 · review count: 147; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 62% · review count: 250,000+; Metacritic · score: 68 · scale: 100 · review count: 28; CinemaScore · score: A · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Critics' Choice Award · Best Live-Action Family Film · 2006 · win; Blimp Award · Favorite Movie Actress · 2007 · win
- Production trivia
- The film was produced without any involvement from E. B. White's estate.; The fair scene was filmed in Heidelberg in Melbourne at Heidelberg West Football Club's football ground.; A video game of the same name, which was derived from the movie, was released by Sega.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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